Cue the false equivalency charges, but today we are going to look at a tale of two masks on American Airlines. Enough is enough with the masking of tiny children, especially when they are trying to sleep…especially when the CEO of American Airlines is pictured smiling with friends outside a restaurant without a mask on.
A Tale Of Tw0 (Missing) Masks On American Airlines
We went through the debate last week when Southwest Airlines booted off a two-year-old for not being able to keep his mask on. This week, we encounter a similar incident on American Airlines.
A mother and her son were trying to beat Hurricane Sally out of Florida and had lost power at their residence. They flew to Charlotte without issue, but encountered a problem on American Airlines flight 5595 from Charlotte to Manchester, New Hampshire.
Rachel Davis and her son Lyon were approached by a flight attendant, who demanded the two-year-old wear a mask. Like most two-year-olds, he could not. Long story short, they were kicked off the flight.
“What do you want me to do, duct tape his face?”
Ah, the cries of an angry and defensive mother. The whole plane was emptied out, leaving Davis and her son onboard. They too walked off, but Davis lost it in the gate area. Have a listen:
She claimed on Instagram that she took her mask off because she was hyperventilating.
Meanwhile In Dallas…
In June, I covered the story of American CEO Doug Parker’s happenstance conversation on race with flight attendant JacqueRae Hill onboard a Southwest Airlines flight. Well, Hill and Parker have become buddies and recently Parker and his wife went out to dinner with Hill and her fiancé. Their conversation on race continued and Parker wrote about the dinner on LinkedIn. (H/T: View from the Wing)
For the record, I don’t believe this was a publicity stunt. Sure, all sides recognize what good press this generates. But I’ll take Parker at his word when he claims the initial conversation was purely coincidental and Hill had no idea he was CEO of AA. I’ll take Parker at his word that this dinner was about seeking to grow and understand and better empathize, not capitalize on the Zeitgeist.
> Read More: American CEO Doug Parker Has Earned My Respect
Anyway, the four of them took a picture together on the way out:
Uh oh, no masks!
So much for setting the example.
But Seriously American, About This Tale Of Two Masks…
In all seriousness, I see no problem with Parker and his companions taking off their masks for a picture. Did they put anyone in danger? Well, depends upon how you define danger, but someone had to take their picture, right? And it looks like they were in a parking lot. Were there valets around?
And I guess I apply the same standard to the situation onboard with Rachel and Lyon Davis. I won’t rehash the arguments over why I believe it is silly (from a health and statistical perspective) to force two-year-olds to wear a mask…please click here for that now-tired debate.
Instead, I’ll just shake my head that people cheer on American Airlines for kicking a two-year-old off an airplane who was literally fleeing a storm and just trying to get home.
CONCLUSION
I’d like to think I am a reasonable guy. I’d like to think I do my part and my family tries to do its part to show love to others by taking reasonable precautions to flatten the curve. But for goodness sakes, rules are points at which deviation is measured from, not oppressive roadblocks to common sense. Life works when we follow the rules. Life works better when we don’t let rules overrule common sense. Sometimes, exceptions are appropriate and it doesn’t cause the world to fall apart. Want a quick picture to remember a great dinner? Sure, take your mask off. Want to let a two-year-old sleep on an airplane without a mask on so he can get home to his own bed at night? Sure, leave your mask off.
Peace out.
Most two year olds are taught that two wrongs don’t make a right.
What if these were simply two rights?
It’s not.
On the other hand … I was on a long, multisegment flight on 9/11. On three out of four segments, I personally saw at least one (and sometimes three) adults go maskless … within 3 rows of me. I’m positive that the FAs knew it because I and others pointed them out.
AA and I had a longish email exchange over this, with AA leaving plenty of doubt that they were serious about masks.
If this is an indication that they really are tightening up, I’m relieved. Anyone else have experience with this??
So sorry for mom and her terrible day. 🙁
Taking off a mask for a photo op with people you just dined with, is much different than riding on a flight with a hundred other passengers, as the second wave of the pandemic is already closing many European countries.
How does Parker keep his job? Time for the Board of Directors to wake up and fire Parker!
It’s also FA’s. That feel rules dont apply.
http://flic.kr/p/2jHCFvA
http://flic.kr/p/2jHCFvq
I was looking for an opportunity where I could do as Matthew did (TY napkin). But last flight I got the FAs that truly JDGAF about PAX.
On a red-eye from ANC last week the FAs felt it was safe enough to de-mask – after the cabin lights were off.
It was mid-flight almost 4AM most PAX probably trying to sleep but FAs they were constantly checking for PAX and quicky pulling mask up and down off chin.
NO, they were not eating, just chatting away which was extremely annoying esp on a red-eye, if your trying to sleep and the FAs are louder than the cabin and engine noise and the chatter is keeping you awake.
Witnessing and hearing about more and more examples of FAs that JDGAF. Either they’ve been RIF’d or have seniorty.
I accept pilots on flight deck needing to clearly communicate with ATC so the aren’t allowed to wear masks. But FA’s?
Stay tuned for my next post…
Was this on Alaska Airlines?
Yes.
If only the gesticulating this gif shows wasn’t accompanied by the boisterous yapping and laughing. I doubt I would have noticed or cared.
http://makeagif.com/i/eY7y4l
You may have to slide mp4 to gif to play
Perm for me, not for thee.
A mask on an airplane and a mask out in front of a restaurant are hardly comparable. What a waste of an article
Let’s see…both required. Oops.
Sadly, we all know that she was likely targeted because of her son’s race. Clearly a 2-year old can’t maintain a face mask, so they used this as a pretext to kick Lyon off the flight because he is black. It’s time for American Airlines to implement diversity training for its employees. #Justice4Lyon #SupportEquality #Non-WhiteLivesMatter
Sadly, we all know you will either make every issue about either race or orange man bad.
You two should stop flirting and just get married already, sheesh
I feel bad for gate agents and FAs for having to enforce this policy. It is a rule though and change should come from upper management.
If I had a 2 year old I’d try to practice wearing different kinds of masks to see which one he/she liked and could wear… but more realistically I’d just do the long drive in a car or perhaps take Amtrak to avoid situations like this.
Agreed, but it doesn’t help that the policy is so loosely enforced.
Yeah ok. The Nazi regime had rules too- better not question our overlords.
Was she returning home to NH? That would make sense if this was her fourth AA flight in a week. So, perhaps she was “trying to beat Hurricane Sally out of Florida”, but she wasn’t evacuating her home. I’m reading between the lines so if there is an alternative explanation, I would welcome being corrected.
If your kid is 2-4 years old and you don’t think he/she can wear a mask on a plane, don’t get on a plane. Find an alternative.
If you really can’t find an alternative, consider Delta and utilizing the process they have set up.
Why does Doug Parker need to wear a mask while taking a picture outside of the restaurant with the people he just had dinner? I certainly don’t wear a mask outside (unless it’s very crowded).
Exactly. Apple, meet orange.
To be fair here, I don’t think Doug was frolicking with her; Mrs. Doug and the lady’s fiancé might not be good with that.
My definition of frolic must be broader than yours 😉
AA’s policy states that children 2 years old and older must wear a mask. The issue I see here is that it wasn’t enforced on prior flights, that is a legitimiate gripe. Beyond that, these are the rules and if you don’t like them, don’t fly. The amount of people that actually NEED to fly on any given day could all fit on one CRJ-200.
As far as Dougie Parker goes, not the best optics but was he breaking any rules or laws? Is there a mask ordinance where they are? I don’t have much use for the guy but this is really grasping at straws here.
If you can’t keep a mask on your child, then don’t fly. It is similar to the pre-milennial rule that considerate parents had: if you can’t keep your child from crying and misbehaving, don’t fly. Oh no, but you’re special, so you just go do what you want and screw everyone else.
Umm, doug Parker is not on an airplane! Umfollow!
They are both in a place that requires a mask to be worn.
*mic drop*
It’s no secret you need a mask to fly, if you can’t do it don’t fly.
Most municipalities and airlines don’t require them for children, especially two and under. It’s a logistical nightmare.
Kyle, the relevance of your comment is unclear. This whole article is about a 2-yr old who is unambiguously included in AA’s mask requirement.
What is the logistical nightmare? Parents not able to mask up their kids?
No mask, no go.
Lady also sounds annoying.
Totally agree. The sad thing is that Matt and Kyle are giving anti-maskers a sympathetic platform.
they don’t care. they’re the ones who said this whole covid-thing was overrated in the first place when it first struck. no doubt upset their blog platform would not be able to get any interesting comment. so now they have to make a big deal about a private citizen enjoying dinner with friends/family. im only upset with myself for falling for the clickbait.
why is this so hard for people to get. if you are 2 and older you need a mask. Don’t like it, don’t fly with airlines that have it. She can rent a car and drive from charlotte. Whatever. its the rules, live with it. Don’t like the rules, take your business elsewhere, but this demand that rules not be applied in certain situations for whatever reason, i find infuriating.
Matthew: i’m missing your point. On board an airline you have to wear a mask, its the rules.
Most municipalities (now sure where the dinner was) do not require you to wear a mask outdoors and especially not in small groups (weather you should or should not for safety reasons is another story).
You may argue that you should wear a mask outdoors around people, but most places don’t have rules requiring mask wearing outdoors in small groups.
Try to spend more time with kid and learn him thing or two.Its little bit funny how many crazy “news” person can see about USA.
Rules are rules, gimme a break. Flying is not a right. What’s the point of having these rules meant to protect people when someone random can just make an exception. Where do you draw the line when u say oh a 2 year old can’t wear a mask. What about a 3 year old? 4 year old? 7 year old? American Airlines kicked off my 15 year old son because he wouldn’t wear a mask trying to flee a hurricane!
Totally agree.
Matthew: I’m missing your point. On board an airline you have to wear a mask, it’s the rule. If you want to write an article on airlines overreaching their authority, write that article. But I recall a well-written article that says this rule is legal. You can find that here: https://liveandletsfly.com/mask-medical-exceptions-legal/
Glad that you caught on from your post about the dinner and posted this story. It needed to be done. Regarding the mother and child matter, the rules are their rules so you have to abide. I’m sorry that it went down that way for them but… Regarding the dinner, I think that it is irresponsible for a Flight Attendant and the CEO of a major airline not wearing masks. They both work in an industry that involves working close contact with others as employees and have a High Risk Exposure to the SARS coronavirus and the COVID-19 Disease. Regardless of the local laws where they had dinner, they should have been thinking about the bigger picture regarding their risk of exposure to themselves and others. Thank you for writing this story.
Cue, not queue.
You are part of the problem. Its not always about race. In fact the majority of the time like 99% of the time its not. Stop playing the race card. Its disgusting. Its the people like you that constantly play the race card that are the most racist.
I say beat the child’s a** till he passes out from the beating then simply slip on the mask. Problem solved…
Was the CEO on a as flight? No. Was the two year old on an AA flight? Yes. So kindly STFU.
First, she claims she was unaware her son needed to wear a mask. No way. It’s disclosed at ticket purchase. It’s disclosed at check in. It’s announced prior to and during boarding. While it’s regrettable that it’s had not been consistently enforced, she doesn’t get to claim ignorance with any credibility. Secondly, it’s likely she was removed from the plane – along with the rest of the passengers – for causing a scene. If she was hyperventilating into her own mask from sobbing so hard…. I have ZERO sympathy for her. ZERO. Her 15 minutes of fame need to be over. And she needs to refrain from flying until the kid can wear a mask or until it is no longer a requirement. She may also need therapy to learn how to manager her emotions and life as a single parent. But that’s another article altogether…
Another case of some flight attendants not using discretion and making life more difficult than it needs to be. The attendants on earlier flights wisely turned a blind eye. There are many great flight attendants and this has put them in a tough position. Most 2 year olds can’t tolerate a mask especially one that is not fitted for their small faces. I’ve always been amazed how tyrannical so many attendants are in coach about rules like one carry on and personal item, not removing shoes before takeoff, and not watching your iPad until the plane reaches altitude (this rule has thankfully gone away). Strange how in my experience 90% these rules are not enforced in the premium cabins. Also if they are there primarily for safety, why do we entrust so many medically obese middle aged people to evacuate a plane? This is not meant to be snarky. I think it’s actually a valid question.
Common sense and a heartless flight attendant, i work for American as a flight attendant, and all I can say is I’m sorry to the mother and son, as this is unacceptable in my eyes, I would have let the boy sleep. Hope the flight attendant can get some common sense, rules are a guide, not the law.