Months and planning and then one joker...

[LSUfan4444]

At the airport and headed to Disney. Plane was halfway through boarding when someone made a joke about the pilot being drunk. So everyone had to deplane and we've been sitting here ever since.

Just got word the pilots have both been tested and cleared, so we're hopefully leaving soon. We may still make our connection and our Beaches and Cream ressie. Fingers crossed.

Sorry this happened to you OP, but I find it funny. I mean, it sucks for you but it still makes me laugh.

 

[Shanti]

I absolutely object. I have seen signs at security about not making jokes about things, but not in the plane, and not about the actions of others.

This kind of remark exemplifies what we've come to after living in a world that has neglected the importance of common sense, and manners.

 

[pa. dad]

This! It's like joking that a surgeon is drunk right before he preforms surgery: it's a serious and potentially career ending accusation. It's never a joke.



They would deplane the aircraft because airlines face fines if passengers are left sitting on-board too long, and passengers cannot be on an aircraft without a crew for security reasons. The pilot would have to go to a certified testing facility, which may or may not be in close proximity to the airport. Let me answer your question with a question: do you really want Airline personnel to ignore comments from passengers because they "might be kidding"?



Yeah, me either. Maybe he's thinking of SNL sketches?



I wouldn't say it's extreme at all. The joker risked a persons livelihood for a few cheap laughs. Not only is it disrespectful to the Captain, but it likely cost the airline a fair bit of money in re-bookings for missed connections, fuel for restarting the aircraft after deplaning, etc.



Good.



I'm glad the sane passengers gave him an appropriate show of support. It's just cruel to jeopardize someones livelihood with a tasteless joke.

I'll answer my part- I want airline personnel very hesistant to get off everybofy off the plane because some yahoo thought he might have heard something questionable from someone who looks "suspicious" in their eyes.
I lost 3 hours on an expensive business trip based on hearsay that was a complete overreaction.

 

[Plaid Princess]

I'll answer my part- I want airline personnel very hesistant to get off everybofy off the plane because some yahoo thought he might have heard something questionable from someone who looks "suspicious" in their eyes.
I lost 3 hours on an expensive business trip based on hearsay that was a complete overreaction.

Well airlines are kinda caught between a rock and a hard place as they have two choices: 1. Ignore the comment and deal with what could potentially be a major life threatening problem later to avoid irritating passengers. 2. Treat the comment as credible and investigate the issue, insuring all passenger safety, but delaying the flight. Sorry, but I'll take the "complete overreaction" every time; a delayed flight is a minor inconvenience when compared with potential alternatives.

 

[manicstreet]

I understand that they need to be safe, but they need to punish the person that made the joke. Kick him off the plane or something for inconveniencing 200+ people.

 

[lizabu]

Well airlines are kinda caught between a rock and a hard place as they have two choices: 1. Ignore the comment and deal with what could potentially be a major life threatening problem later, to avoid irritating passengers. 2. Treat the comment as credible and investigate the issue, insuring all passenger safety, but delaying the flight. Sorry, but I'll take the "complete overreaction" every time, a delayed flight is a minor inconvenience when compared with potential alternatives.

Agreed. They have to treat everything with 100% seriousness. Could you imagine if there was an accident of some kind and they ignored something they thought was a joke? They would be sued for sure.

 

[AJA]

Oh my goodness, so annoying for everyone!

I do hope you made your reservation and have an excellent vacation.

 

[need2travel]

What a moron! Like OP I hope you make it to Beaches & Cream on time & treat yourselves to kitchen sink! Have a great vacation

 

[ssreward]

If a flight attendant/member of the flight crew has questions about a pilot's sobriety, by all means - test him...but because of a passing remark by a passenger?? That's rank insanity! If the guy said he thought the pilot was blind, would they delay the flight for an eye test? No way he should be punished, I'm pretty sure MOST people have said the same thing about another driver "Omg, what is he, drunk/blind?!" with no repercussions...

 

[Spoiledraf]

Exactly! We do not need signs on the airplane saying, "Please not make stupid remarks about the pilots being drunk."

This is a very serious accusation directed at an airline pilot. Licenses can and have been taken away by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) even when a pilot was not involved in drinking.

Might want to rethink that. Disney didn't think they needed signs that said BEWARE OF ALLIGATORS AND POISONOUS SNAKES until one showed up. Sometimes people apparently need to be told what not to do.

 

[Spoiledraf]

If a flight attendant/member of the flight crew has questions about a pilot's sobriety, by all means - test him...but because of a passing remark by a passenger?? That's rank insanity! If the guy said he thought the pilot was blind, would they delay the flight for an eye test? No way he should be punished, I'm pretty sure MOST people have said the same thing about another driver "Omg, what is he, drunk/blind?!" with no repercussions...

I'm curious. Who would hear that joke that would have the authority to do such a recall of the pilot and deplane passengers??? Surely not just a flight attendant. Sounds like there had to be a little more to this if true.

 

[DisneyOma]

Why should everyone have to deplane because some idiot makes a dumb joke? I've had to deplane on way to Chicago because some passenger made some inappropriate comments. passengers are going to say stupid things from time to time. The People that LISTEN to them and make everybody get off the plane are the ones that infuriate me. How long does it take to apply a breath test- a minute?

Seriously? It was during boarding, they have to get everyone off so they can assess the situation appropriately.

They were halfway boarded. Long past security.



I absolutely object. I have seen signs at security about not making jokes about things, but not in the plane, and not about the actions of others.

It's one thing to say they have a bomb in their bag. It's another to joke about the pilot. Heck, the way those (usually) guys slur and "uhhhhhhhhhh" their way through their announcements on the PA it would be a decent explanation to find out they were drinking. They are aware that we can almost never understand a word they say, right?

So, unless there's a sign that states you can't do something, no common sense is expected?

If a flight attendant/member of the flight crew has questions about a pilot's sobriety, by all means - test him...but because of a passing remark by a passenger?? That's rank insanity! If the guy said he thought the pilot was blind, would they delay the flight for an eye test? No way he should be punished, I'm pretty sure MOST people have said the same thing about another driver "Omg, what is he, drunk/blind?!" with no repercussions...

I disagree - and the 'everyone does it' excuse is childish.

I'm curious. Who would hear that joke that would have the authority to do such a recall of the pilot and deplane passengers??? Surely not just a flight attendant. Sounds like there had to be a little more to this if true.

Flight attendants are the last line of security in the boarding procedure. They are not 'just flight attendants'.

 

[Spoiledraf]

Seriously? It was during boarding, they have to get everyone off so they can assess the situation appropriately.



So, unless there's a sign that states you can't do something, no common sense is expected?



I disagree - and the 'everyone does it' excuse is childish.



Flight attendants are the last line of security in the boarding procedure. They are not 'just flight attendants'.

Your right, flight attendants are the last line of security. But I still think there had to be more to it than somebody randomly saying a pilot was intoxicated. That would be the first person I removed and interviewed. What's the basis of your comment. What did you see? What is your reasoning? Find out if there is any reason to proceed with charging a pilot with what I assume would be a crime. Do that before you take everyone else off the plane and defame a pilot. Proven innocent or not, it's likely on record the rest of his career. And yes, that person should be dealt with drearily. It's not stand up comedy hour at the improve. Peoples lives and careers are at stake. If it takes deplaning and I'm sure in at least some cases costing passengers time and significant money due to missed connections, that person should be held liable.
I'm going with a group of 11 people. If we can't make our connection and lose a day at Disney, that's over $2,000. Who makes that up???

 

[OhhBother]

OP here. We did make our connection and our reservation. So all was fine for us. Delta also deposited 10,000 miles in each of our SkyMiles account for the trouble.

It really did happen just as described. One comment by a female passenger. Once everyone was off the plane, the crowd was able to "figure out" who made the comment by the actions that were taken.

There was a news story about it in our local media. Like I said, I felt most bad for the pilot. He was very upset, as anyone in his position would have been.

 

[Spoiledraf]

OP here. We did make our connection and our reservation. So all was fine for us. Delta also deposited 10,000 miles in each of our SkyMiles account for the trouble.

It really did happen just as described. One comment by a female passenger. Once everyone was off the plane, the crowd was able to "figure out" who made the comment by the actions that were taken.

There was a news story about it in our local media. Like I said, I felt most bad for the pilot. He was very upset, as anyone in his position would have been.

I'm glad all turned out well for you. Our last big family vacation four years ago started out with a 10am flight that turned into a 3:30 pm flight that changed our first day at the parks from a a late lunch at ESPN followed by the rest of the day at MK to a dinner at closing time at Cape May Cafe, and a lot of really disappointed kids. Thanks to a mechanical problem and having to fly another plane in from Boston. Time is money at Disney but at least they got us there the same day. Unfortunately that airport no longer has direct flights to MCO anymore.

 

[kaytieeldr]

I'm going with a group of 11 people. If we can't make our connection and lose a day at Disney, that's over $2,000. Who makes that up???

Maybe see if there's trip insurance that covers unrelated passenger misbehavior?