UPDATE: The Joel Ghansham – American Airlines story is making headlines again this week…for reasons that are not clear…but my assessment remains unchanged from last year. While it is not just appropriate but smart to treat flight attendants kindly, I do not view his request as unreasonable and I do not view his transgression as a valid reason for the flight to return to New York.
My original story, from July 2023, is below.
My friend Ben at One Mile At A Time places most of the blame on the passenger for a recent diversion on American Airlines. I may be totally wrong, but my initial assessment is that one of the flight attendants shares more of the blame.
American Airlines Flight Diverts Due To Petty…Passenger Or Flight Attendant? Joel Ghansham Tells His Side
On Tuesday, July 18, 2023, American Airlines flight AA2557 took off from New York (JFK) bound for Georgetown, Guyana (GEO). But just 45 minutes after takeoff the Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft made a u-turn back for New York.
American Airlines blamed the diversion on a “disruptive customer,” but now that passenger has come forward to share his version of events. His name is Joel Ghansham, a “well-known Indian cultural activist” (I’ve certainly never heard of him) and television personality.
Let’s review what happened. Ghansham boarded the flight. He had just had eye and neck surgery. He asked the flight attendant at the aircraft door to lift his bag, placing it inside the overhead bin. Per Ghansham:
“He said ‘no, I don’t do that’. He said ‘I don’t get paid that kind of money but if you don’t like it there is always another flight.”
It is true that flight attendants are not required to assist passengers with cabin baggage. But there’s a right way and wrong way to express it. If the flight attendant said it like this, then the flight attendant is guilty of needlessly inflaming the situation and thereby being the initial aggressor.
Another flight attendant apologized and agreed to help and Ghansham took his seat in business class.
In the air, Ghansham took offense to the way in which the same flight attendant took his drink order. Rather than approaching him directly, he proceeded to the row behind and then leaned back before rudely demanding, “Do you want something to drink?”
(I am not clear what Ghansham even means here, but it could be that the cart was placed in the middle of the cabin, leading to the flight attendant “leaning back” while serving beverages)
Ghansham did not respond.
The flight attendant then said, “I said, do you want something to drink?!”
Ghansham responded, “No thank you, waiter.”
The flight attendant took offense to the waiter jab and warned, “I have the power to turn the plane.”
To that, Ghansham replied, “You must be God so you do it.”
The flight attendant disappeared in the front galley. Moments later, the captain announced the flight was returning to JFK. Ghansham added:
“There was not a disruption. I never got up. There was not an argument, there was not a confrontation, nobody touched each other. He was wearing a mask. He wasn’t even loud. It was just his pride.”
I’d love to hear from the flight attendant or someone else onboard. I’m willing to concede I could be wrong. But sorry, calling a flight attendant a “waiter” does not rise to the sort of offense that should require a diversion. And a bad attitude absent obscene language, violence, or threats of violence does not strike me as a valid reason to divert a flight. After all, that was costly and inconvenienced everyone else onboard (the flight was canceled).
At JFK, Ghansham was interviewed and let go. He claims there was not even an incident report filed.
I do not dismiss that his account is one-sided, but he does admit to calling the flight attendant a waiter and at least gives us a plausible inference that he was not the only one who was rude.
I agree that Ghansham was rude and could have handled the matter better. Still, I understand that no one enjoys being spoken down to. Furthermore, I cannot understand why this required a diversion. If there is any truth to his account about the words of the flight attendant during boarding, then I pin much more blame on the flight attendant (who apparently was the purser) for unnecessarily escalating a delicate situation (especially when his job is to do the opposite).
Flight attendants should not have to endure verbal abuse onboard, but if a flight attendant has displayed a pattern of rudeness in the way in which he serves a particular passenger, we must realize that passengers are only human too and there are far worse offenses than calling a flight attendant a waiter.
You can listen to Ghansham’s account below:
CONCLUSION
I’m open to a counter-narrative on this situation and do not defend Ghansham: it simply does not pay to engage with rude people or to return rudeness for rudeness. But after hearing the initial account of the incident, I do tend to think the flight attendant is more to blame than the passenger for such a needless diversion and flight cancellation.
image: the passenger, not the flight attendant
Hi Matthew,
Did you mean to write “due to” not “dude” in the bold line?
It’s American Airlines’ culture – 95% of my flights on AA always have plenty of unbelievable rude crew. That’s why I always trying to stay away from them as much as I can.
So if rudeness is cause for diversion I expect every flight to land at the nearest airport the moment someone watches a movie or has a phone conversation in speaker mode without headphones.
Since 9/11/2001: duration of taxi out and inflight which is most of the flight you’re not supposed to be having any phone calls or VOIP calls, so if passenger refuses to end call, it would without a question require return to gate. What was your point?
Do the pilots get some blame here also? Can’t the pilot or head FA just reassign the FA to elsewhere or just tell them to cut the crap?!? This has to be about a million dollar unnecessary cost to the airline. AA has some real bad attitudes I have found.
Agreed.
absolutely the Captain should have verified the situation!
We don’t know what the FA told the pilot. After the abhorrent behavior of some passengers during the mask years, including becoming horrifically physically violent with FAs, pilots default to diverting and removing any potential threat. If the FA said the passenger was being threatening or violent, the pilot really had no choice.
If a FA is helpless to asset with a bag, what good are they if they have to open the door in an emergency? Union rot permeating the company.
LOL!! You should see the FAs wearing high heels boots in the winter. I always ask myself what exactly they can do in case of an emergency while wearing those boots. It is just a total BS.
If a FA injures themselves lifting your bag, guess what…? Your flight cancels. Also worker’s compensation does not cover FA injuries from lifting bags. The inability to lift your 50lb+ bag does not mean they can’t open a power assisted door in an emergency.
Legally, workers compensation covers any injury while performing work duties. F/A’s like to use that as an excuse. I have tweaked my back just from reaching and turning in just the “right way” without it being weight induced. Or even sleeping wrong. They don’t have any trouble lifting their 5 bags they wheeled onto the plane with everything they own. With that being said, I think if you packed it as a passenger, you have to be responsible to manage it. You got it from he trunk of your car, the TSA screening belt and along the way. But I have seen F/A’s refuse to help an elderly passenger put a box of flowers in the overhead. At AA, they are just miserable and hostile. Except for the one that offered to help this customer. I’m surprised they want $92 an hour to be so angry. I think most of them would gladly do that for free – they do it so well.
Sorry you are wrong.. Airline instructs FA’s not to lift bags. FA’s are not paid for boarding or deplaning so they are not on the clock or paid for that time and therefore do not qualify for Workers comp
This is a lie.
FAs *are* paid. A flight blocked at 8 hours comes in at 8×92 dollars (or whatever obscene amount) and that’s your pay for that flight.
That’s what you told us in the other thread. That AKSHUALLY you work more than the 80 hours a month and to divide the hour rate for blocked flight time by 2.
Which is it? Caught you there didn’t we?
Either you’re literally demanding “92 dollars an hour”. Or you’re being “paid for the entire time”. Can’t have it both ways.
(To the rest of you: you can catch these lazy predators aka FAs all the time. They’re really *that* dumb).
In our union contract it specifically states that we are not required to lift bags and if injured, it will not be classified as injury on duty. If you can’t lift your own bag, then you need to check it.
You are 100% correct David thank you for explaining it so simply. It’s not rocket science. If you can’t lift the bag nobody else should be expected to. Flight attendants are not there to lift bags ,end of story.
Lifting bags are NOT a listed duty for a flight attendant so they are not covered if you’re injured. And no, FAs are not paid for boarding at 90% of US airlines. Some of the people on here acting like they know someone else’s job. It’s crazy. Every industry has “bad” workers but it’s not right to lump every employee into that group.
If y’all don’t cut back on your attitude someday you will be a waitress. As much as you people complain about your salary I think maybe waitresses might make more money. You are so angry that you didn’t have time to play on your phone while you sit on your ass and gossip to your coworkers
If someone has a 50+ pound carry on then the airline is negligent in allowing that to be brought into the cabin. There are normally size and weight limits on cabin baggage. They should be enforced.
Most U.S. airlines only have size restrictions, no weight restrictions on carryons. Why? It’s anyone’s guess. Now if you fly a European or Asian airline, your carryon will be subjected to not only a much smaller size restriction than in U.S., BUT ALSO a 7kg. weight restriction in addition!
Ummm there are shoes for inside the terminal and there are shoes for inflight. Obviously, they aren’t wearing their high heels in inflight. Figure out why you’re jealous and bitter towards flight attendants. Seek mental help.
FAs are not paid for boarding. If they are injured lifting your bag, it’s not considered an OJI and they could be out of work with no pay. Are you willing pay them out of your pocket? If you can’t lift it, check it.
You are 100% incorrect.
I am a flight attendant.
If you can’t lift your bag, check it. It’s not the flight attendant’s job. If they get hurt lifting a bag, you’re not going to pay their bills.
RJB in an emergency please listen to the FAs as they tell you to LEAVE YOUR BAG! In an emergency the FA priority is to get you and other LIVES off the plane, not your bags.
If a flight attendant is injured while opening the door workers comp will cover that. They will not cover lifting a passengers luggage. If it’s too heavy for you, it’s too heavy to for me.
Flight attendant I’m not there to lift your bag. It’s easy to get injured when you have 200 bins on a plane. And people are asking you to lift up their bag over their head. It causes injury to the flight attendant. Most go out with rotator cuff injuries needing surgery which puts them out of work for 8 to 12 months. That impacts their pay and livelihood. Also, lifting your bag over their head and potentially injuring them because you cannot check your bag would limit their ability to open a door in an emergency if one should happen after. If you cannot lift your own bag. You can check your bag. Only bring what you can manage. If you were in a wheelchair and are elderly the wheelchair services will come on and lift it for you. Remember, if a crewmember gets injured, your plane does not go on its flight. There are limited amount of flight, attendants, pilots, and crewmembers available at the moment.
My basic rule is always trust a FA over an “activist”. Odds say they are looking for a confrontation and attention. And they usually see themselves as a victim.
Only thing worse is an “influencer”.
That’s not a bad default policy, but we know how bad AA FAs can be sometimes. Furthermore, this queen strikes me as someone who may be sassy but not to the degree that rises to a mandatory diversion. Did you listen to interview?
This queen?
That’s how he referred to himself if you watch the video. Was not meant in a derogatory way.
Did you really think this was not a flaming rump ranger “steward?” The gayboy FAs are always causing drama.
You write articles like this knowing dang well the FAs are prohibited from speaking up and defending themselves due to airline social media policies.
The problem with US carrier FAs is the Union. They can’t be fired for poor attitude or bad behavior, not even for doing a bad job. The young and newer FAs are happy to have their job. Many older FAs view it as a paycheck for working ~80 hours, if that, as it includes credit for pre/post flight and sleeping away from home. They also know they can’t get fired for poor attitudes. I have witnessed rude FAs to others & experienced it myself (I used to fly ~300,000 miles/year in 1st or business). They have a bad day & take it out on others. You don’t find this with foreign carriers, particularly Asian or Middle Eastern airlines. These airlines don’t tolerate this and FAs are not protected by unions.
Don’t disagree but how would the FA know the guys was an activist or influencer? This all came after the event. At that point it was just a moronic passenger vs a stupid entitled FA. BTW, if the FA was working on a flight to Guiana, I can guarantee you she was not at the top of the pile in terms of quality.
I wrote on Ben’s post. The FA was an idiot and should be fired. You have way nicer ways to say you can help. Just on my Delta flight last Sunday from Europe. Lady asked the FA to help her out her bag on the overhead bin. FA said “I am not allowed to do that all by myself but I can help you lift and we can do it together.” Beautifully done!! See the difference? It is time to clean the swamp. There are amazing FAs and gate agents out there but there are disgusting ones as well. Same for passengers. Fire the disgusting ones. Ban the moronic passengers. Soon enough we will have nice customer service and nice passengers.
Agreed.
My motto is “you pack it, you lift it” but the pax just had surgery and was unable to lift his bags. How about a little grace?
Here is my thought on that… recent eye and neck surgery.. if it was truly that recent… he should not be in a pressurized aircraft at 34000 feet.. wonder if he bothered to tell his surgeon, or even ask… sorry, FAs are there to assist passengers to their seats, and to ensure their safety, not to lift their bags, that, if you listen to the instructions, should actually be placed under the seat in front of them.. if it is to heavy for this person to lift, then either place it under the seat, of check it.. if the FAs had to assist half the passengers, even, the flight would be delayed by a long time… this dude is looking for his 15 minutes of fame and should have been removed…AA staff are awesome.. would fly them again.. people need to start taking responsibility for their actions and so behaving like unruly children…jmho
Here here!! I’ve had some wonderful Fas over the years, and some that were indifferent and then the worst- the lazy ones. Idk how airlines police their crew , some used to get a trusted frequent flyer to let them know if something was up. Honestly airlines should know by now that some people just can’t lift a bag over their head. If a flight attendant said that to me I would say you’re not paid to be nice either. Everyone please remember when an FA announcement says we are here primarily for your safety you can bet that it’s going to be a crappy flight with lazy FAs and shame on any pilots putting up their nonsense they need to put their foot down.
The captain may have committed a borderline civil or criminal offense by turning the plane around if the situation described is accurate. A captain has the responsibility to shareholders to operate in good faith and not waste company resources like fuel. A captain has a duty to his employer. Claiming someone a disruptive passenger because he or she called a flight attendant a waiter is not only defamatory but constitutes an abuse of authority over flight safety and possibly is making a false statement to authorities. This is not ok. American Airlines is also a federal contractor and must abide by the 1st amendment free speech protections. Calling someone a waiter is not disruptive and does not affect flight safety. This return to the airport may be an abuse of resources to the detriment of shareholders.
Pilots have tended to act like thugs in recent years by automatically siding with flight attendants just like cops automatically side with their brothers or sisters who abuse the public. If shareholders had proper representation, the crew might be facing charges for their actions if the story described is accurate.
And with contract negotiations going on I wonder if they’re being extra sensitive to show the ‘hazards’ of their job
What you are referring to is called a “ fiduciary duty”. Pilots might have a fiduciary duty to the AA shareholders but their main duty is to operate a flight safely. Depending on how the FA presented the situation to then they might have felt a diversion was the best case scenario.
Regarding the 1st amendment, it means you can’t be arrested for saying something. It doesn’t mean you can say anything and everything be ok. You are subject to the rules of the place you are in, ie an AA plane. Not arguing this interaction but in a general sense. You can’t go into a Walmart and start screaming at people and expect to not be kicked out. You are on private property and have to follow their rules. Now you can’t be arrested for screaming at someone.
And how unsafe was the flight? BS!!! It is just a bunch of entitled snowflake FAs that think they are way too powerful. Fire them all and you won’t see these news anymore.
Fire them all – the planes can fly without them?
No. The plane cannot fly without the flight attendants.
The rules of American Airlines can’t make calling someone a waiter being labeled disruptive because they are a federal contractor and must abide by free speech protections. Even if AA wanted to make rules that say calling someone a waiter is grounds for disembarkation, that alone would violate the requirement as a federal contractor to abide by free speech protections. Protected speech is protected speech. On the face of it, calling someone a waiter is not disruptive.
The Captain is in command of the aircraft and has a duty to verify details for what a passenger did to warrant a diversion. If the report provided is accurate, the flight attendant should have said the passenger called him or her a waiter and the pilot would not divert but call ahead to get an ambulance for the flight attendant for a mental health check. If the pilot didn’t ask, that puts the blame on him. If the flight attendant lied that is a different story and that would put the flight attendant in criminal territory for interfering with the safe operation of a commercial flight by false reporting.
American’s crew are rude.
I feel it is wrong to call them waiter’s as that implies that they actually wait on customers. I pay for First and they are too busy on their personal phones texting and watching movies to come when the call button is pressed or do a pre-departure service. Sure – the transcon AA321T First FAs are awesome but that is few and far between.
I do not know American’s official policy; Southwest’s spokesperson is quoted in the Washington Post below (May 15, 2023 at 1:45 p.m. EDT, “Don’t get angry when flight attendants won’t lift your bag for you”).
At Southwest, flight attendants “may assist customers with luggage,” though “there is no expectation that they do so,” spokesman Chris Perry said in an email. He added the caveat that flight attendants must help passengers with disabilities with their carry-on items.
If Joel was honestly disabled, permanently or temporarily, the FA was wrong to not assist with the bag. The FA was only demonstrating their cabin service or waiting duties. Many passengers travel to seek medical treatment and book First for that very reason. Further, folks with disabilities book First as they do not want to walk far on the plane to use the bathroom and want greater access to the First lavatory. I would argue that there should be special sensitivity for disabilities in First for this very reason (not to mention that paid First brings a bunch more revenue).
Anyway – If Joel has a real medical disability, they could make that known and complain to the DOT and AA.
We all know 2 wrongs dont make a right but this all could have been averted if the FA would have helped him. perhaps because of the surgery the passenger had.It’s not like he was asked anymore of him.I’m elderly & short ( fun size, actually) so in the past have had help but this was SWA, have NEVER been rude or a smart mouth. I realize this is about AA, I’ve flown SWA now for over 20 yrs & NEVER encounterd this The name calling was uncalled for but after the FA’s 1st rude response , the man was probably seething still.The FA should have been properly dealt with, he must have missed a class during training, & the flight should NOT have been turned around because of this, so many people involved .The captain or FO should have contacted headquarters.I bet they wouldnt have advised to return to airport.It seems common sense was not used here although it’s been almost a yr ago, I know I’d like to know what kind of action was taken.Now days flying has gotten out of control.If you didnt post anything on any action taken it would be greatly appreciated. By the way, I have seen where FA’s have referred to themselves as glorified waitresses in the sky!!.
Based off of prior internet behavior from this “influencer” and I mean come on you can see their attitude in their pictures I think you’re putting the blame on the flight attendant unjustly. I highly doubt what they said the flight attendant said is fully accurate. Also people just need to learn at this point that if you can’t lift your own bag then it needs to be gate checked. It’s free. The flight attendants are not covered under workers comp if they get injured even if they’re “sharing the responsibility” of lifting the bag. Their workers comp company denies almost everything. Have a heart. Also the whole crew had to use crew resource management to decide to make the diversion, not just one flight attendant. Stop speculating about the flight attendant. Passengers are not always (and almost never) right in these kind of complaint cases
I don’t think FAs should have to lift bags. I do think FAs must be nice. Wherever the blame lies, I don’t think the FA was kind here. And in that role, a FA should de-escalate conflict, not escalate it.
@Andy: FA was an idiot. So much easier and nicer to respond: “Unfortunately we are not allowed to lift bags into overhead bins. I am sure a nice passenger around will be happy to help.” Done. Nicely done. Not say “I am not paid for this.” What a jerk!!! I personally helped other passengers many times to get their bags in and out of the overhead bin. And I am not paid to do that. It is all about how you treat people. You can find ways to say know and still get a smile back to you.
I agree with you Santastico and if the FA truly did say that, I do put the vast majority of the blame on him for everything that followed.
“Based off of prior internet behavior from this “influencer””
Oooh, what has he done?
The mistake was not the wording…it was the omission of punctuation…
“AMERICAN FLIGHT DIVERTS, DUE TO RUDE, PETTY FLIGHT ATTENDANT”
I don’t think so.
Thank you DS….finally an intelligent comment !!! I was a flight attendant for more than 28 years and if we had 4 or 5 flights a day and had to lift 50 or more bags for these people that have to carry on bags of books and other heavy items, many of us would now have lasted 28 months….many pages are rude and inconsiderate….I was the flight service manager on most of my flights many to Asia….
Mabey doing away with all carry on bags other than a purse or umbrella…is the answer….since people think that FA’s well being is not important
I agree. No more carry-on baggage. That would solve it.
I’ve had too many bad experiences with AA flight attendants to take their side when conflicting information is given.
I’ve worked with plenty of rude unpleasant people. However distasteful, does not make them a threat. Sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and slap on a smile to continue with business. And often they settle down.
I believe this post shines light onto the distinction of what is a threat versus poor behavior, and where the line is drawn.
I felt the same as many here and was surprised at those defending the airline. This seems like a schoolyard argument between two people who really rubbed each other the wrong way. Either could have deescalated which seems to be a skill lacking in contemporary customer service training. This must have cost tens of thousands of dollars as well as time, energy and other liabilities and arguing in favor of the customer’s version is the fact that reportedly no charges were filed, certainly an unusual situation in such an event if there was evidence of a safety threat to the airplane. There are a long list of inappropriate characterizations but I don’t think of waiter as one of them or even personal.
I can’t believe these American Airlines attendants.
If we ever have to bail them out again, one stipulation would have to be the lazy, fat, spoiled FAs get fired and we confiscate their pension.
I would love to see American Airlines (and United) FAs homeless and downtrodden. The pain and anguish they have inflicted upon us over the years is immeasurable.
They are the sole reason flying in the US is such a mess. The flight attendants. Remember that. They hate you.
Hate them back.
we are only up there because of PAX like you that are too stupid to open lav door. Keep hating and ill keep enjoying my 92$/h pay ;).
You’re only digging your hole deeper, you ignorant cow.
Awww did someone cut off your alcoholic ass on a flight? Go get a life and don’t ring your call light if you’re in need of medical assistance
What’s a pension? You obviously know nothing about us .
Also, we need a name. Matthew has my email. I’ll be happy to forward 200 USD to anyone giving me the name of this flight attendant.
I’m sure there’s a lot of interesting stuff we could find out about him / it, and I guarantee you it would be plenty enough to get him / it fired.
As he / it should be.
Calm down Rambo, it isn’t that serious.
A whole $200? Wow! And all I have to do is help you persecute someone you don’t know over something that doesn’t even involve you?
It’s not often that I see someone openly advocating that others should hate an entire group people for their inclusion in that group without considering each person as an individual, or that I see someone trying to gather a virtual Lynch mob together with a pathetic 200 dollar bounty, but here we are…
Saying the flight attendant is a waiter is positive. Many waiters are working towards acting, college, law school, etc. How many 45 year old waiters do you see? Almost none as they have moved up in life. How many 45 year old flight attendants? Many. And people are not fighting to be flight attendants unlike those applying to medical school or dental school.
What a terribly stupid thing to say. Being Flight attendant is a career on its own and many who become flight attendants have college degrees and/or are professionals coming from other fields. They don’t get paid to serve you cookies and coke but to save your *ss in specific dangerous situations onboard an airplane. Comparing it to waiting tables (no offense to waiters) is blatant ignorance.
We know you’re there to yell GET OUT if you survive the crash, most people are smart enough to do that on your own. I think they should run experimental flights with only 1 armed attendant some unarmed and some with no attendant. Have the food and snacks already on the seats, when the flight reaches cruise altitude the bins of extra snacks and soft drinks automatically unlock and all alcohol will be available via some sort of vending machine. Problem solved
Wow you idiots have such a weird resentment towards flight attendants. Sorry we don’t look twice your way, Your comment scream bald, ugly, and insecure. Sorry about your small package
Granted we dont know the FA’s side of events. However, how in the world can it be justified to turn a plane around over an FA and a prima donna getting into a snit with each other over a carry-on (handled apparently) and a cocktail (the trigger)? How many people were inconvenienced by this ridiculous situation: everyone aboard, ground staff, air traffic control, law enforcement.
If it went down as alleged, then the FA was in the wrong as to how he handled the situation. Yes, many first-class passengers can be entitled cretins; nevertheless, those cretins have paid a hefty price and basically generate a significant amount of the carriers’ profits.
There are way too many FAs with a god complex. They’ve been given way too much deference and power and they need to be marked down several notches and reminded they are there to serve and assist passengers.
If airlines could get rid of FA they would, but they legally have to be there cuz ppl are too dumb to open the lav door by themselves
If you’re calling people dumb, maybe refrain from using ghetto grammar.
Your name is Loretta and you’re talking about ghetto….
Weird how yet another incident with a social media influencer. They wouldn’t be purposefully behaving this way for attention, now would they?
He was a total jerk. Diversion maybe was unnecessary.
I strongly agree with naming this flight attendant. Does anyone know?
Also, wasn’t it just three days ago we had scores of illiterate broads tell us how much they cared about their jobs?
AA flight attendants, you deserve *everything* that’s coming to you.
Will just point out that if the passenger had surgery and knew that lifting their bag over their head would be problematic, they should have checked the bag rather than rely on someone to lift if for them.
I have flown American Airlines many times throughout Us and overseas. I have NEVER had a rude flight attendant. Makes me wonder about all these people who complain.
Given a vast majority of us here, who are flying butts in seats every week, trust us, many are entitled and rude. I will say though it’s not just AA, just happens to be the topic here, it’s every U.S. airline.
As such, we are wondering about you.
Sorry, but as soon as I saw the word “activist” I already decided where I would lay the blame.
American Airlines seems to have the rudest and most inhospitable crew and gate agents. I’ve heard countless stories of rude behavior and had my own run-in with them on two occasions. I don’t believe they are taught or encouraged to handle difficult situations with professionalism. I have sworn off AA for good. It would have to be an emergency before I willingly gave them any business..
Sounds like two over the hill queens couldn’t handle the sass from each other.
And they WANT $92 an hour? They don’t deserve $9.20 an hour! Have a little empathy you sky twink, it’s why you’re there….not to prance around the cabin. Yeah I’m gay too, but I friggin hate those twinks who think they’re better than everyone. I used to have to work with a few and hated it.
So, you’re in favor of an airline no-fly list for rude passengers to avoid situations like this, right? Otherwise you’re saying that incredibly rude passengers should just be accommodated with no recourse. If there was a no-fly list by the airlines then rude passengers would find themselves taking a lot of road trips and cruises and normal people would experience fewer disruptions.
The FA should be fired and barred from working in aviation again. Problem solved.
How does firing the victim solve the problem of an insufferably rude and problematic passenger? That just encourages bad behavior.
It literally says in the AA job requirements for FAs that they “must be able to put a heavy suitcase in the overhead bin.” Southwest’s job description says they must be able to lift 50lbs. The excuse that since they’re not technically being paid while boarding therefore they wouldn’t be covered by disability is pure bullsh*t. They are on the job performing official job duties. They are there to assist. Maybe it takes two FAs to lift a bag, so be it. But, to tell a customer rudely “I’m not paid for this,” is a lie. The money they make once the brakes are released is negotiated to cover the time spent boarding. They’re not worth $92 an hour otherwise. They are on the clock as that is considered their duty time. Many of them are just so incredibly lazy and rude to customers, and think nothing of lying right to our faces. They think nothing of lying right to the Captain’s face too. Give them an inch of power and they take a mile.
I I flew American recently. While our flight attendants did their jobs, they were not pleasant nor did they seem to want to be there. I tend to believe the passenger.
The entitlement in this chain is beyond embarrassing. Every single airline outside of the US states that your carry on must be 30 lbs or less if it’s over then you have to check it. The writer himself seems like he’s one of those “L.A.’ passengers that just make life miserable.
FA may not have been wrong in declining to lift the bag but was definitely wrong for being rude and diverting the flight as retaliation. I avoid AA when I can. Unfortunately, out of St Louis their route network is large.
I’d like to have more fact checking before commenting. These stories have a history of getting distorted to fit a narrative. We all have seen horror stories of terrible pax and horror stories of control freak FA’s. So who knows? Let the facts be made clear
Well it seeems like Matt has already decided that the FA should be fired. But there’s two sides of this story. A pilot is not going to just decide to turn around based on what the FA says.
There is two sides to the story and it seems like most on here have made judgement.
A pilot certainly will do just that. I’ve seen it happen.
Absolutely NOT no pilot would just divert without a valid reason. Operations would also have to be involved…
That flight attendant should have the cost of the flight diversion deducted from his payroll check, so he can learn and not do this again. How dare he! And the other FA’s and captain allowed this? A flight turned back because a pax called a FA a waiter?!?!
No airline would divert without justifiable cause. Id LOVE to hear from other passengers on board and the flight crew.
I don’t believe this “television personality” at all.
Totally agree except that I’ll also lay blame upon the Captain, who is ultimately in charge of the ship and who turned it around for a very silly reason and caused unnecessary harm to his passengers.
I’m an Airline captain. Diversion due to customer issues is a big deal and normally not done only because they’re being an A-hole. I am very aware, however, this type of FAs do exist. If the passenger was not arrested and charged, then I suspect that the FA was being over dramatic and maybe inflated the story to the Captain. For me to turn the airplane around, someone has to be bleeding or unconscious due to violence, or there was a real threat of violence against my crew members or other customers.
He’s lying. There is no “Business Class” on a 737 Max. Only First class. There is no “2E” on a 737 Max. The “E” seats are in coach. And you’re talking out of both sides of your mouth. Until you’ve directly heard the flight attendant’s story, save your opining on something you really know nothing about. Your shameless “blogging” begets flogging.
American Airlines calls its top class of service on shorter haul international flights “business class”. “First Class” is only used for domestic US flights. This flight, from JFK to GEO (Guyana) would have called its front cabin “Business” not “First”. Source: American Airlines website: https://www.aa.com/i18n/travel-info/experience/travel-experience.jsp
One thing could have eliminated this problem. The flight attendant could have asked another able bodied passenger: ‘Could you please assist this man in lifting his bag? I would really appreciate your help.’
I think, in this situation, the flight attendant was wrong, bc we’re supposed to help(not lift)with the bags of folks who are elderly, disable or with small kids or in this case passenger who had medical procedures. I have no problem helping them as it’s one of my job descriptions to help passengers. I’m very mindful about how I interact and tone of my voice when I speak to people and I’m always very polite even if they’re not. I just smile and walk away and let my co-worker take over. It’s so easy to be nice to people rather than spending extra energy to be mean. I certainly don’t want to end up on Tik Tok, YouTube or national news as the bad person!!
You mention that for some reason this is surfacing again, but dont mention why it is surfacing or what the issue is. Can you please clarify in the opening sentence/paragraph? Otherwise I dont quite understand why this is happening.
It was published (as a brand new story) in a local paper in Guayana and has been picked up by the mainstream media across the Western world. Since it is making headlines today, I just wanted to clarify that there are no new insights that have emerged.
This reprint has me thinking of some of the regulars that don’t post here anymore. You know who I blame.
The only “regular” who has vanished is John Dogas…replaced by David Arnett. Same person, I suspect.
Federal regulations require passenger compliance with crewmember instructions. Period. The passenger is not, and never will be, on equal footing with the crewmember onboard. Sit down, shut up, keep your head down, never touch a crewmember, and get to your destination.
Or . . . This.
But that has nothing to do with whether a flight should divert for calling an FA a waiter. Cool? Of course not. But is it a diversion worthy offense? No way.
WTF are you smoking?
There was no contact or anything. And keep your head down?
Think we found Sara Nelson’s burner account
We are all in JAIL when we board this metal cylinder called an airplane. Just sit down and shut up.
Some of you guys are MAD! This has nothing to do with free speech. So embarrassing that many Americans don’t understand the 1st amendment.
People wanting find out the FA’s personal information to attack, harass & ruin their lives are sickos & need help.
Why are some just taking this “media personality’s” word for went down? Very possible he’s lying.
Flight Attendants’ behavior can be just as bad as anyone else. They are humanly fallible, imperfect too.
The spineless flight attendant was 100% at fault and the pilot was beyond insane for turning around an entire plane over some petty, made-up BS. Who knows what overblown fabrication that pathetic excuse for an attendant told the captain. I’m betting it wasn’t the truth. The rudeness started with him and when the egomaniacal hypocrite got a taste of his own nasty medicine he couldn’t take it. However, being called a waiter should not have been seen as an insult, especially since being a waitperson is far more difficult and hectic than being a flight attendant, anyday.