Petite Woman Bumped from SWA for a hefty passenger.

[akhenaten]

The fact that the passenger that she had to get off for was an unaccompanied 14 year old minor makes all the difference in the world to me. If it had been an adult , able to fend for him/herself at the airport while waiting for a later flight then I would be upset.

Could the airline have been more diplomatic... sure... but what does the passenger want... a few minutes before she was stand-by with no firm plans....? Why embarass the child?

 

[Family Fun Mom]

I agree with a lot of you here that if the "hefty" person were not a child it would be a different story. I think the "petite," supposedly adult, passenger sounds like a pretty big crybaby to me. We're talking about a kid here for crying out loud! What was SW supposed to do? Send the child off in the airport, pat her on the back, and wish her luck?

I can understand the passenger being frustrated but running to the media to cry foul is a bit overdramatic.

 

[minkydog]

The fact that the passenger that she had to get off for was an unaccompanied 14 year old minor makes all the difference in the world to me. If it had been an adult , able to fend for him/herself at the airport while waiting for a later flight then I would be upset.

Could the airline have been more diplomatic... sure... but what does the passenger want... a few minutes before she was stand-by with no firm plans....? Why embarass the child?

I agree. My bet is this child was plenty embarrassed already. And you know she didn't buy her own ticket--someone with a credit card had to do that and THEY are the ones who messed up. If this were my child I would hope that they would do their best to get her on that plane.

That said, however, SWA totally dropped the ball. It was unecessary for htem to reveal the situation to the "petite passenger." A simple call for volunteers at standard comp would have been sufficient. If that didn't net any volunteers, then the last standby boarded would have been the one booted. By identifying the child's situation to other passengers they simply humiliated her unnecessarily.

What does that bumped passenger want? Her 15 minutes of fame. Albeit, anonymous fame. Coward.

 

[DawnCt1]

The fact that the passenger that she had to get off for was an unaccompanied 14 year old minor makes all the difference in the world to me. If it had been an adult , able to fend for him/herself at the airport while waiting for a later flight then I would be upset.

Could the airline have been more diplomatic... sure... but what does the passenger want... a few minutes before she was stand-by with no firm plans....? Why embarass the child?

Her "plan" was to get home. Once she paid for her ticket she was a confirmed passenger. The airline could have asked for volunteers to get off for $ XXX.00 toward a future ticket and a guaranteed seat on the next flight.....just like all the other carriers do when they are overbooked. There would have been no reason to embarrass anyone.

 

[CookieGVB]

Where does it say that the teenager hadn't purchased two seats? She got one seat as stand-by, and if he'd booked two, and just made a connection, then off she goes.

 

[lillygator]

I agree. My bet is this child was plenty embarrassed already. And you know she didn't buy her own ticket--someone with a credit card had to do that and THEY are the ones who messed up. If this were my child I would hope that they would do their best to get her on that plane.

That said, however, SWA totally dropped the ball. It was unecessary for htem to reveal the situation to the "petite passenger." A simple call for volunteers at standard comp would have been sufficient. If that didn't net any volunteers, then the last standby boarded would have been the one booted. By identifying the child's situation to other passengers they simply humiliated her unnecessarily.

What does that bumped passenger want? Her 15 minutes of fame. Albeit, anonymous fame. Coward.

I doubt it, a complaint gone awry I bet....and whoever bought the ticket should be ashamed....they knew two tickets were needed. and now are we debating what one feels? no one would be horrified had it been an adult passenger?

 

[minkydog]

I doubt it, a complaint gone awry I bet....and whoever bought the ticket should be ashamed....they knew two tickets were needed. and now are we debating what one feels? no one would be horrified had it been an adult passenger?

No one would be horrified if it were an adult passenger because it's assumed that an adult would have control over how many seats he booked. The teenager did not have the power or the responsibility for booking their seats. His/her adult guardian messed up. THEY are the ones who should feel embarrassed, IMO. All the same, you can't just leave a minor child standing at the gate unless you have an iron-clad plan for getting them to their destination that same day.

 

[abdmom]

My ds14 flies as an unaccompanied minor frequently. If it was the originating airport, the guardian would have had to be at the gate until the plane was wheels up. If it was the last flight of the evening, the UA would HAVE to be on it. I'm not sure - did the airline just say that the UA required two seats or did they say that the UA was obese and required two seats? They may have required two seats because of the additional manpower required for the UA.

 

[ilovepcot]

I blame the parents or guardian of the 14 year old for this mess. Anyone not living in a third world country knows about weight issues and airlines. When the reservation was made for the 14 year old, SOMEBODY already knew the kid had a weight problem and should have suspected a second seat may be needed. Why didn't someone ask the reservationist or look at info provided online concerning this issue?

 

[a1tinkfans]

Where does it say that the teenager hadn't purchased two seats? She got one seat as stand-by, and if he'd booked two, and just made a connection, then off she goes.

this sounds like what is NOT being told in the media. Stand By after purchase means she is a Paying Customer, However, technically that status also means they have the ability to kick her off, and they did. Not saying I agree with their handling, but stand by, is just that....stand by and if the "new" passenger was THAT late, this would not have happened, so I really believe he may have already paid for 2 seats and was not that late.....meanwhile, I think the whole situation stinks all around!

 

[tasha99]

She was on standby, then she PAID for her seat, boarded the plane and stowed her stuff. SWA could have asked for volunteers at that point and offered compensation to anyone willing to "take the next flight".

Exactly. I jump at the chance to get bumped whenever I can--someone would have willingly given up their seat for compensation.

 

[MaryAnnDVC]

The good thing about the person going to the media, and remaining anonymous (no reason to make it all about herself), is that the topic gets out there and maybe people (like the 14 year old's parents/guardians) will learn something to avoid a similar situation. That's one reason people sue (just as an analogy...not saying this is sue-worthy)...not just for compensation, but to effect change and awareness.

She was on standby, then she PAID for her seat, boarded the plane and stowed her stuff. SWA could have asked for volunteers at that point and offered compensation to anyone willing to "take the next flight".

Exactly.

Once you pay for your seat, you're no longer stand-by, according to my BIL who is a pilot.

Once this woman paid for her seat she was not a stand-by passenger anymore.

Her "plan" was to get home. Once she paid for her ticket she was a confirmed passenger. The airline could have asked for volunteers to get off for $ XXX.00 toward a future ticket and a guaranteed seat on the next flight.....just like all the other carriers do when they are overbooked. There would have been no reason to embarrass anyone.

 

[wdwfan16]

You had me until the end. If the late passenger was an adult, I would've been mad if I had to give up my seat because he or she needed 2. However, as a parent of a 14 year old (only 115 pounds, btw) who is flying alone this week, I would've gladly given my seat up (okay, maybe not gladly ). Children travelling alone can be nervous - what if this was a connecting flight, and her previous flight got in late?

I was backing the women until I found out the other was a 14 year old.

 

[robinb]

SWA has admitted that they handled it badly. What they should have done in this case was ask for 2 volunteers at standard compensation, rather than follow the SOP of asking the last-on standby passenger to deplane. (If the late-arriving connecting "passenger" had been two adults, or even a child accompanied by an adult, the whole situation wouldn't have happened. They would have just been told, "so sorry, but the door has closed. We'll have to put you on another flight."

The story didn't say that the doors were closed . I have seen stand-bys removed from planes for late arriving ticketed passengers before the door is closed. In addition, we don't really know how many seats the teen's parents actually purchased, just that she needed two seats. The removed passenger assumes that they sold the last seat when it could be that the teen was simply stuck in security and not at the gate during boarding.

Add me to the "cry baby" camp.

 

[robinb]

She was on standby, then she PAID for her seat, boarded the plane and stowed her stuff.

She paid for a seat from point A to point B. NOT a seat on that particular plane. Stand-by means just that. You STAND BY until there is an open seat. In this case there wasn't an open seat. The confirmed passenger for that seat arrived at the gate and it doesn't matter how much stuff you have stowed ... that seat belongs to the person who purchased the ticket for that flight. NOT the person flying stand by.

 

[danalee]

maybe SW didnt want to get on the plane and ask for two people to give up there seats, because guess what? when the girl did get on, the entire plane would know that two seats were given up for her and that would have embarrassed her i'm sure. The way they did it most likely just a few people would have known.

 

[Rora]

She paid for a seat from point A to point B. NOT a seat on that particular plane. Stand-by means just that. You STAND BY until there is an open seat. In this case there wasn't an open seat. The confirmed passenger for that seat arrived at the gate and it doesn't matter how much stuff you have stowed ... that seat belongs to the person who purchased the ticket for that flight. NOT the person flying stand by.

Correct me if I'm misunderstanding the situation but the 14 year old passenger wasn't assigned to the stand-by passenger's seat (nor did she/parent/guardian purchase it).. the 14 year old girl needed another seat after the woman already bought her unclaimed seat.

EDIT: I wonder how many people here would willingly side with the 14 yo if they were in the position of the "petite woman"...

 

[maxiesmom]

I agree with a lot of you here that if the "hefty" person were not a child it would be a different story. I think the "petite," supposedly adult, passenger sounds like a pretty big crybaby to me. We're talking about a kid here for crying out loud! What was SW supposed to do? Send the child off in the airport, pat her on the back, and wish her luck?

I can understand the passenger being frustrated but running to the media to cry foul is a bit overdramatic.

If Southwest had gone the other way and left that lady on the flight we would all be reading about how Southwest had abandoned a 14yr old girl in
Las Vegas.

Southwest was well within their rights to bump the first lady off of the plane. I also think it is pretty weak to go to the media about this, but not have the guts to use your name.

 

[akhenaten]

maybe SW didnt want to get on the plane and ask for two people to give up there seats, because guess what? when the girl did get on, the entire plane would know that two seats were given up for her and that would have embarrassed her i'm sure. The way they did it most likely just a few people would have known.

 

[DawnCt1]

If Southwest had gone the other way and left that lady on the flight we would all be reading about how Southwest had abandoned a 14yr old girl in
Las Vegas.

Southwest was well within their rights to bump the first lady off of the plane. I also think it is pretty weak to go to the media about this, but not have the guts to use your name.

And you don't see a compromise from SWA anywhere here? Offering any passenger adequate compensation to give up a seat usually sends a stampede running to the first Flight Attendant for a free seat anywhere in the USA.