How An Argument Over A Carry-On Resulted in A $10K Nightmare
Meg Butler August 02, 2018
Well, this is a doozy of a story. Posted in the Air Canada forum yesterday evening, it involves overhead luggage, an “altercation” between a dad and a flight attendant and a bunch of train trips around Rome.
It starts,
“I am writing to file a formal complaint for the rude and unprofessional way that I was treated on Air Canada Flight 893 from Rome to Montreal. I was traveling with my two daughters (ages 10 and 12). We boarded our flight with carry-on bags. My daughters walked on the plane in front of me with their carry-ons, and I was behind them with my carry-on and my backpack and some shopping bags.
I moved into my seat to let other passengers pass. My 12 year old daughter lifted her bag up with no problem, but a flight attendant came up to her and told her in a very rude and abrupt manner that her bag was in the overhead bin incorrectly. When my daughter was struggling rotating the bag, the flight attendant switched it for her.
At that point I saw my younger daughter struggling trying to hoist her bag into the overhead (again, I was not close to them, I had two people and a bunch of bags between us) and I asked if the flight attendant could help her too. She replied, “NO I CAN’T. THAT IS NOT MY JOB. IT IS YOUR JOB TO HELP YOUR KIDS.”
The trip devolves catastrophically from there.
Should Air Canada Pay $10,000 for an “extremely expensive” fiasco? Was the dad in the wrong? Could the flight attendants have been more understanding? Are we getting the whole story?
Check out his story in the forum and join the FlyerTalk on the topic.
[Image Source: Wikimedia Commons]
When I read "and I was behind them with my carry-on and my backpack and some shopping bags" so he had a backpack plus a personal item then shopping bags plural??? So Dad has at least 4 items of hand carry. Just wondering if one of the F/A's told him off about exceeding his carry on allowance? In any case he should have boarded with his daughters and certainly not asked an F/A to lift his daughters bags into the locker - that is his job as a parent. As the F/A's point out "if you cannot lift your item into an overhead bin it is not carry on and must be be checked." Perhaps the F/A's were a little offhand with their response and could have maybe been a bit more subtle nevertheless it doesn't change the fact that it's not their job to lift passengers handy carry into lockers.
Kolalay, the statement above is from the passenger, himself. his statement said the flight attendant was rude for not helping. Next time you fly, ask a flight attendant if they've been hurt assisting with carry-ons or know someone who has. Alot of these carriers will deny ON THE JOB injuries, you are injured, have medical bills and then you have to hire a lawyer to fight your own company. You could loose months of pay, burn your sick time and be stuck with medical bills. All because someone decided to bring their bag on the plane. You walk past the check-in area where people check their bags, from that point on.....the bag is your responsibility. It was your decision not to check it.
I agree with NYC96. If you can't lift your daughter's bags and other passengers don't voluntarily help you, then CHECK them at the gate (like I do). Most US and Canadian airlines do not allow flight attendants to lift bags for obvious reasons, including workers compensation for resulting injuries. That's a fact and we need to stick to those facts.
NYC96, it's not so clear cut. Who knows what really happened unless some other PAX chime in? Still, I cringe whenever I have to fly on North American airlines because FAs are so often rude or on power trips. The PAX doesn't get the benefit of the doubt, but the FA certainly doesn't get it either.
The Dad is completely in the wrong and still doesn't see it...... First, he needed to be with his children when boarding. Secondly, he did not need to lecture a flight attendant about customer service. Finally, it sounds like a simple apology still might have saved the day and he refused.