[Schatze4U]

A recent experience I had with American Airlines has left me, angry, dumbfounded and frankly worried about airline safety, after the unwarranted treatment I received from flight attendant Ms. Santana and gate attendant Junius Lyons.

I boarded American Airlines Flight 4594 from Washington DC Reagan National to Boston this past Christmas Eve. This was one of the smaller jet aircraft with only three seats across a row, one seat on one side and two seats on the other side of the aisle. My seat, 1A, was on the single-seat side next to the bulkhead. As anyone who as traveled in the bulkhead row well knows, there is no under-seat room for items in this row. Also, since the overhead luggage compartments were completely full, there was no place to stow my purse (my only other bag was checked at the gate). I asked the flight attendant, whose name is Ms Santana, if I could put my purse in the closet during take-off, as I have often done in the past under similar circumstances. She said absolutely not, and told me to place my purse under my seat- behind the bar - if that was OK with the person behind me. I admit that I did not ask that person but went ahead and set the purse under my seat. As they did not complain I assumed that this was not a problem. After the flight attendant came back from checking other passengers she scolded me, saying my purse wasn't placed right. I told her it was placed as she had told me. I was not trying to be confrontational, I just indicated that I was in fact following her earlier instructions. Nevertheless, she turned her back to me and ordered the gate attendant to "get her off my plane." When I asked her what I did wrong she threatened to have me arrested if I didn't immediately comply.

I have flown all over the world and have never experienced or seen such an event! My chief reaction rather than being outraged has been incredulity. Also of note is the fact that my checked bag was not removed from the plane, in violation of FAA regulations, which require checked baggage to be removed if a passenger leaves an aircraft (an anti-terrorist thing).

When I spoke with Ms Tamara Sandberg, a supervisor with American, she offered to help me and secured a ticket on the next flight to Boston. However, when I tried to board the flight the gate agent, Junius Lyons, said my ticket was invalid and would not let me board. I had the distinct impression that he was punishing me for my earlier indiscretion. I gave him Ms Sandburgs name and told him she had issued the ticket. Mr Lyons stated he didn't care. He told me to step aside and that I was his last priority to board. He let everyone board the plane but me and caused me to miss this flight as well. In a subsequent conversation with another American flight attendant, a Mr Eisenberg who was with Ms Sandberg when she issued the ticket, I was told that the ticket was indeed correct. The net result was that after arriving at the airport at 2pm for a 3:40 flight I was finally able to board a flight that night at 10pm (part of this was a 2-hour weather delay).

As I already indicated, my luggage remained on the original flight despite FAA regulations. I did receive a phone call from security individuals in Boston indicating that I needed to go to the security office to retrieve my baggage. Luckily they decided to streamline this process and a gate official was waiting for me at the gate to check me out and deliver my other bag.

This entire episode was absurd and I believe needs looking into. A flight attendant should not have the power to remove someone from an aircraft over a small purse which was correctly placed. I fly often and I have always been under the impression that the threshold for removal from an aircraft was significantly higher than simply annoying a flight attendant.

Schatze4U

[jimworcs]

This is an abuse of power by the FA and the ground staff. I would also complain to the DOT and report AA to the TSA. It is a cardinal rule that a passenger who has boarded and is subsequently removed from the flight must have their bags removed. Otherwise, it would be a strategy by a terrorist to place a bag on the flight, cause a disturbance in order to be removed.

There is an element I am curious about. Was the Captain consulted on the decision to remove you from the flight. If so, he was at fault for not having your bag removed and this is a serious breach of security protocol, but would also be a breach of the company operating procedures.

I hope you will let us know how AA respond to your complaint.

[airhead]

I would also report this to the FAA, since the security of the aircraft and the passengers were compromised.

http://www.faa.gov/passengers/travel_problems/consumer_hotline/

[Schatze4U]

I tried to ask to speak to the Captain of the aircraft, as being a member of the Air Force I am quite aware that the aircraft "belongs" to the aircraft commander- however they would not let me speak to the pilot and told me I would be arrested if I did not exit the aircraft.

[Leatherboy2006]

Was it an American flight or an American Eagle? I have had better luck going right to American Eagle when I had issues with them instead of American

[jimworcs]

These cases are increasingly common and need people to stand up to this abuse of process.

[Butch Cassidy Slept Here]

I shall assume enough time has passed that people have forgotten about that disaster. As I understand it, the FAA rule about not carrying baggage when the matching passenger is not onboard was created because of that tragedy. Strict observation of this rule would accomplish two things: (1) As someone has already suggested, it would eliminate an effort, by a terrorist, to blow-up an airliner by intentionally causing a disturbance, while the aircraft is at the gate, so he can get kicked-off, then have his bomb-laden baggage stay on the plane. (2) Flight attendants, on a power trip, might not be so quick to play-out their personal problems if they knew the flight would need to be delayed, so the baggage, of a passenger who hurt the flight attendant's feelings, could be removed.

[airhead]

I would like to point out that 100% of all bags are screened by the TSA. The general public needs to know this.

Still, if a passenger is removed, the bag needs to be removed too. The problem with that is someone has to dig in the cargo hold and find it. Obviously, in this case, the agent was not motivated to do that. I wonder why?

[jimworcs]

Yes, I wonder why too. Perhaps it was because the FA was acting unilaterally as a Nazi who brooks no dissent; and to find the bag would have caused a significant delay. So, lets just ignore Federal safety regulations. Suddenly, when "security" becomes a hassle for the employees it is able to be ignored, but it is used as a cover for a whole host of inconveniences and indignities for passengers, but the Nazi's adopt a "rules is rules" stance.

[Schatze4U]

I am once again in awe of the incompetence of AA. This time it is the incompetenmce and indifference of the AA customer service representative's response to my removal over a purse. Please see the response below:

P.S. The only reason they responded so quickly to this complaint is because it was sent to DOT and DOT forwarded it to AA. The other complaint I sent to AA earlier has not been addressed. Also- as you will see- there is no way to respond to this e-mail.

I do not give up that easily though... stay tuned.

Dear Lt. Col. XXXX:

Please be assured we have taken your comments seriously regarding travel on American Eagle flight 4594 from Washington Reagan to Boston on December 24. In the carefully considered opinion of our personnel, there were indications that your behavior was disruptive and a potential distraction to our inflight personnel carrying out their duties and we acted accordingly. We have the responsibility and authority to take necessary action to ensure the safety of our flights and the customers aboard them. Your feedback has been shared with the appropriate Flight Service Manager for an internal review.

It was reported that your carry on luggage was not properly stowed in the overhead bin after multiple requests from the flight attendant. Flight attendants are the authority in the passenger cabins, and it’s important to remain compliant with their instruction at all times. This authority is supported by Federal Air Regulation 91.11 which indicates that persons who appear threatening, intimidating, or otherwise interfering with a flight crew member are subject to serious consequences, the least of which is to be removed from a flight.

We appreciate the opportunity to respond to you regarding our baggage security procedures. Due to operational challenges, sometimes it is necessary to "separate" a customer from their luggage. We may elect to forward baggage on an earlier flight to ensure that it arrives at the destination in a timely manner. Some criteria for forwarding baggage on earlier flights includes load factors, weight and balance considerations and other operational issues. Likewise, if operational constraints prevent us from boarding a customer's bag on their scheduled flight, we transport their bag on a later flight.

In view of enhanced security screening, Transportation Security Administration procedures do allow for this activity. Please be assured that we would never choose to send luggage on an alternate flight if we had any security concerns. Everyone here at American and American Eagle is fully committed to providing our customers with the safest possible air travel experienc e.

Lt. Col. XXXX, I appreciate the opportunity to address these issues with you. We recognize that you may disagree with our position, however, we have no basis from which to overturn the decision of our flight crew.

Sincerely,
Stefania Meyer
Customer Relations
American Airlines

cc: U.S. Department of Transportation

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[jimworcs]

I think this response is dis-ingenuous. First of all, AA could legitimately take the view that the FA in their honest opinion felt you were potentially disruptive. This does not explain the actions of the ground staff denying you boarding for the second flight. The actions of Junius Lyons appears to have been vindicative and punative, even though another AA employee had issued a new ticket.

Secondly, whilst rules exist which do allow bags to be transported separately from the passenger, such as when there are delays or bags have had to be removed for weight reasons... when a passenger has been removed their bags should also be removed. In Europe, it is definitely a no-no for a passenger to be removed from a flight and their bags be allowed to proceed. The fact of a passenger having to be removed could be indicative of a passenger who is agitated or nervous because they are "up to something". The circumstances under which they have indicated that bags may travel separately from the passenger do not equate to the circumstances in this case, I think it was foolhardy for AA to proceed in this manner.

I would ask for further specific questions to be answered and copy them to the DOT.

1. Is it AA policy that when a passenger is removed from a flight, that there is no requirement to remove the luggage of that passenger from the flight?

2. Does AA feel that if a passenger is "potentially disruptive" to such an extent that they have to be removed, that this does not raise any security concerns relating to the passengers behaviour and/or luggage?

3. Was the ticket issued by Ms Sandburg a valid one? If not, why not? If it was valid, why was Junious Lyons permitted to deny you boarding a second time.

4. If your behaviour was such that you had been denied boarding on two flights, what changed in your behaviour to subsequently make it acceptabe for you to fly on the later flight.

5. Lastly, during the investigation conducted into the complaint were Ms. Sandburg and Junious Lyons interviewed?

AA are sweeping this under the carpet. Their employees acted in an unprofessional manner and I would consider a small claims court claim, which at the minimum would force disclosure of the extent of their investigation.