We’re Super Sorry We Stranded Your Kid(s)
Jennifer Billock March 29, 2019
A family from Michigan is suing Spirit Airlines for removing their daughter from a flight without notice and without the opportunity to discuss it; the daughter was unable to call her mother thanks to Spirit’s no-call policy on flights, and the mother had no idea the daughter was gone from the airplane.
Several airlines are under fire today for allegedly stranding children at airports without their parents. Spirit Airlines is being sued by a Michigan mother who says her 15-year-old daughter was removed from a flight due to overbooking. The mother and her son were sitting in the back of the plane and the daughter in front when the incident occurred; the daughter then tried to contact her mother but couldn’t because Spirit doesn’t allow voice calls on planes.
“They didn’t want to hear anything,” the family’s attorney told NBC26. “They just pulled her off the plane.”
In a similar incident, Air Canada and WestJet left a 15-year-old girl stranded at an airport in Canada after flight delays due to a combination of high volumes of spring break travelers, landing of all Boeing 737 MAX 8s and ticketing problems. The girl was traveling alone and was unable to get help from the airlines.
“They didn’t do the right thing,” the girl’s stepmother told Yahoo News. “They left a 15-year-old without a confirmed flight and then sent her out through security when there was no one there to help her.”
All three airlines have since issued apologies for the incidents.
[Image Source: Spirit Airlines]
The linked story says the mother had already put her phone to airplane mode, which is why the daughter couldn't call her.
How are these cases comparable? If a minor misconnects due to delays etc that doesn't remotely compare to dragging someone off a plane. Which makes me wonder if the accounts are accurate: ever since UA Rodney Kinged that medical doctor, I thought that IDBs happen strictly at the gate and not aboard. If the mother simply missed that her daughter did not make it aboard, all parties were pretty negligent. And who respects a no-call rule if your child is calling?
If they can afford to fly, they can afford a better airline with proper ground staff services. The gate agent should have noticed there are 3 passenger in the 15 yo’s PNR. In the event all the booking were done separately, the parent should have called the airline to notate the girl is not an unaccompanied minor because they will link and cross-refer the adult’s PNR who will be accompanying the child. Sorry, but I think the problem could have been mitigated by the parent from the onset at the time of booking. They chose a bare-bones carrier and thus the burden is on them to follow up. If they all had separate reservations, then they should have notified airline the 15 yo is not an unaccompanied minor. They could have paid to secure seating assignments where everybody is within visual sight of each other. Like Spirit Airlines, I can only apologize for the family’s inadequate preparation for flying.
What is the problem with a 15 year old being left at an airport for a few hours, then taking the next flight I am a bit confused how overbooking could have caused an already boarded passenger to be kicked off. Additionally, Spirit DOES allow phone calls on the plane prior to take off. From the article linked to "Thurswell said the airline refunded Giordano a ticket and offered her extra flight miles The family is suing for more than $75,000 in damages." Seriously, somebody just looking for a payday. I am sure the mother,after finding out her daughter was booted, was soon able to determine her daughter was on the next flight.
OUTraveling, the problem is Spirit does not yet offer Business/First class. Imagine my disappointment of not being allowed into the LH lounge at DTW simply because I was flying UA instead of, say, UA as a Gold?! On a more serious note, what's missing from this story is the fact that the child was not only booted from the plane but was forced to take a different flight for Detroit several hours later. Imagine if you are the parent of a child who discovers mid-flight that your child was left behind at the airport, by the darn airline being dumb! It's high time the US DOT introduces booting legislation and makes such incidents a very costly expense for the airline. There is a reasonable expectation that an airline would not boot a passenger from a flight thereby making them an unaccompanied minor without at the very least consulting the parent involved. If anything, I suspect the parent would've been willing to get off that flight with their children just to make sure everyone travels together at the same time!