tom911

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/08/2...ted-to-boston/

tom911

http://news.yahoo.com/flight-diverte...120031217.html

Taken into custody by air marshals.

pauleeepaul

They ought to publicize the travel delays and out of pocket expenses these yahoos incur when booted from a flight- might cut down on the number of incidents.

jeffreyt

Wow. Just wow.

controller1

We really don't know enough of the details of this diversion or the diversion UA took earlier this week for another similar issue.

However, if the passengers were not seated in F or in MCE (Economy Plus for the UA flight), could this be an indication that passengers are finally at their boiling point when it comes to airlines seeing how many more seats they can add to a flight before . . .

NotDuncan

Bolding mine. Why is it always the airlines that are to blame for this situation? They're simply reacting to a demand curve: passengers have shown over and over, all they want is the cheapest possible fare.

This is the end result of that.

bchandler02

Yes and no. For example, how many here work for companies that require travel in Y? They may not have a choice.
I think airlines are partially to blame, there should have been a limit to how far things have gone. Consumers are to blame for accepting it and voting with their wallets.

It's similar to the bag fees discussion. Some argue that fees are too high. 1) consumers pay it. 2) if they were free (and reliable) would people check more and carry on less, thus saving overhead space?

Always a double edge sword in cases like this.

N639DL

More people on the plane = lower cost for all.

As a BOS area resident, what was reported on local news: man is from France and is 60 years old, was arrested by Mass State Police on arrival and charged w/ obstructing the flight crew. He was enraged when the lady in front of him reclined, and refused to bring it back up when he asked. Then he grabbed the arm of a flight attendant. Air marshals involved and had to restrain him. He was taken to Mass General Hospital b/c of pre-existing medical conditions which were high blood pressure (bet it was even higher with the situation) and diabetes, apparently the marshals wouldn't let him have insulin.

It's funny - towards the end, they talked about how stressed fliers are these days and have less room and such...but that's not an excuse to take such aggressive, immature, and arrogant action like this.

Karelia

This story already made it to late-night shows....

"were the French this angry when the Germans reclined into their territory in 1940?"

Stripy

Because they're the ones who have squeezed that many seats into planes. Period. Yes, passengers have enabled this behaviour by showing a willingness to book cheap seats at the expense of legroom/comfort but it's still the airlines who are actually acting on this.

Airlines are constant shoving the "safety" issue down our throats when it suits them so why not in this case? Why don't airlines say that it isn't "safe" to cram that many people so close together in a pressurised metal/composite tube and agree on a max capacity (based on aircraft type) that doesn't involve treating pax like livestock (or worse!). Wouldn't that help address the issue?

beachfan

I see a Deep Vein Thrombosis lawsuit in some airlines future.

TrojanHorse

End result is record profits
Who are you trying to kid ?

bridgeair

I'm not condoning this kind of behaviour, but I do find that the attitude of flight crew on both United and AA can be pretty lousy. Could this also have been a factor?

coolcoil

Those of us, including me, who are only reimbursed for flying in Y are not the consumer. We're just self-loading cargo that the company is paying the airline to move from point A to point B. Our employers have voted with their wallets. Further, we, as the passengers, are voting with our wallets when we choose not to pay for the difference between Y and MCE/F ourselves.

I don't see how the airlines are to blame, unless you choose to blame an organism for reacting to stimuli. In almost all cases, where an airline has tried to support an all-premium service, it has failed. In the few cases where the market supports it, it continues (NYC-LAX). Further, they offer options. Back when I was an AA kettle, I did pay out of pocket for MCE. What more do you want them to do?

Well, to answer my own question, one thing the airlines should do is make the reclining policy clear and repeat it during the general "here's where to find the lav" announcement. One problem that they do let fester is the ongoing debate, which can be found in many travel forums, as to whether travelers should be allowed to recline or not.

frank_10b

I have seen it many times where the crew will try and esclate a situation to make the pass seem like he is "disobeying crew instructions? when they are only asking a difficult and unwelcome question of the crew.

Does anyone know if he was in the new cramped extra seat economy that AA is cramming into the back of Y 777?
I wonder if this is gonna happen more often on the new AA econ configs.
Maybe AA or other airlines could be the first to install Ryan Air's Michael O'Leary standing seats on Y transatlantic so nobody gets to recline in the back. I bet customers are asking for lower prices!