Originally Posted by
Bill Brasky
Isn't the Captain #1 in charge?? Seems crazy that a CSR can dictate who gets off the plane.
Somebody here probably knows better than I do, but what I understand is that, yes, the Captain is in charge, but when the plane is at the gate with the door open, the flight crew typically defer to the ground staff.
The Pilot was apologetic but a little guarded when we spoke in the pizza line. What I understood from the conversation is that he was within his rights (and duties!) to ignore the CSR and get the passengers off the plane, but that this was "the nuclear option" as far as the ground staff was concerned, and that he expected that reports would be filed and some discussion would occur up the chain of command.
In fact, defending the Pilot's decision, which was absolutely the correct one, was one of the reasons I decided to post here.