triple7
Well-Known Member
Actual incident
At the gate in a southern airport. 97 degrees on the ramp, and even with the APU blasting max cold we still couldnt get the cabin below 26c. As we are boarding, I(FO) grab the clearance and due to a pretty intense line of weather we get a rather lenghty reroute. So, the captain heads down to ops to call dispatch on the landline and get new paperwork and a look at the radar. I sat there getting things ready and the FA turns to me and tells me she has just counted 8 lap children. Our aircraft only has 5 extra O2 masks, so that limits the number of laps we can have on board. Our FA was brand new....as in 3 weeks in base. She looked at me and had a confused blank look. So, I told her to wait till boarding was done and do a walkthru to make sure there really were 8 laps; and not 8 small kids, some of whom had their own seats.
3 hours late due to the weather at destination and enroute we are fully boarded with 50 people and 7 kids on laps. One of them actually had a seat. I ran uptop and informed the gate agent that we had too many lap kids and she had to deseat someone. A few moments later the gate agent came back down and called up a family of 5. Husband and wife, their dad, and two kids. She informed them not so eloquently that they must leave the aircraft since they were the last to checkin they must get off. They were the first row behind the galley, so the gate agent got off the aircraft and the FA was in the galley. Well, the woman began to rant and rave at the FA. Dropping F bombs, cussing her and the agent out. REFUSING to leave the aircraft.
I watched this all unfold, but remained on the flight deck, allowing my FA to get verbally abused by this maniac woman. I opted not to get involved as to not further aggravate the situation as they woman was slowly making her way to the door.
By now people are furious. I had been making PA's explaining the wheels up time, heat in the cabin, etc. But now they are all ganging up on the FA. Saying its BS, she needs to compensate them, etc. The woman makes one final slew at the captain, telling him to "dont effing smile at me". He had no idea what had happened.
The FA came up to give us the count and had huge tears in her eyes. She couldnt take it anymore. We left for our destination and arrived 3 hours later. I made a pretty good PA explaining why the mayhem at the gate. I explained we, spec the FA, had to work with a problem that shouldve been caught at the gate.
So, my question: As the FO would you have gotten up and demanded she leave before allowing her anymore verbal abuse of the FA? Would you have called ops and had the CA come up? Would you have just sat there like a woos like I did?
I learned alot that day, and looking back feel I shouldve gotten up and said something. The PA did help, as the PAX all apologized to her enroute, and she felt much better afterwards. But I really feel as though she shouldnt have had to go through that...not with that they get paid.
At the gate in a southern airport. 97 degrees on the ramp, and even with the APU blasting max cold we still couldnt get the cabin below 26c. As we are boarding, I(FO) grab the clearance and due to a pretty intense line of weather we get a rather lenghty reroute. So, the captain heads down to ops to call dispatch on the landline and get new paperwork and a look at the radar. I sat there getting things ready and the FA turns to me and tells me she has just counted 8 lap children. Our aircraft only has 5 extra O2 masks, so that limits the number of laps we can have on board. Our FA was brand new....as in 3 weeks in base. She looked at me and had a confused blank look. So, I told her to wait till boarding was done and do a walkthru to make sure there really were 8 laps; and not 8 small kids, some of whom had their own seats.
3 hours late due to the weather at destination and enroute we are fully boarded with 50 people and 7 kids on laps. One of them actually had a seat. I ran uptop and informed the gate agent that we had too many lap kids and she had to deseat someone. A few moments later the gate agent came back down and called up a family of 5. Husband and wife, their dad, and two kids. She informed them not so eloquently that they must leave the aircraft since they were the last to checkin they must get off. They were the first row behind the galley, so the gate agent got off the aircraft and the FA was in the galley. Well, the woman began to rant and rave at the FA. Dropping F bombs, cussing her and the agent out. REFUSING to leave the aircraft.
I watched this all unfold, but remained on the flight deck, allowing my FA to get verbally abused by this maniac woman. I opted not to get involved as to not further aggravate the situation as they woman was slowly making her way to the door.
By now people are furious. I had been making PA's explaining the wheels up time, heat in the cabin, etc. But now they are all ganging up on the FA. Saying its BS, she needs to compensate them, etc. The woman makes one final slew at the captain, telling him to "dont effing smile at me". He had no idea what had happened.
The FA came up to give us the count and had huge tears in her eyes. She couldnt take it anymore. We left for our destination and arrived 3 hours later. I made a pretty good PA explaining why the mayhem at the gate. I explained we, spec the FA, had to work with a problem that shouldve been caught at the gate.
So, my question: As the FO would you have gotten up and demanded she leave before allowing her anymore verbal abuse of the FA? Would you have called ops and had the CA come up? Would you have just sat there like a woos like I did?
I learned alot that day, and looking back feel I shouldve gotten up and said something. The PA did help, as the PAX all apologized to her enroute, and she felt much better afterwards. But I really feel as though she shouldnt have had to go through that...not with that they get paid.
