This story is so bad on so many levels, but the bottom line is that the American Airlines flight attendant in question should be supremely pitied for her deplorable behavior. She has no business being in a customer-facing role.
Shameful Flight Attendant Goes On Power Trip Against Miami Passengers
The incident took place on American Airlines flight 3573 from Key West to Miami, a 7:00am departure. According to an Executive Platinum AAdvantage member who shared about her flight on Facebook, it all began over a mother traveling alone with her two-year-old baby.
The lady was trying to lug her carry-on bag, the car seat, and the baby onto the plane. The baby was crying and did not have his mask on. At the door, the flight attendant aggressively scolded the mother. Instead of offering to help her carry something or show a bit of patience, the flight attendant barked at her:
Flight Attendant: “Ma’am you need to step off the plane!”
Mother: “Im trying, Im trying.”
Flight Attendant: “If she [baby] can’t wear a mask then she shouldn’t travel with you!”
[so helpful…]
Another passenger then got up to offer assistance to the lady, carrying her car seat to her assigned row. The flight attendant added fuel to the fire, loudly telling her colleague:
Flight Attendant: “She better have that mask on. If I go back there an its not on, I’m tossing her off this plane!”
The toddler quieted down when given a bottle (and did not have to wear a mask), but began crying again and refused to keep her mask on when the bottle was taken away.
While the flight attendant demanded she be thrown off, a gate agent and pilot attempted to de-escalate the situation (talking to the flight attendant, not the mother). But the flight attendant insisted upon her way and the mother and child were thrown off the (50-minute) flight.
Oh, but the story gets much worse.
Everyone was forced off the flight (and there is no indication that the mother refused to exit the aircraft), creating a further delay.
As the Executive Platinum member was leaving the aircraft, she said the to the flight attendant, “You should be ashamed of yourself. A crying baby, really?” She said nothing else and just kept walking off the aircraft.
Meanwhile, a disabled passenger had trouble walking from her seat to the jet bridge to wait for a wheelchair and another passenger began crying, telling those around her she would now miss her brother’s funeral. Unintended consequences…
Back on the plane, the Executive Platinum member walked to her seat, shaking her head in disgust at the flight attendant as she walked by her.
The flight attendant “marched” over and screamed, “Do you have a problem?” The passenger did not respond and the flight attendant repeated the question like a parrot until the passenger finally said, “Yes.”
The flight attendant called the gate agent and lied that the Executive Platinum member was “threatening” her and added, “I should have her kicked off the flight too.”
The flight attendant again demanded, “Do you have a problem?” When the woman did not respond immediately, the flight attendant yelled to the gate agent:
“Do you smell alcohol?! I smell alcohol!”
It was 7:00am…the passenger had a mask on and the FA had a mask on. She had consumed no alcohol.
Not wanting to delay the flight further, the woman backed down and said, “No.” She was asked again, in a humiliating fashion if she had a problem, and again said, “No.”
The flight attendant returned to her jumpseat and the flight took off.
An American Airlines spokesperson notes:
“Two customers were removed from American Airlines flight 3573 prior to departure from Key West (EYW) for failing to comply with the federal face mask requirement. After agreeing to comply with the face mask requirement, the customers were rebooked for travel on the next available flight to Dallas / Fort Worth (DFW) and completed travel later that day.
“We are reviewing this incident and a member of our team has reached out to the customers to learn more about their experience.”
American Airlines should certainly review the incident and ask that the flight attendant in question no longer serve on an American Airlines flight (EYW – MIA flights are operated by Envoy Air / American Eagle).
Meanwhile in Charlotte:
Apparently pilots do not think the mask requirement applies to them on the Charlotte Airport. @AmericanPTFS @AmericanAir pic.twitter.com/8CIO9JM9EN
— Joseph Minor (@UTDJoe) January 21, 2022
CONCLUSION
You’re welcome to believe that two year olds should wear masks…that’s fine. But the flight attendant’s behavior is indefensible and her treatment of the mother and of the Executive Platinum passenger is just horrible. Regional or not, she was wearing an American Airlines uniform on an American Airlines flight number.
American Airlines needs to control its flights attendants…
(image: Envoy Air // H/T: View From The Wing)
IF the story is accurate, no defense for the FA, The larger issue is this is the result of this mask nonsense and everyone is tired of it when the science even shows the cloth masks are almost worthless. It’s time to end the mandate and those who wish to wear N95 or whatever’s will be fine. No logic behind it when drinks and meals are being served.
Again, no defense for the FA acting to way she did to any customer, EXP or 1st time flyer.
Nothing to do with mask wearing, which is actually helpful. This FA seems like a wretched person regardless.
Agreed, no more cloths masks, everyone should be wearing N95, KN95 or surgical masks.
Be my guest to wear whatever you want in your face. I am vaccinated so leave me alone.
You’re an IDIOT! Being fully vaccinated DOESN’T prevent you from getting covid, you twit!
What a buffoon! If you want to spend the rest of your life wearing a N95 because you’re afraid of getting a disease with a 99.7% survival rate, be my guest. Idiot.
You seriously think because we are vaccinated that we should be excused from a companies policy? We are customers in their business. We are expected courtesy of respecting their policies or not doing business with them. Vaccinations reduce spread and severity of illness but every little other step will help to….
What I think, is that rule-worshipers Karens, such as yourself, should mind your own business.
I just got off a 17 hour long-haul where it ran the full gamut, people with no mask for extended periods of time, some with very loosely fitted masks, and others fully masked. Flight attendants didn’t say a word. Everyone got along fine and it was an enjoyable trip even if it was exhausting. It’s time to end the masking charade,
What airline?
Man I have to tell you there is a ton of third-party speculation. A lot of “according to the woman” this happened that happened. No video no nothing you’re really relying on one person story to just completely bash. Pretty surprised by this. I think you’re putting way too much faith into someone who is “Executive Plat um”.
My daughter was the one kicked off the flight with Toddler. This story is 100% accurate as to her experience. The one the story does not emphasize is that the Flight attendant told my daughter to take away the bottle and pull up her mask. (Before the door was even closed) At this point the baby became really upset. Then once off the plane American most certainly DID NOT book her on the next available flight out. There was flight for dallas leaving in 1 hour after they kicked her off. They made her sit by the gate for 2 hours. Before they helped her at all. every time she got up to ask what the situation was the gate agent said “YOU NEED TO SIT DOWN!” meanwhile the flight for Dallas left with available seats and and they booked her an hour later. Then for good measure made her wait another hour for her suitcase. I picked her up from the airport 4 hours after we dropped her and my granddaughter off. There were a minimum of two appalling American agents that day. The FA an d the gate agent who escorted her off then treated her like a criminal for 2 hours. This same gate agent told her that if they had another problem with the toddlers mask on the next flight, “She could be Banned for Life”..
One more thing to add. American Airlines did book her on a flight “later that day.” It left at 6:45pm almost 12 hours from her original flight and she did not get home till after 1 am in the morning. So as I said above, the AA spokesperson was not truthful with their statement either.
That is truly APPALLING that a supposedly acceptable airline like American would ever allow ANY passenger(s) to be treated that way. I truly hope that they terminated that FA & gate agent. I would demand it & nothing less. I haven’t flied AA for a long time and never will again. They’re BANNED for life!
What is it about American flight attendants, seems like every week there is a story about a rude threatening American flight attendant? Where there’s smoke there is a fire.
Yes, there does seem to be an alarming trend.
This flight attendant is American Eagle (Envoy) not American Airlines mainline. These flight attendants are usually a “lower class” employee with lower pay and less training.
“Lower class”? Really? That’s a no-class comment.
And IME the mainline AA FAs are just as likely to be horrible as the regional FAs.
Lol makes sense. Garbage attracts flies, right?
The alarming trend cuts both ways. But I can’t expect an airline blogger that brags about trying to get all he can get for free. Try walking in someone else’s shoes who is just doing their job. Who and what determines what is the correct way to address people who do not feel they should have to comply with an instruction because…..,just because John Q. Public doesn’t have to give a reason. He or she just won’t, at some point, anyone would become frustrated. People are human. Are the reactions sometimes over the top.,,who knows, but in this day and age, the customer is not always correct, and most certainly not polite.
You sound like an uppity white woman, you ignorant twit! She didn’t refuse to wear a mask! She was feeding her baby and the child was upset and kept taking it off because she was upset. Go back to school and learn how to READ!!!
A soft answer turns away wrath!
Too many bullies! Too many people reacting to perceived slights and offenses! Everyone thinks they’re a victim!
I’m sorry, but if your toddler (two year-olds are not babies) can’t handle the stress of flying, then you should drive or find some other form of transport. Other passengers have a right to a peaceful flight. The FA could have been more gracious, though,
The idea of a two year old masking was always absurd.
Its not just AA. 19th I had ord-msp-mex on DL metal. At the airport and on the first half no issues. Msp-mex I had a power tripping mask nazi in F. I was glad I got a survey for my flights. I let DL have it. I flexed my current and past medical issues, the fact I’m a premium class PAYING customer and my medallion status. I told those sobs I demand an apology and a written apology from the sky waitress. I did not call the bitch that in my comments but I dd note that he basic training of cpr does not qualify her as someone who should be barking orders about wearing masks. And with my health issues I could school her on how to properly wear one.
Thankfully the fight attendants wasn’t a cop, else she would have shot the passengers dead and the racist mofos of this country would have said they should have just followed her orders.
I’d like to believe your comments on here are an act trying to get a rise out of others. I would hate to believe there actually is a person living in America that thinks like this.
No officer wants innocent people shot as much as you wish it true.
Two sub reddits for you on reddit.
Badcopnodonut
Publicfreakout
There are a lot of bad cops out there. With video evidence.
Sorry, I’m over 30, own something other than worthless virtual coins and pictures, have a positive net worth and don’t live at home. So I don’t follow Reddit, but thanks for letting me know more about you that I did. Makes much more sense now.
IMO, most peace officers are great professionals and have public service at heart. But there are, unfortunately, enough of them in uniform who consider their firearm to be their primary work tool, and any subject that doesn’t comply as a valid target.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/miami-pet-dog-shot-barking-complaint-b1994923.html
lol you sound like one of those BLM terrorists that suffers from oppression delusion.
You gonna be mad when the Supreme court strikes down AA once and for all.
It must be very exciting to see things in such an exaggerated way. Chill out and stick to the topic of the article.
Whoever in the CDC made the rule that a 2 year old has to wear a mask has never had a 2 year old. By 3 they can, but 2 is extremely difficult. Nevermind the rest of the world has guidance that children 5 or older should. I mask, my child masks, this isn’t about me not understanding the present situation, this is about the rule being horribly designed.
I was on an AA flight from Kona to LAX on January 3, where the male AA attendant was very aggressive with the passengers. At one point, stating over the microphone, “If I have to tell you one more time about the mask requirements while eating or drinking, you will see what will happen to you when we land in LA.” Then he stood in the aisle staring down the passengers to “catch” anyone not complying. Meanwhile the same attendant was handing out drinks with his fingers INSIDE the cup and AROUND the rim of the cup.
And according to some commenters in the past, these are the people they want to be deciding whether a passenger should be on the no-fly list. These sky waiters have definitely surpassed TSA as the worst.
This is an American Air problem, but also a Joe Biden and U.S. federal government problem. In Europe, children under 6 don’t have to mask anywhere and many airlines — and national rail companies — don’t require children under 12 or 13 to mask, unless they are flying to the U.S.
Please name this Flight attendant. They deserve no more consideration for privacy than the idiots who disrupt flights as passengers.
Omg Amen to that! PLEASE name the nasty little hobbit!
Sad that this goes into generalizations. And a nonsensical feeding frenzy.
Have flown exclusively AA for the last 3 years because of living in an AA hub plus pandemic.
Have literally never run into anything other than people trying to do their job under difficult conditions. None of the cabin crew have ever done more than politely remind someone to reapply their masks.
Some people are not suited for interaction with the public. Maybe it is temporary, maybe it is permanent.
No, I am not impressed by the policies and direction AA has taken.
Front line workers now have to balance the passengers’ needs, the corporate orders and federal (and sometimes local) guidelines, while wondering about their job security.
Are you saying that this is an excuse for this kind of behavior? And sorry, but not sorry, it is consistent with the culture of AA, even if this is a regional. And it was happening before Covid.
Thank you for reading my comment.
Perhaps I was not clear, and probably should have started with the disclaimer that I do not in any way justify or excuse this flight attendant’s out of control behavior.
I have over and over commented on the fact that I have observed individuals on both sides who have no business traveling in a confined space. Sometimes it is the crew, sometimes it is the passengers. If the portrayal is accurate, this flight attendant is impaired, and should have been removed immediately. Unfortunately, it appears that there are inadequate mechanisms to protect the public from impaired airline employees.
I also grieve for the old AA, with over 3M miles behind me, but have flown 4 times in the last 3 months. Every experience was essentially flawless. That is all I meant to say.
Thank you for having common sense. Seems everyone wants to lump everyone with one potential idiot…if this story is accurate.
We certainly don’t count everyone over 78 as senile and sh#ting their pants just because of Joe Biden.
Or the orange guy getting pissed on.
Exactly! If the orange puppet had done his job then maybe, just maybe, we wouldn’t still be in this pandemic, still!
I am a Captain for a major airline (not AA), and while I understand that there are at least two sides to every story, this incident, if it’s as reported, is appalling. First off, the FA is not in charge of the flight, aircraft, cabin, etc. The Captain is, period. The only person that needed to be offloaded was that FA…had I been the Captain on that flight, she would have been. I am a bit disappointed that the Captain on this flight did not stand up to this bully, but again, I was not there.
T Cooper as a fellow Captain I agree with you. Had this happened on my aircraft the mom and her kid would have flown.
Curious how you would come to this conclusion. My experience would be the FA would consult with you, give their one sided opinion probably riddled with lies and the captain would then come back and in all likelihood either let them fly or kick them off to appease the FA. I think it’s easy to armchair but think it’s unlikely a pilot, in real time, kicks of a FA to delay a whole flight. In my experience, and I fly exclusively AA, the FA is usually escalating these situations and in the majority of the cases probably should be kicked off with the passenger.
But then on these blogs we have to listen to how they’re trained in BLS, customer escalations etc. the reality is they are in the service industry and often one would never know they are trained to handle escalated situations. They’re usually the ones escalating it.
Are you saying you guys know the surly ones and take what they say with a grain of salt? Sorry. I just don’t buy it. But I also am likely disgruntled from AA.
So good to know that there are captains who actually preside over their crew and demand excellence from his cabin attendendants. AA should be ashamed that they didn’t defend this poor woman & child by dismissing that wretched FA.
What a disgrace! One of the many many reasons I will NEVER fly American. I fly from LAX to Miami every 3 months or so, and NEVER fly American. I either go JetBlue Mint or will happily stop in Denver or Houston (although I don’t understand how United doesn’t have a nonstop on this route)!
I remember years ago when people thought highly of American. How times have changed.
you’re right, how times have changed. i’ve traveles LAX-MIA for nearly 30 years, starting when it was still a Pan Am 747! on their last days. Then I flew CO a300 stop in IAH, they called it the “tortilla express” not exactly Miami. Then AA built the MIA hub, buying the Pan Am S America routes. Flew some times F in DL via ATL, was low miles. but of late, AA, used to be the premium domestic airlines above Delta say 15-20 yrs ago, wow times have changed.
BRAVO! I feel the same way.
These stories are so AAmazing. So is that they cluster around this specific airline.
Let’s assume the story is true. This flight attendant doesn’t have what it takes to work in a service industry. Apart from not helping a mom boarding with an infant and all the paraphernalia, the subsequent bullying, and the ejection from the flight, are just awful. The next concern is that other staff, such as the captain, did not intervene.
At some point, this wave of abuse of AND by passengers in the industry will need to end. And no, I don’t believe for a nanosecond that the passengers in this situation were abusive.
You know the industry has lost its mark when you cannot so much look at them the wrong way. Let alone express disagreement without the risk of being arrested or kicked off a flight.
FAs have way too much authority. I know a few FAs and have spoken to countless so I know many are highly educated and have done this as a scone career so I don’t say this disparagingly. But it’s an industry where minimal if any education is required for the authority they possess. Similar to police officers imo. You have emotionally unintelligent people who can’t put themselves in others positions.
I guarantee if you asked the FA she would say don’t bring all this if you can’t carry it. And to an extent she has a point. But the women could be a single mom trying to care for her child and make sure she’s safe. It’s takes 10 seconds to be kind and show empathy and 20 minutes to act like she did and raise everyone’s blood pressure. Some people get enjoyment out of acting like this and it’s usually noneducated people who cannot think beyond 5 seconds into the future. This women should not be flying but it’s very fitting she is wearing an AA badge.
“…cannot think beyond 5 seconds into the future.”
That’s just it.
Flight attendants serve as a version of first responders. Their preparation focuses on safety and emergencies, but I think they are missing one of their most important roles: they need to under-react. That’s what emergency personnel, psychologists, nurses, physicians are all educated to do in emergencies (some better than others.)
Remaining as calm as possible with reactions proportionate to the problem–that’s how to get through most scuffles, and it is also the key to ensuring a safe, controlled cabin.
Flight attendants are often underpaid, overworked, and exhausted. But that is not an excuse for losing rational thinking. I also think there is probably a loss of role-modeling. Passengers are going to respond best to someone calm, confident, in a normal tone of voice.
What about problem solving? “Oh wow! You’ve got a lot of stuff and a baby. Let’s see if I can help you get settled. I know it’s a pain, but let’s see if we can figure out a way to keep a mask on your baby–the best we can.”
Try that instead of, “Ma’am. MA’AM. MA’AM! I’m going to need you to have that baby in a mask because federal…”
This is not a new problem; it’s just getting much worse.
I remember taxiing on a Turkish Airlines flight. A baby somehow got “loose” and started crawling in the aisle. The flight attendant quickly got up from her jump seat, smiled, helped pick up the little girl, got her buckled back in, and smiled again. In the USA, the flight attendant would have grabbed a microphone, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is an ACTIVE TAXIWAY, and Federal… we cannot get up from our jumpseats, and…”
Bottom line: would you like to solve the problem or go on a rambling power trip?” Your choice.
Why should we assume this story is true? Matt uses “quotation marks” to presumably share a verbatim quote w/o a transcript, audio, or video. Please share some facts please.
Because if you flew AA with any regularity you would know at least the gist is correct.
Again the story is accurate. My Daughter was the one kicked off the plane with the toddler, If anything this story under reports how bad it was for her as it was taken from the perspective of another passenger.
Exactly and I can’t sympathize with you enough for what you, as a father, had to endure knowing your daughter & grandchild were treated so appallingly and in such a sub human manner! I truly hope that FA & Gate attendant were dismissed. Until we demand action/change from AA, they will continue these deplorable conditions.
Where was the captain on this issue ?? I thought he or she has the final authority ?
The captain came out and talked to the FA. Judging by how this situation played out, it seems he took the side of the FA.
Great question!
Too bad no one video taped Cruella in action
Well, blame Bin Laden for this. Since 9/11 FAs were given way too much power and they take advantage of that to make peoples lives miserable. I’ve seen so many examples of bad behavior by FAs just because they are having a bad day and know there will be no consequences for their behavior. They feel empowered and there is not much to be done until they start to ge punished.
In my experience on AA, the FAs aren’t usually rude or aggressive, they’re generally just lazy. The behavior exhibited by this particular FA seems like how I would expect a gate agent to behave. They are almost universally rude and aggressive in my experience.
I don’t like to date myself, but I remember the good old days of flying, when the passengers were treated like royalty, Then, the passengers dressed in their finest suits, and flying was tantamount to going on the Queen Mary. The finest food, along with fancy cutlery, and silverware were always provided. Flight attendants dressed in fancy outfits, and didn’t know what to do for passengers. They would come over constantly, smile, look right in your face, and ask what else that could do for you, including bringing hot towels, pillows, blankets, etc. They would even hang one’s suit jacket and/or coats up on racks. They always had a smile, and were always very pleasant. In fact, one will still find this kind of service on the Asian Airlines. las, those days are long gone. It has become so bad, (the constant verbal harassment of passengers by not only flight attendants, but also gate agents and ticket agents, that I have not set foot on a commercial airliner in over three years. I’ve driven 10-12 hours to get to my destination. To me, it is not worth the hassle, since the airlines NEVER will truthfully respond to any complaints. One time, I had a problem with Southwest Airlines, where I had to deal with a bigmouth gate agent, who didn’t know the rules about bringing wheel transport chairs onboard, as long as there was room in the back. However, I stood my ground, and filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Transportation. It took that governmental agency over one year to get back to me, but they ruled in my favor. However, the lack of a response from Southwest Airlines, upon their being corrected was deafening!
I’d have given the FA a snickers bar and say “you’re not you when you’re hungry”♂️♂️
If all of this was as described, imagine being in such a foul mood at 7am…what was the FA like by the end of her day?
Maybe she just needed her first cup of coffee? 😉
7AM in Key West is the first flight.
Please vote differently. While this FA was clearly on a power trip and needs to be talked to, this is a disaster that a two year old should wear a mask. The CDC and our president needs to change mask rules, particularly for small children.
Children under 2 do not have to wear a mask . CDC!
That rule was American Airlines
Most Flight Attendants I know avoid certain cities if their seniority allows it. Miami is one of the cities nobody likes to work. Other Flight Attendants pay each other big money if they get assigned Miami to Not have to work First Class. People on these flights can be very mean. Almost always filled with drama.
Witnessed (didn’t hear about – witnessed) an AA (eagle) flight attendant at jetway entry bragging she wasn’t going to let a woman on who came running up to the gate carrying her shoes, having run the very short distance from security. Being mean just to amuse herself and break the monotony.
Someone earlier had posted about AA Eagle folks often being less professional, or “striving” via excess of authority, etc. Not a one size fits all, but has certainly been my experience.
This trend of talking about flight attendants in your articles is dangerous. They already fear for their safety and the majority of them do a great job. You are basically giving people an excuse to treat others poorly.
Also BOTH of your articles attacking flight attendants were about regional partners. They aren’t even mainline American Airline employees.
“You are basically giving people an excuse to treat others poorly.”
You mean like the despicable way this flight attendant treated the mother, her INFANT, and the EP member who called her out? If these flight attendants were not rude and hostile, they would have nothing to “fear.” The only danger here is to their careers, hopefully… Anyone who cannot deescalate and provide good customer service has no business being a flight attendant. It’s telling that you’re more concerned about the “safety” of the flight attendants than the passengers who were mistreated. Even by AA’s low standards this is unacceptable…
Sorry but I’m too cheap to fly several times a year to Puerto Rico and be treated badly by staff to fly AA. I stick with Spirit. And the phrase you get what you pay for… Untrue. 90% of my travels are not eventful at all.
Matthew — regarding your sentence near the end, “Regional or not, she was wearing an American Airlines uniform on an American Airlines flight number.” The other thing to remember, “Regional or not, the credit card charge says American Airlines.” I don’t care if they subcontract services to another company — I only care about who accepted my money.