American Airlines Accused of Ruining A Bachelorette Party
Jackie Reddy March 16, 2019
A bachelorette party bound for Mexico found themselves stranded in Phoenix last week after one member of their group was found unfit to fly by AA staff. Bride-to-be Alyssa Zayas said that her mother had a few drinks during the first leg of their journey, became ill and was deemed not fit to travel.
A Mexico-bound bachelorette party from Sacramento had their fun curtailed last week when they found themselves stranded in Phoenix, ABC 15 reports. The intended destination of the 15-strong group was Cabo San Lucas, but the party was told they would be unable to continue the second leg of their journey after American Airlines (AA) deemed that the mother of the bride-to-be was unfit to travel.
Explaining the incident to the outlet, Alyssa Zayas said that she and the rest of the group, which included her mother, had boarded their flight from Sacramento. Her mother, who hadn’t flown in over two decades, consumed a couple of alcoholic drinks.
Zayas’ mother reported feeling unwell when the plane began preparations to land in Phoenix and was sick. Upon exiting the plane to make their way to their connecting flight to Mexico, Zayas said that the party was told that they would not be able to board because her mother was showing “visible signs of intoxication.”
Zayas added that the group refused to board their Mexico-bound flight without her mother. Upon further questioning the flight manager, she says that the party was branded “unruly” and told that none of the 15 would be able to board their next flight.
Zayas said that she then contacted local police but added that neither authorities or AA staff queried how much her mother had consumed or offered her a breathalyzer test before banning her.
While AA originally said it would not refund the party for their missed flight, the outlet confirmed that it later offered partial compensation.
In a statement to the outlet, a spokesperson for AA said:
“A passenger was traveling on American Airlines from Sacramento to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, was denied travel on their connecting flight in Phoenix due to visible intoxication at the gate. FAA regulations prohibit U.S. carriers from boarding an intoxicated passenger. After this decision was made, several other members of their group became irate and posed a safety risk to crew members and other passengers. These passengers were subsequently denied travel on this flight. Our Phoenix team advised the group they will be rebooked on another flight, provided they no longer pose a safety issue for our crew members and passengers.”
Insider reports that, after spending a night in Phoenix, the party made their way to Tucson by car in order to catch a flight to Mexico.
[Image Source: Pixabay]
Such a simple solution, mom and one other remain behind for the night, sober up and join up the next day. I realize that the effect of alcohol can be more intense at altitude and she may have been taken by surprise by the effect...Now if they didn't leave enough travel time to account for travel delays, that's just poor planning on their part. Anyway, I side with the airline on this one.
As someone who has been on an airline with drunk passengers (which isn't fun at all) the airline did absolutely the right thing. How pissed off would all the other passengers be with drunk mum on board.
If the captain deems you unfit you unfit to fly, thats it, end of story period. No test needed, Its completely HIS judgement call.
AA didn't ruin the party. The mother ruined it by getting drunk. How hard is it to behave in a civilised manner for the duration of a flight?
"neither authorities or AA staff queried how much her mother had consumed or offered her a breathalyzer test" You know you're in the wrong when you think you need to do a breathalyzer test to be a passenger. :)