Passenger removed from DFW-DEN flight at pilot's direction. This one will take a bit of PR to smooth things over. Public opinion will most likely not side with the pilot.

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...11/detail.html

Geez, why are people condeming Frontier? Per the article, it's clearly the pilot's (and maybe the FA) fault, not the airline's. People are so quick to blame companies for what one employee does wrong.

A "company" IS it's people. Nothing more, nothing less. If one employee does something they shouldn't do, it's natural for people to blame the "company". That's why companies should make their policies clear to all employees and make sure that all employees follow procedures correctly.

I agree that employees represent their companies, but there are always going to be "bad" employees to make the company look bad despite how well the company trains them.
Reading the article, it sounds like Frontier had done "right" by the passenger before this flight (on other flights) and after he was removed from this flight (put on next available flight).

First of all there are two sides to this. Now let me make a point here. The seat belt extension was used across the passengers chest. So now the passenger has two belts that need to be removed by his assistant in an emergency. The FAA only allows the extension to be used with the seatbelt not on its own or with another in the way it was used here. As for the police being called. Well I have called for a manager via ops and police came before the manager could get there and police were not called they heard it on the radio and thought it was a disturbance. Not saying it happened here but it could have. Also at times we have called for a medical eval and the police came instead.

The Air Carrier Access Act says that if the passenger could harm themslelves or others within FAR's they can be refused transport. Why they werent on the previous flight dunno it could be a flight crew that just ignores everything. Many of us are getting so complacent that we just dont say anything anymore...

Disregard...see Post #7

Company response has evolved from

to

This story has gotten legs and is all over the place. Customers are saying they cancelled Frontier reservations/will never fly F9 again.

In a way, this reminds me of the flap that SWA went through with Kevin Smith.

Hopefully, this episode will be a learning experience and a chance to refine/clarify policy and legalities, so surprises like this don't reoccur.

This was not a satisfactory experience for anyone involved.

Family has indicated they are planning legal action.

I don't think the Pilot or FA ignored anything but were concerned for all passengers safety.

Aircraft seat backs most of us take for granted yet they are designed not just for support during travel but to safely decelerate the person sitting behind you in an emergency. Now, if the mass of two people (one belted to it and the other forced into it) are applied to the seat back I'd guess it could fail to perform as designed.

So while it sounds mean to deny travel it could, possibly in an emergency mean severe injuries to those two passengers while the rest of them may be uninjured.

A lawyer would have little problem making a case the flight crew and ultimately the airline overloaded the seat back beyond design and normal use.

I hope this issue gets addressed with some type of more reasonable accomodation before such an incident occurs.

Absolfreakinlutely! This is on the radio in the DEN area right now and they are not even asking about the safety issue. For me it was a no brainer. He should have been harnessed.

I think there is a solution that wouldn't compromise safety, if he was a three year old: We use the CARES harness for our frequent flying toddler. You can pop the main belt (once) and lift the gear up and he's free to shake his fingers at kettles who abuse their overhead storage easement.

Is there an alternative for adults? I doubt it would be a "market" but a few can be held at the terminals for use. They clearly aren't needed except for rare cases that can be coordinated before flights.

F9 flew him on the next flight, so the lawsuit isn't going to go too far. The airline is going to be the ones humiliated here, not the passenger. F9 will apologize, make a large donation to an organization for the disabled, and give the passenger and his family a whole mess of free travel.

And hopefully all airlines will learn from this and be much better prepared the next time someone needs extra help with safety.

Very good follow-up from the Denver ABC affiliate, including interviews with subject passenger, his mother, attorney specializing in disability issues, and Frontier rep:

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/vide...168/index.html

I don't understand how this could have gone so far. Transportation of passengers with disabilities is a fairly common occurrence and refusing carriage is a clear violation of the Air Carrier Access Act.

I don't know what procedures are in place at other airlines, but SWA keeps a compliance officer at all stations during all operating hours that is specially trained on ACAA. He/she is to be brought in by the crew and is available to the passenger in case of any problem or question. Does anyone know if DFW is staffed by Frontier employees or is an outsourced station?

Frontier should be prepared to open its wallet to pay the fines imposed by the government. Then the awards after the lawsuit.

^
Can I get one like that? Not the harness, I want the kid who shakes his fingers at the kettles.

My fave was him saying "you're too slow" when going through security. He's 3.

But seriously the CARES harness can be gotten online directly from them or at Spamazon.