jphripjah

Did you have any interaction with the flight staff at all before you walked off the plane back to the gate to get a tag? I'm confused why you would bother going back to get the tag, why not just give your bag to the flight attendant to gate check? I don't think the gate check tags are necessary.

The fact that you were the only non-white person on the plane doesn't seem to have anything to with this, it's that you were the only person on the plane to leave and then come back.

ACtraveler1357

Oh. Now I understand the people who are telling me to let it go -- it wasn't a lighthearted anecdote that I found to be funny, and decided to share. The threats were very real at the time. It seems that the nuance was lost in my efforts to be concise!

I was honestly scared for the possibility of being stranded in the airport with nothing on me (no wallet, passport, or laptop -- I only had my cell phone that was low on battery). There was a lot of crying, begging, yelling and general upset feelings, with a LOT of apathy from the flight crew.

The flight attendant gave me dirty looks and smirks throughout the duration of the flight, which made me even more upset (and I was crying for most of the flight).

At the end, when I politely raised my concern, I was standing in the small space at the front of the aircraft, the FA and the pilot had me cornered there while they were yelling at me. The threats felt very real, and the pilot actually tried to take me off the plane by saying "follow me, NOW", and just walking off. He was waiting for me at the gate, and watched me until I was out of his eyesight. This was actually the most terrifying moment for me -- I felt like if the pilot had the day off after that flight, he would come after me and shoot me. I have never felt more threatened by another person in my life (and I live in a big city in the US!)


For those who asked whether the FA saw me carry the bag out of the plane: yes, the FA in question did see me carry out the luggage out of the plane. He even asked me if it didn't fit, but made no moves to help me. The gate workers were busy with other luggages, so I thought I was helping them by getting a tag at the gate and not bothering them. I actually didn't know that it was the FA's job. It's good to know, and I will make sure to include that in the complaint form.

I don't know if I was the only person who left the plane and came back. But what I do wonder about is this: had a big bulky white man been the one in my place, would the FA stopped him too? It's hard to know, and I agree that the racial discrimination can't be a factor in these discussions, because there is no way for me to prove that it was racism that prompted the whole situation. It's just something to think about, in my opinion.

FlyingUnderTheRadar

My suggestion is to write a hard letter to the airline. Be factual and concise regarding the matter. Note your concerns and the manner in which the situation was handled. Send a copy to the DOT/DHS as a complaint.

TheGolfWidow

Wait...they wanted you off the aircraft but your belongings were to remain on the flight without you?

FredAnderssen

Of course you shouldn't let it go. Why should you let the bullies win just so that they can do this to someone else? Never reward bad behavior.

sbrower

It is perfectly legal to ignore a crewmember's instructions (I think the exceptions are smoking and something else). The legal restriction is where you do it by intimidating them or something worse.

Often1

This is the one piece of really bad advice in this thread. It is indeed a violation of U.S. law to disobey (ignroe) a crew member instruction. The place to "litigate" the instruction if it was wrong is after the fact.

Here, what OP should have done is not confronted the crew member at the end of the flight. It serves no purpose and could, depending on exactly how it went down, be construed as interfering with a flight crew (the international terrorism thing is all made up).

If OP was upset, he should have deplaned and then complained. Confronting the crew is never a good idea and it is rarely productive.

SirFlysALot

Flight crews on a power trip? Tell me it isn't so.

The reason everyone is telling you to forget it is that you can't fight city hall. If you do fight it somehow it will only raise your blood pressure and you would likely lose anyway. Just write the letter and complain that way.

As for the racism, it is very likely. It is a lot more subtle these days but it is still around. A lady I work with is black and very well dressed. When the team goes to lunch we use credit cards. Only when she gets to the counter do they ask for an ID. And then they ask everyone in line after so that it is not so obvious.

Just write the letter and put this episode behind you.

ACtraveler1357

Is there a difference between a complaint via email, and a hard letter?

Yes. Most of my belongings that were to go under the seat were already at my seat. I thought I was taking a quick trip to leave my luggage out. At no point was I given the reassurance that the flight will not take off with my belongings, although I repeatedly asked.

Agreed. But I think that I don't regret it, in the sense that I wanted to stand up for myself to the bully's face, instead of filing a complaint that may or may not have an actual effect. I mean, people are never notified of the actions taken after the complaint is filed, so who knows what goes on behind the scenes?

I also waited until most people were off the plane (although many of them were waiting for the luggages on the jetbridge and probably heard the entire exchange), so I don't think I was interfering with anything.

I really wish airlines would take more care when they choose their employees. One bad employee could really leave an impression. I know that I won't be flying this airline again any time soon in the future.

SeriouslyLost

Do you have a citation for that? It's been discussed on several threads before and various people have quoted statutes that indicate you're mistaken.

AFAIK, cabin crew can only instruct you to do two things. Everything else is a simple request from them. There are a whole host of things that the FAA does not allow, but that's nothing to do with the cabin crew per se.

Oh, and ignoring is not the same as disobeying. Quite different, in fact.

sbrower

Sorry, but you are repeating urban legend. Look at the law.

Spiff

Write them up. Report them to the airline and to DOT/DHS as suggested above.

I wish that bogus "security" threats by airline personnel were punishable by a long stretch in prison.

javabytes

Assuming the facts are as reported by OP, I agree with a strongly worded letter to the airline. This is nonsense, the FA and the pilot were way out of line.

ACtraveler1357

I would love some more details on how one goes about doing this.

Someone suggested writing a hard letter instead of the usual online forms. Is there a difference between using online forms and a hard letter?

What could I possibly expect from writing to the DOT/DHS? That possibility has never crossed my mind, but now that you mention it, I think that I will do it.

Two days after the incident, I am now kicking myself that I was gullible enough to be intimidated by such bogus threats. I realize that the story sounds ridiculous and made-up, but if the need arose, I would testify under oath these very same words. If anything, I left out the bits that may have been too dramatic.

Spiff

Depends on the airline. With AA, it seems to be no different. Not sure about US.

You might get them to contact the airline in question who might in turn ask the crew what they actually did. Even if the crew denies/lies/downplays, if this is a stunt they've pulled before, multiple complaints might result in some discipline or changes.

I believe you.

Too often, airline employees get away with making false "security" statements/rules. Such misconduct should be a felony and grounds for immediate termination.

Just like the Boy Who Cried Wolf, when people keep playing the "security" card at every opportunity, sooner or later "security" concerns are ignored. Real security concerns get lumped into the lies.