Originally Posted by
jwh212
Every bit of press I have seen states clearly that the air crew asked the man to deplane numerous times (as politely as they could, and offered him a $1000 voucher plus overnight hotel accommodation). ...
That statement alone is wrong, which is what makes me think this is being incorrectly reported. (Reporters are notoriously lazy in making this distinction.)
I have NEVER seen FA or flight crew make any offers to deplane. It is ALWAYS the gate agents.
AFAIK - There is no video showing this man becoming unruly.
Originally Posted by
fly18725
Yes, not sitting where the airline tells you to is a safety issue....
True. But not relevant. The passenger was sitting in his assigned seat. He was not asked to move for safety reasons. He was not asked to move by the flight crew.
Originally Posted by
fly18725
..If the FA can't seat ticketed passengers, including the deadheaded crew, they'd be indirectly involved.
Outside of moves ordered by the captain, or for specific safety reasons, the FAs are NOT allowed to move people around. (For smaller jets it could affect weight and balance, and thus, is reserved fro the captain or ground crew.) That responsibility is spelled out in the various union contracts.
The captain decides who to boot off a plane for safety reasons, such as unruly passenger. AFAIK this never happened.