Pharaoh

Which begs the question: does anyone know whether "interference with flight crew" is a misdemeanor or a felony? and what the prescribed penalties are? (I presume it's a federal offense)

BearX220

Injured passenger should file assault charges against the crew.

MSPeconomist

I'd like to know how many miles (or how large of credit vouchers) DL has been offering to passengers on that flight. I'm almost surprised that no one on FT was there.

RFDMinnesota

Not that most people will care, but

1. Battery, not assault
2. It's up to the State/Federal government to file charges. Individuals are limited to the report for criminal cases

Cheers

stevendorechester

It's so hard to believe. Flight attendant are professionals and I'm certain they are are just as disgusted to hear about what took place on that plane. I have a lot of respect for flight crews and would never judge any of them by this.

Still the one or ones responsible need to be made an example of. Passengers deserve to all be compensated and EU 261- style amount for being delayed, as well as any out of pocket expenses. If they refuse let the airline identify them and them them face a hundred or so lawsuits. That should make them realize what they did was wrong. Perhaps a some time in prison will help too. Flight attendants are there for our safety, what they did what create an unsafe situation.

Not picking on flight crews here...I would do the same with any unruly passengers who force a diversion, which happens far more frequently. If I pay for a ticket nobody has a right to behave in a matter that will disrupt my plans or interfere with my safety.

MikeMpls

'cept there are no minimum staffing requirements for pax, you can knock them all out & still fly.

MSPeconomist

It was a 75 minute delay. IIRC EC261 would not give them any compensation, nor would the duty of care responsibility kick in and mandate meals or hotel rooms at SLC. At best, they should have been offered water.

I like the idea of making the two FAs pay the cost of the diversion, but if they're fired from their junior positions, they're unlikely to have the financial resources to do so.

I'm curious what work rules issues could possibly lead two young women into a physical confrontation.

stevendorechester

If the delay was only 75 minutes then most passengers probably would not have been affected in this case.

However some passengers could have missed connections. The guilty party could have been forced to pay for any passengers that had to be re-routed, on another airline if space in whatever cabin they was not avail. or any other expenses the passengers can prove. This was not part of a normal operation of an airline and therefore those who interfered should pay dearly.

The same applies when unruly passengers who cause a diversion through illegal acts.

bigwave916

2 female LAX based flight attendants, one senior and one junior on the flight got into some kind of argument over seniority. One punched the other and the fight was on. 3rd FA tried to intervene and was punched herself. No report of any passengers involved.

All 3 females, the combatants, and the one who was punched were left off the flight in SLC and additional crew members were put on board to take their places.

MSPeconomist

If one is senior and one junior, how can there be an argument over seniority? It's obvious which one is more senior. Similarly, crew rules about the senior employee having priority in picking the position etc. AFAIK are long standing, well known, and clear. It's hard to imagine such facts leading to violence.

FWAAA

2015 profit-sharing will be paid out in two weeks - dunno if DL is legally able to or whether it would attempt to offset the costs of the diversion by withholding their profit-sharing checks. The profit-sharing will equal about 20% of their 2015 W-2 wages. That would probably cover the landing fees at SLC and the incremental wage expenses of replacing three FAs.

readywhenyouare

Just make the offending flight attendants work flights to and from PBI for the rest of their career. That will be punishment enough.

airplanegod

Apparently in the scheme of things they were all "junior" LAX crew. All with less than 20 years seniority each. All female.

readywhenyouare

IIRC both DL and NW had an LAX flight attendant base. Maybe it was a mixed crew and one of them got shafted in the seniority integration. I wonder who threw the first punch. I would be somewhat surprised if it was a PMNW flight attendant as they are usually too lazy to even wave goodbye upon deboarding.

MSPeconomist

The crew integration occurred years ago. Plus, even if someone did get a raw deal then, it's not the fault of some individual FA.