Delta's turn

[Westcoastwild]

Gotcha so the boycotters are down to Frontier, Spirit, and Alaska. Hope they can work the routes out

Oh, but you're forgetting that frontier and spirit are often already boycotted by the flying snobs.

So that leaves Alaska. And wait until those folks are forced to fly in one of the little tin can planes Alaska uses on their regional flights. Then they're going to have to found their own airline. Ran by unicorns and Santa Claus. I look forward to it!

 

[sam_gordon]

Ugh. No. I'm not saying that at all. But I'm going to generally expect the flight attendants to only deny someone bathroom use when it's necessary. All the guy had to do was wait until after take off. If he couldn't wait, he probably shouldn't have been on a plane. Because practically speaking, no one has unlimited access to a toilet on a flight.

I think it's easy to say "he should have held it". IIRC, the first time he tried to go, they were #3 for takeoff. Maybe he thought then he'd be fine. Then there was a 30 minute wait. Now, what was simply uncomfortable did become emergent.

Hindsight is 20/20. He should have gone before boarding. He didn't. He's on the plane and has to go NOW. So you're the passenger sitting next to him. There are two possibilities... he either goes to the lavatory or he tries to hold it and risks urinating in the seat. Remember, you've been on the taxiway for 30 minutes already. What do you want him to do?

I am not faulting Delta for telling him to return to his seat. I think Delta did not need to deplane him and should have gotten him to his destination, not given him a partial refund.

 

[mnrose]

There will be a dozen more airline related news stories before any of this quiets down. First United, then United (with the rabbit), and now this one. How hard is it to go to the bathroom before boarding?

Especially because they were only "delayed" by 30 minutes. Good grief. You need to go before you get on the plane if you can't wait AT LEAST an hour, IMO. Or wear Depends. I've been on MANY flights where they never turn off the fasten seat belt sign. Yup, it can get pretty uncomfortable, but you can't expect that they will always be available.

 

[mnrose]

And another reason for me not to want to fly.


Everyone keeps saying "he should not have gotten up" Honestly tell us what would you do? Would you sit in your seat and pee on yourself?

I wouldn't find myself in that situation. As I said, I've flown a ton of miles and miraculously, in my decades of flying I've never had to get up during a "fasten seat belt sign". Ever. I've been "uncomfortable" but never an "emergency." And the uncomfortable situations have been during turbulence where it was not possible to use the restrooms.

So, it's hard for me to "put myself in his shoes" because it has literally never happened to me. I always use the restroom before getting on a plane, just in case. Now, perhaps he had a tight connection, but this isn't mentioned either, so probably not the case. And, it wasn't even a "major" delay. 30 minutes? Nothing. Happens all the time.


I'm not kidding when I say if you get "urgency" that bad you should wear Depends.

 

[Westcoastwild]

Especially because they were only "delayed" by 30 minutes. Good grief. You need to go before you get on the plane if you can't wait AT LEAST an hour, IMO. Or wear Depends. I've been on MANY flights where they never turn off the fasten seat belt sign. Yup, it can get pretty uncomfortable, but you can't expect that they will always be available.

Yes. I've also been on flights where you can't get up. I mean if we talking about 4 hours sitting there on the tarmac, that would be different. But 30 minutes and the guy didn't ask before getting up...he's in the wrong.

 

[Squirlz]

They had federal authorities requested to arrest this guy!
ONLY on the airlines, people.
ONLY on the airlines.

What does this mean exactly? I mean, they are the ONLY ones that fly the public on those big planes.

 

[sam_gordon]

As I said, I've flown a ton of miles and miraculously, in my decades of flying I've never had to get up during a "fasten seat belt sign". Ever. I've been "uncomfortable" but never an "emergency."

And because it's never happened to you, it never happens to anyone?

So answer me this... what if this guy was sitting next to you? Are you ok with him trying to "hold it" for who knows how long? It could be the entire flight.

 

[Albort]

I'm a retired FA, I worked that aircraft a lot. That barrier strap is put up before aft seated FA is buckled into the jumpseat.

ETA: If he went into the bathroom without permission he would've had to remove the strap without asking to get access to restroom.

thats interesting. I thought they FA just have to push the Occupied/Unoccupied sign one way to lock it.

Cool so I guess people can now boycott Southwest, United, American, and Delta. What does that leave? Spirit, Alaska, Jetblue, and Frontier? Goodluck.

So glad i live on the west coast where there are a ton of Asian airlines to fly with... :] They treat me well!

 

[mnrose]

And because it's never happened to you, it never happens to anyone?

So answer me this... what if this guy was sitting next to you? Are you ok with him trying to "hold it" for who knows how long? It could be the entire flight.

It should never happen to any adult. Really. A small child I'd understand. But, once again, if a full grown adult has this "problem" they need to wear appropriate undergarments to deal with the situation where they may not have access to a bathroom for hours. It definitely happens. What's the airline supposed to do? Let this guy go, delaying take off. Then 4 more people need to go. Then a 1/2 dozen more. When would it end? Isn't the adult thing to be prepared for this? Or let him up on an active taxiway where he gets injured and then sues the airline because they "let" him get up. You know that would be the next thing in our sue happy world. Especially since it seems to be "pile on the airlines" month. What's YOUR solution? Pull out of line (delaying everyone) to let this ONE guy go to the restroom? Let him move around while the plane is on operating on an active runway? My solution is the old boy scout "be prepared."

 

[mnrose]

thats interesting. I thought they FA just have to push the Occupied/Unoccupied sign one way to lock it.



So glad i live on the west coast where there are a ton of Asian airlines to fly with... :] They treat me well!

Yes, but they still won't let you move around during taxi

 

[fly girl]

thats interesting. I thought they FA just have to push the Occupied/Unoccupied sign one way to lock it.

It's not the restroom door that has the strap. The FA sits back, in between the doors to the bathrooms (pure glamour, I know!). The red barrier strap is at the walls by the last rows of coach.

Those walls are the front walls of the restroom. The jumpseat isn't far from the strap, but you can't undo it if you're buckled into your jumpseat harness. Therefore, the guy had to release the red strap to access the bathroom door.

 

[sam_gordon]

It should never happen to any adult. Really. A small child I'd understand. But, once again, if a full grown adult has this "problem" they need to wear appropriate undergarments to deal with the situation where they may not have access to a bathroom for hours. It definitely happens. What's the airline supposed to do? Let this guy go, delaying take off. Then 4 more people need to go. Then a 1/2 dozen more. When would it end? Isn't the adult thing to be prepared for this? Or let him up on an active taxiway where he gets injured and then sues the airline because they "let" him get up. You know that would be the next thing in our sue happy world. Especially since it seems to be "pile on the airlines" month. What's YOUR solution? Pull out of line (delaying everyone) to let this ONE guy go to the restroom? Let him move around while the plane is on operating on an active runway? My solution is the old boy scout "be prepared."

But you're past that point. Sure, if there was some way to go back in time, there's no no problem. I've been in this situation (with my DD) and she was allowed to go to the lab while we were taxiing. Exceptions HAVE been made.

ETA... I'm glad you live in a black and white world. Mine is shades of grey.

 

[leebee]

I think it's easy to say "he should have held it". IIRC, the first time he tried to go, they were #3 for takeoff. Maybe he thought then he'd be fine. Then there was a 30 minute wait. Now, what was simply uncomfortable did become emergent.

Hindsight is 20/20. He should have gone before boarding. He didn't. He's on the plane and has to go NOW. So you're the passenger sitting next to him. There are two possibilities... he either goes to the lavatory or he tries to hold it and risks urinating in the seat. Remember, you've been on the taxiway for 30 minutes already. What do you want him to do?

I am not faulting Delta for telling him to return to his seat. I think Delta did not need to deplane him and should have gotten him to his destination, not given him a partial refund.

Actually, there are THREE possibilities. He could have pushed the FA call button and explain to the FA that he was having a dire emergency. FA calls the flight deck, gets permission for the guy to use the bathroom, and it's all OK. Delta probably has to pay a fine for leaving the take-off queue, and maybe has to pay an additional fee if they go back to a gate to wait until they can get another take-off position, but at least the guy (a) got to pee and (b) wasn't arrested by security. Instead, the guy did what he wanted, the entire flight returns to the gate, everyone is hauled off, flight is delayed, connections are missed, at some point during the day this crew will become illegal for working too many hours, and the guy gets in legal trouble. SO MUCH EASIER to push that call button!

Do people realize that it's not the FAs and not even the airlines that make a lot of these rules? Federal regulations were put into effect in response to 9-11. It's an offense to disregard/ignore the requests/demands of uniformed flight crew. Remaining seated and buckled in while on an active taxiway is a safety measure. Mistakes happen, errors are made. I was in a plane that almost landed on top of a small, private airplane at MCO. My BIL, who is a flight attendant for United, watched it happen from the gate area (he was out there because he had his ID- we were flying on his buddy passes so he was meeting us- and it was pre-9/11). Our plane went almost vertically up and it felt like we were being slammed into the floor- but we didn't crash into another plane. Many people seem to think that the airlines, FAs, etc. are making up rules as they go for their convenience, and the customer be damned. It really doesn't work that way!!

 

[Disney Doll]

I think that everyone is going to start having issues with every airline in an effort to get refunds, upgrades and media attention.

 

[bcla]

Do people realize that it's not the FAs and not even the airlines that make a lot of these rules? Federal regulations were put into effect in response to 9-11. It's an offense to disregard/ignore the requests/demands of uniformed flight crew. Remaining seated and buckled in while on an active taxiway is a safety measure. Mistakes happen, errors are made. I was in a plane that almost landed on top of a small, private airplane at MCO. My BIL, who is a flight attendant for United, watched it happen from the gate area (he was out there because he had his ID- we were flying on his buddy passes so he was meeting us- and it was pre-9/11). Our plane went almost vertically up and it felt like we were being slammed into the floor- but we didn't crash into another plane. Many people seem to think that the airlines, FAs, etc. are making up rules as they go for their convenience, and the customer be damned. It really doesn't work that way!!

Being buckled in is always important. I know in certain countries there's a strong aversion to wearing seat belts as if it's some violation of personal freedom. There's the infamous T-shirt in China that drivers wear with a black stripe that's supposed to look like a belt across the chest.

Unfortunately this is an issue with passengers. I remember Asiana 214 at San Francisco. Both of the passengers who were ejected weren't wearing their seat belts, and both died.

 

[RedAngie]

Gotcha so the boycotters are down to Frontier, Spirit, and Alaska. Hope they can work the routes out

I'm sure if those people did a google search they'd find a reason to boycott Frontier, Spirit, and Alaska too.

I guess that leaves Allegiant. Ooops, supposedly they fly unsafe planes.

Those boycotters will have to start walking soon.

 

[bcla]

I'm sure if those people did a google search they'd find a reason to boycott Frontier, Spirit, and Alaska too.

I guess that leaves Allegiant. Ooops, supposedly they fly unsafe planes.

Those boycotters will have to start walking soon.

I've always heard of people (some I know) who look at every little thing in the news to cross out some company/brand/whatever to stop buying or doing business with based on bad publicity of some type. Maybe it's a large recall or an infamous incident. However, as someone who actually works in a manufacturing industry - everyone has problems. No company makes a mass-market product that will never fail. Everything is built to a price point and all service industries provide services at a price point. You can look at the industrial "errata" documents that describe all the issues. Something complex like a microprocessor might have hundreds of little things that have been reported. There might be software workaround and often the best thing to do is to find a way to operate without the incorrect functionality.

Start thinking company A is now off your list? What if company B has a similar issue. Then company C. There's really no way to buy perfection. You can realistically only hope for excellent reliability. Perfection is unattainable.

 

[fly girl]

I'm sure if those people did a google search they'd find a reason to boycott Frontier, Spirit, and Alaska too.

I guess that leaves Allegiant. Ooops, supposedly they fly unsafe planes.

Those boycotters will have to start walking soon.

Lol. If they really want to push their luck...



Welcome aboard Greyhound!

 

[Westcoastwild]

Lol. If they really want to push their luck...

View attachment 233791

Welcome aboard Greyhound!

I nearly choked on a chip laughing thanks to you, just so you know. Absolutely!

Here's a question to ponder. If you have a "bathroom emergency" on greyhound and demand that the driver pulls over, does anyone seriously expect that to happen?

 

[Mizzoufan]

Lol. If they really want to push their luck...

View attachment 233791

Welcome aboard Greyhound!

Good seeing you again Fly Girl.