kop84

Instead of all the checks, I think that we need new regulations that further penalize the individuals who cause these disturbances.

Not financially as even if people who do this aren't broke, there's virtually no one who is going to be able to have the financial ability to compensate the airline and the other passengers.

I don't know if it's community service or public shaming or added to the lifetime no fly list or some combination but we need to be able to do something, it seems to be getting out of hand.

Dalewood

So 100 people, acting as adults should, have to deplane because of Sweet Georgia Jackass?? There has got to be a better way.

TTT

In the wake of the UA incident, I wonder if people are acting out in hopes of becoming internet famous and/or provoking a situation in which they are injured/embarrassed and searching for a settlement.

HomerJay

You deplane everyone because of the very obvious threat of violence. If she refuses to leave, you have to remove her. If he starts resisting, thrashing, and kicking in those close quarters, someone is likely to get hurt.

Also, it gives actual police a little freedom to use appropriate force in resisting an assault on a police officer in those close quarters without elbowing an innocent bystander.

You arrest the Georgia Peach, and put her and her vile mouth on the no-fly list.

Widgets

The passenger might never be allowed on a Delta plane again.
Edit: I speculate this based on Ed Bastian's statement about a previous incident--I can't even remember the circumstances--but he said something like "that kind of behavior is unacceptable and he will never fly Delta again."

Cruss74

It also allows them to use appropriate force without the fear of being caught on camera and posted all over social media.

StayingHomeIsBetter

She sounds too much like Wanda Sykes.

She lost any chance of sympathy from me in about two seconds after she opened her mouth.

FirstInFlight

This
People who lack emotional control and/or are invested in power struggles should become familiar with Greyhound. This is an area in which the airlines should cooperate.

wrp96

Friends that are gate agents have told me that there has definitely been an increase in certain attitudes and actions since the UA incident. One reported that she had a passenger constantly repeating at the top of his lungs "I'm a doctor! I have to see patients tomorrow!" as she helped rebook him after he missed a connection. Another had a nursing mother get mad because her stroller was too big to be gate checked so decided to strip her top completely off before nursing her one year old and then her three year old while she circled in front of the podium, glaring at the agents (and anyone else that looked her direction) almost in a dare for them to say anything, so the story could become "Airline hates nursing mothers!!!"

Widgets

Delta should use this video in an ad that promotes its new, clean cabin interiors with updated overhead panels.
--
Southwest should've been more careful. That couple had LAWYERS who called the gate agent.

kop84

You know it's funny, you can tell someone the next flight(s) are full and the next open seat is X hours or the next day or whatever. They basically then demand to get on the next flight...which would necessitate bumping someone else off the flight. Apparently they don't think about that.

Although it would be quite humorous to say I can get you on the next flight we just need to bump 3 others to get you space. Then call those three people up to the podium to have the people who just absolute have to fly ASAP more than others to explain why they should get their seats.

Now that would be some entertaining video to see.

GRALISTAIR

+1

bennos

That's not what was being suggested. Rather, it is a potential way to handle the situation where an uncooperative passenger refuses to deplane as ordered. There would be no VDBs or IDBs because everyone else would get where they're going, and the uncooperative passenger is already stuck in whatever situation they got themselves into.

There is already disincentive for the airlines (to only use this as a last resort) in that it would affect their completion numbers.

MSPeconomist

It would cost more, including total GA time, but I can see a rationale for an IDBed passenger to be entitled to a seat on the next flight, even if it means that another passenger gets an IDB too. Two people experiencing minor inconvenience can be better than one with major inconvenience in cases where they haven't volunteered.

For VDBs, compensation in DL$ or whatever, usually depends on the length of the delay, but it wouldn't be unreasonable for GAs to be able to negotiate a tradeoff with smaller compensation for smaller delays and give the passenger a choice. This could help the GA to get volunteers or to get the volunteer who values the earlier rebooking onto it while giving a bit more to the person willing to take the much later flight. Unfortunately, this would all need to be done before the GA can know what the VDB/IDB on the next flight will cost, so the scheme is unlikely to fly.

MSPeconomist

The cancel the flight and then reinstate it strategy has been suggested not just to deal with violent etc. passengers who really do need to be removed (in which case, why cancel and reinstate versus just having passengers leave the aircraft?) but also as a solution for what to do when the GA needs seats after everyone has boarded (so that technically IDBs cannot be done at least according to the UA CoC and possibly also according to the DOT definition of IDBs) and even as a way to avoid paying IDB compensation in these cases (although it the DOT technicality says it's not an IDB if the passenger has already boarded, then technically IDB compensation isn't required either).