Family Asked To Leave Southwest Flight After Tweet
Jul 23, 2014, 4:14 pm
#106
Join Date: Feb 2009
Posts: 147
We don't know what Mr. A-List did or didn't do at the gate. We don't know if he asked to board with his kids or simply tried to bluster his way through. His attitude as expressed in interviews and tweets indicates he felt and still feels he had a right to board with his children at his A-List boarding position.
He doesn't.
We will likely never know where things went wrong. Perhaps Mr. A-List is right and the GA was rude in stopping him. If that happened it was right to stop him and wrong to be rude. It seems to me far more likely that Mr. A-List took exception to being told he had to wait and became irate. It's even possible he continued to be irate on the aircraft, and that precipitated his temporary removal.
He doesn't.
We will likely never know where things went wrong. Perhaps Mr. A-List is right and the GA was rude in stopping him. If that happened it was right to stop him and wrong to be rude. It seems to me far more likely that Mr. A-List took exception to being told he had to wait and became irate. It's even possible he continued to be irate on the aircraft, and that precipitated his temporary removal.
That's not ok, not by a long shot. We don't know who exactly made the decision to pull him (GA, FA, pilot), but someone made a big error here. You can't pull someone off a flight for tweeting a complaint to the airline. You can pull them for being disruptive, but you can't then say "Well, delete your complaint and I'll let you back on".
Jul 23, 2014, 4:22 pm
#108
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Thanks for the SMILE today....
Great reading this thread!
Both were wrong. Maybe not equally, but it kept on getting bumped up a notch......kinda wish I was on the flight.....my flights are boring, mostly "seat savers".
I do appreciate the "Do you know who I am?!!!!" People in the World
Jul 23, 2014, 4:34 pm
#109
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 4,374
- Passenger wants to board early
- Agent refuses to allow it
- Passenger complies (however reluctantly)
- Passenger complains on Twitter
In (1) and (3) some see DYKWIA, which isn't wrong, just arrogant. Regardless, I see no arrogance in boarding a family with the highest position. It's a common sense privilege the legacies allow. WN's policy is a ridiculous.
And yet, I do not fault the GA for (2). I do fault the GA for her inappropriate behavior that followed the tweet.
Jul 23, 2014, 4:50 pm
#110
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I don't use Social Media, I despise it actually. I don't need to know what a Celebrity, a family member, a neighbor is doing or their "instant thoughts". Not handing out a percentage for either, but both could have handled it better. #TrueStory
It is arrogant to board with your family at the highest number!!!! It's called #NotFollowingWNPolicy!!!!!
The fact that you think a company's policy is ridiculous is arrogant
We can debate this all day on FT. But if I'm A+. Have 8 family members on my flight. I'm A16. I fly WN 365 days a year.......I still don't see how I'm allowed to ever have 9 people board with me at A16.....speaking of ridiculous.....
#LegaciesSuck. I avoid
The only way you or any other person likes legacies is due to high status......that can be said for any industry.....
The "higher the tier" the easier and "more liked" it is....
It is arrogant to board with your family at the highest number!!!! It's called #NotFollowingWNPolicy!!!!!
The fact that you think a company's policy is ridiculous is arrogant
We can debate this all day on FT. But if I'm A+. Have 8 family members on my flight. I'm A16. I fly WN 365 days a year.......I still don't see how I'm allowed to ever have 9 people board with me at A16.....speaking of ridiculous.....
#LegaciesSuck. I avoid
The only way you or any other person likes legacies is due to high status......that can be said for any industry.....
The "higher the tier" the easier and "more liked" it is....
Passenger wasn't wrong at all.
In (1) and (3) some see DYKWIA, which isn't wrong, just arrogant. Regardless, I see no arrogance in boarding a family with the highest position. It's a common sense privilege the legacies allow. WN's policy is a ridiculous.
And yet, I do not fault the GA for (2). I do fault the GA for her inappropriate behavior that followed the tweet.
- Passenger wants to board early
- Agent refuses to allow it
- Passenger complies (however reluctantly)
- Passenger complains on Twitter
In (1) and (3) some see DYKWIA, which isn't wrong, just arrogant. Regardless, I see no arrogance in boarding a family with the highest position. It's a common sense privilege the legacies allow. WN's policy is a ridiculous.
And yet, I do not fault the GA for (2). I do fault the GA for her inappropriate behavior that followed the tweet.
Last edited by antinseattle; Jul 23, 2014 at 4:55 pm
Jul 23, 2014, 5:23 pm
#111
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 5,813
Why bother with speculation? It doesn't matter whether he was rude to her, she was rude to him, or both. What we know is that he was pulled off the plane, deleted the tweet, and allowed to re-board.
That's not ok, not by a long shot. We don't know who exactly made the decision to pull him (GA, FA, pilot), but someone made a big error here. You can't pull someone off a flight for tweeting a complaint to the airline. You can pull them for being disruptive, but you can't then say "Well, delete your complaint and I'll let you back on".
That's not ok, not by a long shot. We don't know who exactly made the decision to pull him (GA, FA, pilot), but someone made a big error here. You can't pull someone off a flight for tweeting a complaint to the airline. You can pull them for being disruptive, but you can't then say "Well, delete your complaint and I'll let you back on".
I was responding to people who seem to want to speculate about what happened in the gate area to trigger this. We also don't know if Mr. A-List was being disruptive on the plane. As angrry as he appeared to be that is not out of the question. I've certainly seen similar thing on planes. We don't even really know if he was required to delete the tweet, as far as I can tell we have only his word for that.
Jul 23, 2014, 5:25 pm
#112
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: AUS
Programs: AA
Posts: 22
Policies and protocols are not "laws", and common sense needs to be applied at times by those who enforce said policies. I bend procedures at times to help internal or external customers get a good experience. It's just good business. So what if the guy asked to board early (against policy) and got agitated he was not allowed to (his human right). This is about him being booted off the flight for negative feedback, end of story.
Jul 23, 2014, 5:29 pm
#113
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Blue Ridge, GA
Posts: 5,512
This is plowed ground. The GA's demand that the tweet be deleted may have been a nod to a fellow Southwest employee currently suing Nashville singer Natalie Grant.
Upset that one of her children couldn't board a flight at an earlier time with her, Grant sent nine tweets complaining about the situation and named the Southwest agent involved.
The employee sued Grant for false light, a Tennessee legal term that allows people to challenge comments that creative a negative impression irrespective of whether they are true or false.
Upset that one of her children couldn't board a flight at an earlier time with her, Grant sent nine tweets complaining about the situation and named the Southwest agent involved.
The employee sued Grant for false light, a Tennessee legal term that allows people to challenge comments that creative a negative impression irrespective of whether they are true or false.
Jul 23, 2014, 6:26 pm
#115
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Wow! I read through this entire thread and have been thoroughly entertained.
When I travel with my daughter (turning 5 next month) I use the family boarding after A even though I am usually A16-20. I have always found a decent seat somewhere in the middle of the plane.
Is there any reason the pax couldnt board with family boarding? Why would he need to wait to board with the kid's group (assuming it was Cxx)?
When I travel with my daughter (turning 5 next month) I use the family boarding after A even though I am usually A16-20. I have always found a decent seat somewhere in the middle of the plane.
Is there any reason the pax couldnt board with family boarding? Why would he need to wait to board with the kid's group (assuming it was Cxx)?
Jul 23, 2014, 6:30 pm
#116
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: Midwest
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Posts: 571
Seems strange that the WN doesn't extend the boarding status to all members traveling together. When I fly the legacy carriers my entire family boards together. The last time we flew WN we also boarded together but I didn't have status, just checked in the whole party at one time.
In the end the WN website spells out the policy pretty clearly (a15 passenger traveling with an a59 should board with the a59) but it seems like the FA could have made an exception for 2 small kids. Maybe she could have offered to let them board during the family boarding (between A and B)
In the end the WN website spells out the policy pretty clearly (a15 passenger traveling with an a59 should board with the a59) but it seems like the FA could have made an exception for 2 small kids. Maybe she could have offered to let them board during the family boarding (between A and B)
Jul 23, 2014, 6:31 pm
#117
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: United Silver
Posts: 129
Wow! I read through this entire thread and have been thoroughly entertained.
When I travel with my daughter (turning 5 next month) I use the family boarding after A even though I am usually A16-20. I have always found a decent seat somewhere in the middle of the plane.
Is there any reason the pax couldnt board with family boarding? Why would he need to wait to board with the kid's group (assuming it was Cxx)?
When I travel with my daughter (turning 5 next month) I use the family boarding after A even though I am usually A16-20. I have always found a decent seat somewhere in the middle of the plane.
Is there any reason the pax couldnt board with family boarding? Why would he need to wait to board with the kid's group (assuming it was Cxx)?
Jul 23, 2014, 6:32 pm
#118
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 413
Reisen gets it, and clearly a subject matter expert on this topic. Retaliation for negative feedback is atrocious behavior.
I've done the exact same thing as this father on SWA with my daughter and was not harassed by the gate agent nor any other flyers. This father has been called ....... and ......... in this thread for what? Asking that he and his 2 young kids board in the A group that he had a boarding pass for? Where is the crime? The GA said no, he thinks it's poor service and has every right to express his views. Sheesh.
I've done the exact same thing as this father on SWA with my daughter and was not harassed by the gate agent nor any other flyers. This father has been called ....... and ......... in this thread for what? Asking that he and his 2 young kids board in the A group that he had a boarding pass for? Where is the crime? The GA said no, he thinks it's poor service and has every right to express his views. Sheesh.
Jul 23, 2014, 6:33 pm
#119
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Jul 23, 2014, 6:47 pm
#120
Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 4,374
This ABC News article has more (alleged) dialogue between pax and GA:
When the gate agent told Watson she can’t let his children board with him, Watson said he asked the agent: “Is this a new policy?”
Watson said the agent didn’t answer his question directly, but told him: “I am not going to change my mind.”
The gate agent allegedly asked Watson and his two children to step aside and wait until the rest of the A-list members board.
“We waited, which was fine,” Watson said. “I thought she was very rude and wanted to complain to customer service, so I asked her: ‘Can I get your last name?’”
“She told me: ‘You don’t need my last name for anything,’” Watson said. “I told her: ‘Real nice way to treat an A-list member.’”
Watson said the agent didn’t answer his question directly, but told him: “I am not going to change my mind.”
The gate agent allegedly asked Watson and his two children to step aside and wait until the rest of the A-list members board.
“We waited, which was fine,” Watson said. “I thought she was very rude and wanted to complain to customer service, so I asked her: ‘Can I get your last name?’”
“She told me: ‘You don’t need my last name for anything,’” Watson said. “I told her: ‘Real nice way to treat an A-list member.’”