Tiny turtle brings Airtran flight back to gate..

The gate employees didnt' have to be asses about it, though. They could have held onto it until the father came instead of making the kid throw it in the trash. Would seem like the decent, human being thing to do.
 
MQAAord said:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Tiny-turtle-causes-taxiing-apf-1122992999.html?x=0

A 10 year old's tiny pet turtle was brought onboard an Airtran flight, it's discovery ultimately resulting in the flight returning to the gate and the turtle being put in the garbage. Said turtle was rescued from garbage, and turtle and owner have now been reunited.

Moral of the story: check your airline's pet policy before bringing animals of any kind on board.
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Ok, I can see the pet policy being an issue, but why throw the turtle in the garbage?????
 
"Sir! The door is already closed! Sir, I'm sorry sir. It doesn't matter if the airplane is still there, the door is closed. Sir! You'll have to make other accommodations. SIR!" :D
 
MikeD said:
Ok, I can see the pet policy being an issue, but why throw the turtle in the garbage?????
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Well, like Murdoughnut said, all the employee had to do was hold on to it until the dad arrived to pick it up. The employee probably just didn't want to deal with it. :rolleyes: Thankfully the article said a ramp agent (supervisor? I think) rescued turtle from trash and took it home. Turtle has since gotten a ride (as cargo) to be reunited with the child.
 
MQAAord said:
Well, like Murdoughnut said, all the employee had to do was hold on to it until the dad arrived to pick it up. The employee probably just didn't want to deal with it. :rolleyes: Thankfully the article said a ramp agent (supervisor? I think) rescued turtle from trash and took it home. Turtle has since gotten a ride (as cargo) to be reunited with the child.
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Yeah, that attitude is why I absolutely HATE the Atlanta airport. And the Airtran gate agents are head and shoulders above DL as far as customer service goes.

I really think whoever called them out on the turtle is pretty lame. Yes its policy, but if they're already on the airplane ready to go, whatever...its a kid. Its not like they were bringing a friggin lion on board.

Turn a blind eye, and when you get where you're going, tell them so they know about it next time.
 
Somebody probably freaked over the whole reptile and salmonella thing. The employee throwing the turtle in the trash needs a tongue lashing of the job threatening kind.
 
That's pretty messed up. Throw it away? It's a live animal, a PET,that's pretty sick to make a little girl put her pet turtle in the trash.

Way to go :rolleyes:
 
:mad: Throwing a kid's pet in the trash is grounds for immediate termination in my book!!!

Note to self: Avoid booking any flights on Airtran from now on unless they do fire said employee.
 
I saw a woman on an Airtran flight out of ATL last month with a giant roach crawling up her shirt (true story). Sure glad I didn't mention it to the FA!
 
MikeD said:
Good job AirTran. Great PR there.......
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Obviously this all could have been avoided by leaving the turtle at home or making alternate arrangements, but making her throw it in the trash shows a total lack of care, compassion, understanding, or being a human all together. I'd be concerned having them as my employee if they have it in them to suggest that a little girl throw her pet turtle in the trash so the flight can go on.

Could the CA have allowed it to go on, or was it beyond his control?
 
I couldn't believe this when I read it this morning.

What a sicko way to treat your customer.
 
I understand the reasons for the policy, reptiles do sometimes carry bacteria which can make people sick. I can understand the airlines not wanting people bringing turtles onboard. However, I do have to say that this situation could have been handled a lot better.

And yes, the passengers should have checked with the airline before the flight to find out if bringing a turtle onboard is okay or not. However, I know people don't think. I really think the agents involved could have made an effort to keep an eye on the turtle til the dad made it back to the airport. The kids called him, he was on his way back to the airport, all they had to do was deal with it for a little while til he made it back.
 
From AirTran Airlines own website:

Animals

We accept small, domesticated cats, dogs and birds that will fit in an approved carrier under the seat.

-The pet kennel is limited to maximum dimensions of 8.5 inches high x 17 inches long x 12 inches wide.
-The carrier must be leak proof and ventilated on at least two sides.
-There is no weight restriction on pets.
-The pet must remain in the carrier and under the seat for the duration of the flight.
-The pet carrier counts as either a passenger's one (1) carry-on bag or personal item.

Airfare for a pet is $69 one-way and is non-refundable. Six (6)pets are allowed with a limit of one (1) pet per paying customer traveling on the same flight.

As limited space is available, advanced reservations must be made. Of course, service animals (e.g., Seeing Eye dogs) are always welcome onboard regardless of the number of pets already booked on the flight..........
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(MikeD adds to the ending:) ) .....all other animals will be ordered removed from the flight, by force if necessary, and will be summarily disposed of in a trash receptacle. Passengers not complying with the above policy will be arrested by airport authorities and sent to Gitmo.
 
AirTran didn't throw the pet away, the family did and then the irony of their letter to PETA is priceless! I'm not ignoring the possibility that the agents did, in fact, offer them seats on the next flight, but you know how that goes...they make the offer, but their body language says "hurry up and get to your destination so I can be done with you". So, I'm thinking it went more like this:

"Here kids- have a turtle! That seems like a great idea!"

They get on the plane and whoever makes the decision to follow the manual makes their decision and the airplane turns around.

"Why can't we have this turtle on the plane. EVERYONE ELSE IS OK WITH IT!"

They are begrudgingly offered the possibility of another flight and it's:

"Dump that thing and let's get OUTTA HERE!"

Now they get back on the plane and are mad because AirTran is responsible for them having to make the stupid decision that followed the stupid decision to get the turtle under those circumstances in the first place. Hilarity ensues.

AirTran's employees could have taken some lessons from people with real compassion and handled this way better, but it doesn't absolve the parents of the responsibility to think things through first. I just don't buy into the hype that large corporations are responsible for every human factor. It's just not possible to hire all perfect employees that can make everyone happy, but yeah...whoever dug that turtle out of the garbage did the right thing. I know you gotta have principles when doing your job, but we're talking about living thing here.

So really, you've probably got some weirdos making some kind of weirdo triangle. The weird parents, who let all of this happen, the weird employees, who held hard to their principles of everybody gets treated the same and watched that turtle get THROWN IN THE FREAKIN GARBAGE...and the animals' rights org that didn't mind ignoring some of the glaring details, salivating at the mouth to slam the "evil" corporation.

Weirdos, man...
 
MQAAord said:
I understand the reasons for the policy, reptiles do sometimes carry bacteria which can make people sick.
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Sick people also cary bacteria which can make people sick. Turns out peanuts can make some people stop breathing, but they both still get on board.

I hope PETA is all over Airtran.
 
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