Stomp16
You mean Shennanigans?!?!
Really? Was it a newer 7-3?
SWA and SWA FA sued over spilled hot tea
- Thread starter MikeD
- Start date
Really? Was it a newer 7-3?
Matt13C
Well-Known Member
I have read the details of the case actually and while I feel bad for the woman and realize she had legitimate burns it doesnt change my feeling on the matter.
McDonalds offers tables inside for your use. She and her grandson decided to go through the drive through and then stop and try to put cream and sugar in while in the car. Now I dont know about you, but none of the older people I know, approaching their 80's have the best use of their hands, or their legs for that matter. In addition car seats are not exactly level surfaces so she was leaving much to chance s far as I am concerned. She could have used the cup holders conveniently placed for the purpose of holding cups less than a foot to her left if she didn't want to go in the store to use their tables.
The coffee wsa hot, maybe a bit too hot. But the chain of events leading up to the spill puts McDonalds well down at the bottom of the responsibility chart as far as I am concerned.
I disagree. From a quick google search, the water would need to be below roughly 120f to basically remove the possibility of a burn if spilled. Water boils at 210, lower at cabin altitude, whatever it is set at.
Point is, if you ask for hot tea you prob expect it to be hot, not luke warm. I am sure there is some sort of requirement the water be heated to at least over 140 degrees as that is where bacteria is killed, says the google.
So maybe SW is slightly at fault for not having a fold out tray table for her use. It's not the FA's fault, shes just the middle man. The woman spilled the coffee on herself, she is mostly to blame. She ordered hot coffee. I am sorry she got burned, and for not having a table for her to use I'd say SW is slightly liable.
Autothrust Blue
"Well, on the Brasilia..."
Yeah, whatever.The term "personal responsibility" doesn't compute with the democrat party.
SteveCostello
My member is well-known.
That's a pretty broad brush there, MikeD. Actually, wtf does party affiliation have to do with this?The term "personal responsibility" doesn't compute with the democrat party.
Because every controversial thread on this site turns into party affiiation.
Right before it becomes equated to nazis..
SlumTodd_Millionaire
Most Hated Member
The term "personal responsibility" doesn't compute with the democrat party.
First, there's no such thing as a "democrat" party. We do have a Democratic Party, though.
Second, why do conservatives only feel that personal responsibility apples to the victim? Why do people in leadership positions at corporations not have personal responsibility? Why does the person who decided to brew water at unsafe levels not have personal responsibility? Why does the person who decided not to have tray tables on an airplane not have personal responsibility? Why does the person who decided to have FAs not brew coffee not have personal responsibility? There is plenty of personal responsibility to go around. Insisting that only victims have personal responsibility is a bit disingenuous.
Autothrust Blue
"Well, on the Brasilia..."
Was going to say, someone hasn't said something about the Third Reich yet...
Everyone requires personal responsibility. If the pax knows there are no tray tables, then they need to be extra careful in not spilling something hot as hell, or not ordering it at all. Its not like it was a secret to that passenger that there was no tray table, or somehow SWA was hiding that fact from her.
SlumTodd_Millionaire
Most Hated Member
Some idiot trying to save a few bucks made a stupid decision to not buy tray tables for those seats. I say hold that person "responsible."
Matt13C
Well-Known Member
Not sure others take on this, but mine is because they are not forcing something on you, they are simply offering you a choice. In this case a choice between hot tea or not. It's not like they are asking her if she would like "a beverage" and then delivered piping hot tea, she specifically requested it. That in itself tells you she has an understanding of what she will be receiving.
SW should have provided a tray table, that I agree with you on. But the FA simply boiled water. If the woman has some set temp she expects, then she should not have ordered it. She is flying on SW, cattle cars of the sky, this isn't a private jet where the FA can dedicate her time solely to her needs and wants. She needs to boil water hot enough that by the time she gets to the back of the jet it is still hot enough to serve and be considered "hot" tea.
FAs don't boil water, they simply get hot water from the aircraft source. The source of the hot water determines the temperature it comes out at.
At AA we got our hot water from the coffee pots. We'd "brew" a cycle from the coffee pot but not use the coffee pack, then the hot water was put into an insulated server on the cart and we'd serve a cup of hot water with a tea bag and then give powdered creamer and/or sugar in separate packets if the pax requested. So the tea hot water was the exact same temperature as the coffee, as it came from the same hot water source.
I can't speak for SWA's galley setup, but that's how ours was.
At AA we got our hot water from the coffee pots. We'd "brew" a cycle from the coffee pot but not use the coffee pack, then the hot water was put into an insulated server on the cart and we'd serve a cup of hot water with a tea bag and then give powdered creamer and/or sugar in separate packets if the pax requested. So the tea hot water was the exact same temperature as the coffee, as it came from the same hot water source.
I can't speak for SWA's galley setup, but that's how ours was.
SlumTodd_Millionaire
Most Hated Member
That's how ours works, so I'm sure it's the same. If it's heating the water that hot, then an adjustment should probably be made to the system.
Krystal
Dispatch Betty
When I was an FA, the hot water didnt get put on the cart. No carafe was provided for it. If a pax asked for hot tea, we would stop what we were doing and go to the galley and get a cup of hot water from a spigot on the side of the coffee maker, or we'd flag down another FA to do it. No way to change the water temp unless we put ice in it.
SeanD
Well-Known Member
I think it was a 7. Im not 100% though. It might have be a 3.
And at Eagle there was no tea at all, as there were no coffee makers on Eagle planes [at the time]. I believe the CRJ may have coffee makers, but our ATRs, Saabs & EMBs only had metal coffee jugs that plugged into outlets in the galley. These jugs had to be filled with coffee by catering, and the heating element kept the coffee warm. The plus side: we didn't have to make coffee... the down side: unless you saw the jugs loaded in the galley you had NO idea how long that coffee had been there.
SteveCostello
My member is well-known.
Well, what did you expect for streaking down the aisle, while carrying a pot of scalding hot water?
That's a moot point. The fact is, those tables were not there; therefore its a RISK to be trying to hold/balance/drink hot drinks when sitting at those seats. Why no one has any concept of assuming a risk, is perplexing.
I don't drink hot drinks on an airliner or an airplane. Why? Because of how many things are out of my control......turbulence, someone bumps into me, etc. At worst, I don't want to get burned by tea; at the least I don't want to get my clothes stained. Therefore, I refrain from that because its a RISK I don't want to assume. If someone does want to assume that risk, then thats potentially one of the things that can happen. Deal with it rather than trying to blame and sue everyone else for a choice YOU made.
Now, if the cup failed or if the FA spilled the tea all over the passenger, or the pilot rolled the plane inverted while the pax was trying to drink the tea, or something like that; then it'd be a different story.
Nah, some lady cracked her head on some ice while emplaning in MSN, I called medical to the aircraft to check her out, she ended up a week in the hospital with a concussion and wanted to sue KMSN, YX, SYX and me personally for missing her social obligations.
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