chenalex

rjw242

Reseating people who report assaults seems to be a not uncommon response.

chenalex

mvoight

These are generally for damage caused by the drunk, such as when they drive drunk. I am not aware of any suits involving serving alcohol to a drunk who rapes someone.
I am also a bit confused about how someone was able to do this drunk or sober. It is hard enough to get myself into the lav when sober
In any case, has she sued the guy who she claims did this? Other than what she has said, is there evidence a crime was committed?, other than her statement about a crime being committed?
Was the guy arrested? The story is missing a lot

CPRich

AA has applied for a license to serve alcohol and is subject to the terms of that license and the laws associated with it.

wetrat0

Being on a plane is different from being in a bar. Especially in economy, you are trapped in a small space with a large number of other people. You cannot just get up and leave if you are uncomfortable or if you do not want to talk to the person next to you. You are also 30,000 feet in the air and cannot call the authorities if someone assaults you. Given the unique circumstances, the airline should absolutely have a level of responsibility for maintaining order in this environment. This includes but is certainly not limited to identifying passengers who are intoxicated and behaving inappropriately, and either not boarding them, not serving them, or moving them (the badly behaving passenger, not the one who complained). The airline's employees (FAs and pilots) are the authority in the plane. I am all for individual responsibility but it only goes so far in some situations and some exercise of authority is needed.

Sadly, the moral of this story is that we cannot count on Flight Attendants to do the right thing. Someone upthread said the FAs must have noticed. You mean the same FAs who admonish passengers not to press the call button (per recent FT thread on the subject)? The same FA on my last flight who allowed a woman wearing a leg brace with an obvious physical disability to sit in the exit row? The same FAs who forced someone to put a dog in the overhead bin (yeah I know it's a different airline but the cultures aren't that different between AA and UA)? While there are many great FAs, either a majority or a large minority of FAs tend to take whatever action is easiest for them at the moment, not what is best for the passengers.

What would you do if you were in a window seat next to a drunk weirdo? It is easy for Internet commenters to say they would have done something differently. It's a lot harder when you're actually in the situation unless you think the FA is going to back you up. No matter what happens in the air, it will always be "he said/she said" after you land and meet the authorities.

kb9522

AA didn't rape this woman... another passenger (allegedly) did. This person clearly doesn't care about justice, she just wants a pay day. She lost any sympathy I had when she went that route.

jordyn

Something can be a specific legal concept and still an incredibly dumb and insensitive thing to say to someone, it turns out.

Edited to add: If people are going to try to credit AA with using the appropriate legal terminology here, is your position really that the correct response to her complaint was to characterize it as her being unable to have the peaceful use and enjoyment of her aircraft seat?

kb9522

Yes, of course the correct answer is to make up a completely new term instead of using one that is universally understood simply to appease rabid SJWs.

jordyn

Or just say "We're really sorry that happened to you. We don't think it was our fault and think that our staff did everything they could to deal with the matter on the plane. Therefore, we don't think we owe you any money." See? Don't need to make up any terms, just need to treat the rape victim who also happens to be your customer as a human.

I'm not sure why it's more okay to call people SJWs than AApologists (which seems to be a banned phrase on this board), but I'm not really sure how you got there in the first place unless we've gotten to the point that any attempt to treat people humanely is now part of some culture war.

Voldoo

Is it really so cost prohibitive to install a few cameras on every plane? I'm actually surprised airlines don't do this voluntarily given all the potential incidents that can and do occur on a regular basis. Having some visual evidence in cases like these would certainly be helpful.

AZ Travels the World

Folks, this thread has the obvious potential for disaster. A few off-topic posts have already been deleted.

Please, stay on topic and be respectful. DO NOT get personal. It's a highly sensitive issue so please put on your adult hat and discuss it accordingly.

If you can't do that, please don't post -- or posts will be deleted and disciplinary action taken.

We appreciate your cooperation.

-AZ
An American Airlines Forum Moderator

chenalex

This definitely falls under common carrier liability probably more so than dram shop laws. If she can prove AA acted negligently, then she will likely have a case.

wrp96

Installing anything on a plane, especially anything electronic, involves having to go through a testing and approval process from the FAA. It's not quite as simple as order a camera and install. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, but it wouldn't be an inexpensive process.

mikeef

The victim doesn't know his name? Of course she doesn't. Was he supposed to say, "Hi, I'm Phil, and I'll be your rapist today."?

Yes, if AA served a visibly drunk man, they are responsible.

Mike