Thunderroad

FWIW, it was the Post, not the Times. Lends the details portrayed in the story a bit less credibility, though I imagine the gist of it was accurate.

More generally, it's certainly a shame. But it sounds like the couple put themselves in this situation traveling abroad when they knew she was in questionable health; plus, as others have pointed out, she would have been better off seeking care in Hungary or if they felt that was unacceptable in some place just a drive away, such as Germany. And to continue the second guessing, they certainly should have had travel insurance that could have covered an emergency evacuation.

122554

Not sure what forum this belongs in, DL, KLM, LH?

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/a...w0EZLnvYr9XQmM

batdude

i am truly sorry for his loss.


however, *IF* the article I read is correct (from AP i think) ---- she refused medical care in Europe... several times... would not go to the hospital.

multiple attempts were made to get her onboard the aircraft...all failed - and all very heavily documented.


So - in before the lock... but:

#1 - she should never have flown over there in (extremely) bad health
#2 - she should not have refused medical care
#3 - he will probably settle out of court for $X million $$ just to keep the story out of the paper (KLM/DL PR move)

just my .02.


d

RFDMinnesota

WSFIS

Spiff

While the NY Post is hardly a literary beacon of light, it would seem the story is already in at least one paper or "paper" if you prefer.

MIT_SBM

I thought that most insurance would not cover 'pre-existing conditions'.

swag

Longer thread about this over in T-Buzz:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...-boarding.html

DL Platinum

KLM was the original carrier. Delta is only tied because they tried to help this lady after KLM could or would not. It is unfortunate and tragic, but she did refuse medical treatment in the country she was in. I can hardly see how DL has responsibility here. Rather, shouldn't we look at the husband who knew of her weight and mobility issues and should have booked a seat that would accommodate her? He did book two coach seats for her so maybe he tried, but most carriers have seats called "business" or "first class". A person of her size would have at least "fit" in the forward cabin. Not sure what the weight limits are of those seats, but I've seen many a person of size up front.

yolo1966

Say they were able to get her on the aircraft and strap her in securely...in the event of an emergency evacuation who the heck is going to be responsible to help move her? How is she going to use the bathroom on such a long transatlantic flight? Someone like this should not be traveling by air.

javabytes

A big emphasis on #2. Regardless of what any airline did, why on earth one would refuse medical treatment while in a deteriorating condition is beyond me, and must shoulder much of the blame for this sad outcome.

lavag

A sad story. Someone in renal failure absolutely could gain many many kilos in water weight over a month. Terribly sad all around, I'm sure everyone involved feels awful. It does sound like the ground crews and airlines did truly try. I'm sure no one expected this outcome.

itsaboutthejourney

Misleading/dramatic thread titles such as this are one (of many) things that make DL executives dismissive of FlyerTalk @:-)

My condolences to the husband, but I think the LH spokesman was the must blunt and correct: “The question was never the seat belt. The question was the mobility of the passenger.”

exwannabe

If people think this borad can be hostile, reads the comments to the NYPost linked by the OP.

Brutal (but mostly true).

chimphappyhour

Exactly. And it sounds like she would have died in flight if she had made it on the plane. That would probably have been VERY traumatic for those on board.

Not to sound like an a-hole but it isn't the airlines' faults that they couldn't board her. Exactly like it isn't the airlines' faults that I can't take any piece of luggage I want and stuff it into an overhead bin on a CRJ. Planes have finite dimensions. Some people need to accept that.

Then there are people like this lawyer that is contemplating a lawsuit. Sometimes, I think judges need to just fall back on Darwinism and throw stuff like this out instead of allowing Darwinism to be litigated into oblivion. These people made a series of really bad decisions and ended up running up against the real world, not one made of shaky to uphold man made laws. In the end, natural law will win.

Canarsie

The new home for this discussion is now the TravelBuzz! forum, where it will most likely be merged with the following existing thread:Regards,

Canarsie
Co-Moderator, Delta SkyMiles forum