Child Seat Skirmish Ends With Family Kicked Off of JetBlue Flight
Jeff Edwards August 04, 2015
A misunderstanding over the rules about a mother holding her two-year-old child prior to takeoff resulted in a plane returning to the terminal and a family being escorted off of a JetBlue flight.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has clear guidelines for passengers traveling with small children. Unfortunately, cabin crews don’t seem to be well-versed on the rules covering the airlines’ smallest passengers. At times, flight attendants have insisted that children be held, prohibiting parents from using FAA-recommended safety seats. In other instances, crews have incorrectly insisted that babies be buckled into seats just like adults.
CBS affiliate WUSA in Arlington reports that a JetBlue Airways cabin crew member may have gotten things wrong once again, unfairly having a family removed from a Logan International Airport (BOS) to Baltimore-Washington International Airport (BWI) flight after questioning the flight attendant’s demand that a mother place her two-year-old baby in a seat.
Mona Doshi says that she was holding her fussy two-year-old while the flight taxied to the runway for takeoff. When a flight attendant told her that the small child needed to be in a seat, Doshi says she mentioned that she had been allowed to hold the child on the earlier flight to BOS, but nonetheless complied with the crew member’s instructions.
According to Doshi, when a second flight attendant repeated the instructions less than a minute later, she responded by telling her that she had already “got the lecture from the other stewardess.” Shortly after this exchange, Doshi’s husband noticed the plane was returning to the gate.
“We were treated like we were criminals really,” Doshi told the television station. “Ordered us off the plane, ordered us to collect our belongings and ordered us off the plane as if we were terrorists.”
At least one of the other passengers on the July 27 fight believes the incident was more about a flight attendant’s power trip than a legitimate safety issue, tweeting:
The only effect it had (aside from boosting the egos of the attendants) was to make us all late and less enthusiastic about flying @JetBlue
— Mark Towfiq (@towfiq) July 27, 2015
JetBlue says it is reaching out to the family, but stopped short of conceding that the flight attendant did anything wrong. “We want our customers to have a safe and comfortable experience on board. Safety is always our top priority, and if our crew feels there is a situation where a customer is unable to follow safety procedures, those customers may need to be accommodated on a future flight,” JetBlue officials told WUSA in a statement.
[Photo: WUSA]
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> ..but nonetheless complied with the crew member’s instructions ,,, & > .when a second flight attendant repeated the instructions less than a minute later, she responded by telling her that she had already “got the lecture.. That makes ZERO sense. The family doctored the statement provided, they did NOT comply with the instructions of the first FA and hence were rightfully offloaded. Hearing one side of the story is nearly always a waste of time, even if the narrative contains such blatant contradictions.
It has also happened to me, on Southwest. Purchased a seat for my then 1 year old child specifically so I could use her car seat. Ended up having a "discussion" with a FA, who refused to accept she was in the wrong until another FA stepped in. It didn't make the news.
I once check into a flight and the check in agents insisted that my kid's car seat was illegal for aviation despite their being a sticker from the manufacturer that said otherwise. M I shrugged it off and declined to bag check the seat. Got to the gate and received the same hassle. Shrugged it off. Boarded and put my kid in the seat without incident.
Apodo77, it is linked within the article. Plus , it happens all the time without it being reported in the news. It has happened to me. It has happened to other parents I know. You can also find flyertalk threads about it. Why so defensive?
Any chance the author will provide proof of these claims from the article? "At times, flight attendants have insisted that children be held, prohibiting parents from using FAA-recommended safety seats. In other instances, crews have incorrectly insisted that babies be buckled into seats just like adults."