Almost kicked off FLIGHT! Please help

[disykat]

I won't let my son fly Southwest because they serve peanuts. I would be uncomfortable whether they have them on THAT flight or not. I figure it's all over their seats and everywhere. We just choose to fly airlines that don't regularly serve peanuts to minimize risk. Continental, United, American, Alaska... I'm sure there are more. They have some treenuts and some "may contain" snacks, but don't generally serve peanuts. I just browse their website until I find what they serve. Look under "in flight services" or "traveling with disabilities."

 

[IDoDis]

What a jerk! I'd have taken out my cell phone, called my home phone, let the voicemail answer and then just held the phone in my hand to pick up the garbage he was spewing at you. He'd have stopped right then and there because he'd have figured out what you were doing.

I hope you get some recourse. He's probably had other complaints given his demeanor towards you.

 

[Topper]

Let's break down Delta's policy:

Peanut Allergies
When you notify us that you have a peanut allergy, we'll create a buffer zone of three rows in front of and three rows behind your seat. We'll also advise cabin service to board additional non-peanut snacks, which will allow our flight attendants to serve these snack items to everyone within this area.

I take this to mean that they will not serve peanut products to anyone sitting inside of the buffer zone.

Gate agents will be notified in case you'd like to pre-board and cleanse the immediate seating area. We'll do everything we can, but unfortunately we still can't guarantee that the flight will be completely peanut-free.

I take this to mean that the OP should have requested to pre-board to clean the area herself.

I take it that the OP did not choose to pre-board and then she wanted Delta agents to violate their policy by cleaning the area that she herself should have cleaned.

 

[bicker]

That's a good summary Topper.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

OP I am sorry you had to go through this. Delta IMO is one of the worst airlines. The last time we flew them there was someone else's stuff shoved into the side of my luggage and some kind of condensed milk all over my luggage. We have never flwon them since. We wrote them a letter and they sent us travel vouchers (not a full voucher- just money off). We threw them out. We never wanted to fly them again.
I hope you get some resolution. I too would focus on the facts. State the things that the idiot person said to you. State that you had spoken to numerous employees about the allergy and noboody informed you that you could clean the area etc. IMO they failed to communicate and the nasty man was way out of line. I would not let that go. Good luck!

 

[DawnCt1]

I will take that bet and raise you one! LOL I find your whole response a little funny. First of all you need to go over the letter again. They did not ask what I wanted them to do about it after they agreed to clean it up. That was before when I made them aware of the issue. I left it at that. The nice employee apologized and said he would do his best. I told him that would be great.

What was to figure out. The peanuts on the plane were being cleaned up the first gentleman explained everything. I said OK!!!
That could have been the end of the story but it was not because John Doe felt compelled to get involved. When I disembarked the plane, yes I was irritated (only because I knew this could have been avoided had they listened prior to me boarding) however I was perfectly content in waiting by myself to have it cleaned. There was nothing to clear up but the mess of peanuts.

Also you must not get out much if you think people who are trained to deal with the public do not go off for no reason. They do and they should always be held accountable.

Rather than being irritated, perhaps you should have been grateful and gotten off of the plane with a smile and a thank you very much. Turn around times are short. Passengers don't always make connections. Some book and pay for a flight that they don't show up for. The flight attendant isn't focused on a particular passenger's issues but on the overall safety and timeliness of the flight. I think that your expectations were raised too high. No flight on any airline can ever be guaranteed "peanut free". Passengers can bring anything aboard that isn't restricted, included peanuts.
I like Delta as well as any other airline. In fact I like them a lot. We have gotten a lot of airmiles and enjoyed a lot of free flights that were well out of our budget for family vacations, including 4 trips to Hawaii for a family of six.

 

[DawnCt1]

OP I am sorry you had to go through this. Delta IMO is one of the worst airlines. The last time we flew them there was someone else's stuff shoved into the side of my luggage and some kind of condensed milk all over my luggage. We have never flwon them since. We wrote them a letter and they sent us travel vouchers (not a full voucher- just money off). We threw them out. We never wanted to fly them again.
I hope you get some resolution. I too would focus on the facts. State the things that the idiot person said to you. State that you had spoken to numerous employees about the allergy and noboody informed you that you could clean the area etc. IMO they failed to communicate and the nasty man was way out of line. I would not let that go. Good luck!

My son flew Southwest and had his luggage and the entire contents shredded! Stuff happens. They compensated him for the luggage, (gave him a new suitcase) and paid for most of the items up to what they were legally responsible for. We would still fly Southwest.

 

[DawnCt1]

I can relate to your feelings. I had a "flight incident" myself. I won't go into the details but the short version is they wanted us to move as we were traveling with a carseat - which they KNEW ahead of time- into different seats. With all 4 of us sitting seperately- they wanted my 6 month old to sit next to some stranger on the flight by herself. I requested that they ask if anyone would switch with us in a row or even 2 together. The flight attentdant berated me yelling ect. to the point that other passengers got involved. Passengers helped us by moving seats with us and we were off in the air.

As the flight carried on I asked another flight attendant for the woman's name as I would be writing a letter. Minutes later she was in my face again all apologetic wanting to buy me a drink. explaining all the stress she was under....

I still wrote my letter. And felt much better when management called me a week later. I also got a "promotion" shortly there after. But we never flew with them again.
And yes it was Delta.

DH and I were returning on a flight from Ft. Meyers on Delta this spring. Shortly after we arrived at the gate we were paged to the desk. They needed us to sit seperately because they needed to accommodate a family that needed to fly together, whose seats were separated. The FA was very nice and said she was desperate. Several couples had already refused to be separated and we were "her last hope". Of course we agreed, but I wonder how many passengers REFUSE to be accommodating and then at the last minute, realize that they are going to sit beside and be responsible for someone else's child and are very happy to cooperate. I think that all of the airlines try to fix the seating. They aren't always successful.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

My son flew Southwest and had his luggage and the entire contents shredded! Stuff happens. They compensated him for the luggage, (gave him a new suitcase) and paid for most of the items up to what they were legally responsible for. We would still fly Southwest.

Stuff does happen but I don't want to find someone else's items in my luggage. That's gross.

 

[CathrynRose]

OP - first of all, that sucks. I'm sorry that happened to you guys. If you did indeed remain quiet, you did better than I would have done. I have a big mouth. I wouldn't have made it on the flight.

That being said - your letter needs to be much much shorter. More facts (this is what happened prior to board, this is what happened when we boarded - ands beyond) Try and show what your biggest concern is (which although there was a peanut allergy, they did attempt to rectify - the problem was Mr Bigmouth)

And less emotion. Less, less, less. Replace crying with extremely upset.

Just the facts ma'am. Imagine you're in front of Judge Judy and she's yelling at you to "get to the point!" Hahaha!

Let us know what happens. Good luck!

 

[snarlingcoyote]

DH and I were returning on a flight from Ft. Meyers on Delta this spring. Shortly after we arrived at the gate we were paged to the desk. They needed us to sit seperately because they needed to accommodate a family that needed to fly together, whose seats were separated. The FA was very nice and said she was desperate. Several couples had already refused to be separated and we were "her last hope". Of course we agreed, but I wonder how many passengers REFUSE to be accommodating and then at the last minute, realize that they are going to sit beside and be responsible for someone else's child and are very happy to cooperate. I think that all of the airlines try to fix the seating. They aren't always successful.

I was highly impressed with Continental a few months ago. Thanks to storms the day before ALL flights were overbooked and lots of new people on the planes. GA went around, found people she needed to move and started her spiel with "Sorry to do this to you, but I've got a family with a toddler/infant/small child. The baby is in the seat next to you. Would you mind switching? I'll put you in a seat next to a grown up!"

It's amazing how she got EVERYONE to switch (and got me a great seat for being a good sport about some other things. . .but I digress) with no raised voices or unpleasantness.

 

[CathrynRose]

And an OT peanut allergy question.

I love love love cats. Love them! Grew up with them! And am so wickedly allergic to them now, I can't even walk in my Grandma's house without immediately wheezing.

When my mom passed away, a whole lot of her stuff was at my g'mas. And I needed/wanted to go through it. I donned one of those cheapee painting masks, took a few benadryl and hoped for the best. The benadryl itself never was enough, so I was hopeful the mask would work.

Other than breathing hot breath (I hate that feeling! Blech!) I was fine. Totally okay! Even going through old boxes of clothes the cats took to making their own little beds.

Curious if someone with a PA could do this, on a flight? It would be a pain, and uncomfy....but if it could save a life, would it work?

 

[DisMomme]

And an OT peanut allergy question.

I love love love cats. Love them! Grew up with them! And am so wickedly allergic to them, I can't even walk in my Grandma's house without immediately wheezing.

When my mom passed away, a whole lot of her stuff was at my g'mas. And I needed/wanted to go through it. I donned one of those cheapee painting masks, took a few benadryl and hoped for the best. The benadryl itself never was enough, so I was hopeful the mask would work.

Other than breathing hot breath (I hate that feeling! Blech!) I was fine. Totally okay! Even going through old boxes of clothes the cats took to making their own little beds.

Curious if someone with a PA could do this, on a flight? It would be a pain, and uncomfy....but if it could save a life, would it work?

I suppose that would work if the PA was only from injesting the Peanuts. We had a student in our 3rd grade classroom this year with a severe PA. We did not limit snacks at the parents request (she wanted her child to know how to handle the PA in the "real world"). We did, however, have to wash all tables and chairs down after snack time. Students were not allowed to open doors or move about the class until they washed their hands with soap and water. The oils from peanuts and peanut butter stay on surfaces and a person with a PA can pick up the oils by touch and have a reaction.

On a plus side, we had a lot less absenses due to cold and flu in our room! Also, it wasn't ever a hardship. It became part of our routine and was very easily managed. You'd think if 3rd graders can handle keeping a classroom PA safe than an adult airline cleaning crew could do it also.

 

[Tuffcookie]

OP,

Don't send your letter off just yet. Sit on it for a few days when you have calmed down a bit more. Then rewrite it with a little less emotion and state facts only. Regarding John De, you said he was the one that decided whether you stayed on the flight or not, did you see any name badge or anything that would be a clue as to what agency he was with? Delta will simply try to blow you off with the excuse when John Doe was called to the plane, it was out of their (Delta's) hands. You may be dealing with 2 different agencies here.

At this point, after seing Delta's written policy about how they deal with peanut allergies, I would include that in your letter and respectfully and firmly request a full refund.

Now, although I think you were treated very badly by the airline and whoever John Doe represented, there is no way I would have flown on any plane with an airline that still served peanuts, regardless of written policy or sky miles!

I have heard some doozies in the last couple of years regarding the way airlines treat their customers, which is why I'm driving on vacation this year!

TC

 

[CathrynRose]

I suppose that would work if the PA was only from injesting the Peanuts.

I don't ingest cats, but the mask helped the airborne dander'y stuff I assume is the issue with me.

I'm wondering if that would help someone with an airborne PA? KWIM?

It, of course, would not help with touching peanut 'dander', though.

 

[Starbrite]

I was on a Peanut-Free flight once...on Airtran.

I was informed before I checked in that this was a peanut free flight & we were asked not to open ANY of our own snacks. If this was an issue, they offered to rebook us on the next flight.

They had "Peanut Free" printed right on our boarding pass. It was announced MANY times while waiting at the gate.

A little girl, maybe 7 or 8, walked up covered head to toe in what reminded me of a bee-keepers suit. Every inch of her was covered, gloves and all. She even had on this face mask thingy. Her parents went on first, I assume to inspect & sanitize, then they cam back out for her. Once seated, the FA spoke with every person in her immediate area reminding them that this was a life/death allergy and please do not open any snacks from home. If I remember correctly, they gave us some sort of cracker to eat.

I thought it was handled very well by the whole airline staff. Obviously, she had a pretty severe allergy.

 

[safetymom]

I have found Delta to be very good in the customer service department. I changed from other airlines to Delta because of their great attitudes.

I don't know why you should request a full refund since you did fly.

 

[Planogirl]

I was on a Peanut-Free flight once...on Airtran.

I was informed before I checked in that this was a peanut free flight & we were asked not to open ANY of our own snacks. If this was an issue, they offered to rebook us on the next flight.

They had "Peanut Free" printed right on our boarding pass. It was announced MANY times while waiting at the gate.

A little girl, maybe 7 or 8, walked up covered head to toe in what reminded me of a bee-keepers suit. Every inch of her was covered, gloves and all. She even had on this face mask thingy. Her parents went on first, I assume to inspect & sanitize, then they cam back out for her. Once seated, the FA spoke with every person in her immediate area reminding them that this was a life/death allergy and please do not open any snacks from home. If I remember correctly, they gave us some sort of cracker to eat.

I thought it was handled very well by the whole airline staff. Obviously, she had a pretty severe allergy.

I think that was handled real well too BUT (there's always one of those) there's no way to ensure that no one would go ahead and eat their snacks anyway. It would seriously scare me to death if I was one of those parents.

 

[koima]

I agree with the others that your letter needs to be fine tuned a bit, sticking to the facts and condensed for easier reading. Breaking up the text seems to help people get through it, since people seem to start to skim after a big chunk of uninterrupted text, so bullet points of the comments made to you will help make them stand out. It needs to fit on a single side of a single page, and yours runs into the third page. (Uh, yeah, I copied and pasted it to a Word doc to check!)

You also need to ask for a resolution. What would make you feel like justice was done in your case? Do you want to be reimbursed? Here are my edits:

To whom it may concern,

I am writing to inform you of the unprofessional, verbally abusive behavior I encountered with flight manager John Doe on flight _______ on (date, time) in (city.)

I was traveling alone with my two young children, ages 2 and 5. My youngest son has a peanut allergy. As per Delta’s policy on peanut allergies, I gave advance notification of the allergy so a peanut-free “buffer zone of three rows in front of and three rows behind your seat” would be available before boarding. I called before my vacation began and also told the agent at the baggage counter and front gate agent. I was assured that the attendants would be informed.

After boarding the plane, I noticed whole peanuts(WHERE? On the seat, on the floor?) I understand that Delta cannot make a flight completely peanut-free, but finding whole peanuts on the floor in what should have been a peanut-free zone is unacceptable.

I quickly made an attendant (NAME?) aware of the situation and asked that the peanuts be removed. The attendant was not polite, but did comply. I felt as though I was causing an inconvenience, but the alternative was risking a serious reaction mid-air, causing even more delay. I was asked to disembark the plane while they cleaned, and was assured that the situation would be resolved. My children and I left the plane and waited on the ramp.

I then encountered John Doe, the flight supervisor. I was already upset and embarrassed at the delay that was caused, and told him that I would prefer to wait quietly while the plane was cleaned. Mr. Doe proceeded to berate me in front of my children, saying that if I did not talk to him, I would not be allowed on the flight. While I waited quietly with my children, John Doe made comments such as:

• “Why can’t you talk to me like a normal human being?”
• “What is wrong with your generation? You expect everything to be handed to you? None of you know how to carry on a conversation.”
• “Look at you over there against the wall with your hands behind your back acting like a child.”
• “Learn to talk like a grown up.”
• “Look at you and you’re a mom. What a horrible mother!”
• “I feel sorry for these kids, they have no hope.”

I made no responses throughout this verbal abuse, but did ask to be left alone several times. In the years I have flown Delta I have never been treated to a customer service level this poor. I was stunned by his comments when I was trying to prevent a severe reaction that could have not only endangered my son, but also delayed the flight further.

(State what you want for compensation.)

 

[Christine]

And an OT peanut allergy question.

I love love love cats. Love them! Grew up with them! And am so wickedly allergic to them now, I can't even walk in my Grandma's house without immediately wheezing.

When my mom passed away, a whole lot of her stuff was at my g'mas. And I needed/wanted to go through it. I donned one of those cheapee painting masks, took a few benadryl and hoped for the best. The benadryl itself never was enough, so I was hopeful the mask would work.

Other than breathing hot breath (I hate that feeling! Blech!) I was fine. Totally okay! Even going through old boxes of clothes the cats took to making their own little beds.

Curious if someone with a PA could do this, on a flight? It would be a pain, and uncomfy....but if it could save a life, would it work?

Probably it would work. What you'd have to really figure out is if the peanut particles from the skins of peanut and peanut dust are fine enough to go through the mask. There have been studies done that have proven that the particles circulate through the air and do go through (and get caught) in the airplane's filtration system. As long as the mask had ultra-fine particular filtration, it would probably work. I think there is one type of mask that does and it was the one they were recommending during the anthrax scares.