https://youtu.be/7z1XH5L8Jx4
Friday, April 21, 2017
Open Letter to Delta Regarding Removal of Passenger on DL2035 on 4/18/17
Dear Delta:
On Delta flight # 2035 this week, I observed the most
outrageous treatment of a paying customer that I have seen in my two decades of
flying. I trust that you will
investigate this matter and see that similar situations are handled better in
the future. Not only did your staff truly harm and humiliate one person who was
forced to pay hundreds of dollars for a new same-day flight, but you forced the
rest of us passengers to endure a 2 hour saga of watching a man being targeted
for having a bathroom emergency. I am disappointed
and horrified at how Delta Airlines staff treated their customers/passengers.
I was a passenger on DL 2035 on April 18, 2017 from Atlanta
to Milwaukee (2:55 pm departure time). I
was seated with my husband and with my infant in my arms across the aisle from
another passenger, a stranger to us, but clearly a nice gentleman (“Nice
Gentleman”), who played hide and seek with my child as we waited to takeoff.
When the flight attendants commenced the security
instructions, the Nice Gentleman was on the phone, and the attendant told him
(in a very harsh manner) to end his call. He apologized and promptly did
so. This was my first insight into how
the flight attendants viewed the Nice Gentleman.
We were then told that we were third in line to take off;
however, we waited and waited and barely moved.
Nice Gentleman got up, went to the back, and returned to his seat very
quickly. Some more time passed, and my
husband commented that we had already been waiting for 30 minutes to take
off. Nice Gentleman got up again and
went to the back, and very quickly returned to his seat. At that point, the pilot stated that we
needed to return to the airport to remove a passenger. Everyone was shocked – what could have happened?
Nice Gentleman quickly spoke up and apologized, saying he
thought it was him, and he explained to those of us nearby what had
happened. The first time he stood up, he
went to the back and told the flight attendant he had to use the bathroom because
it was an emergency. The attendant (Katherine
S) told him that he needed to sit down or he would make the plane lose its
place in line because the plane could not move if he was in the bathroom. He apologized, said he didn’t want that to
happen, and quickly sat back down. He
waited some more. Finally, he couldn’t
wait any longer and returned to the back to use the restroom. He used the restroom very quickly; I would
estimate less than a minute. When he
came out of the restroom, he was told that he caused the plane to lose its
place in line, and the pilot would have to talk to him. He was apologetic for causing any delay, but
it was an emergency … because he is a human and these things happen to
everyone.
Our plane returned to a gate (which wasn’t far because we
had not moved much this entire time). A
Delta employee (Horatio) came on and asked Nice Gentleman to gather his
things. Horatio talked to him in a rude
and harsh manner, demanding that he leave the plane; Horatio wouldn’t explain
why and wouldn’t give any assurance he could still travel to Milwaukee. Nice Gentleman said he wouldn’t get off the
plane.
Then Delta employee Bryant R. [full
name redacted] then came on and treated Nice Gentleman in a somewhat more
appropriate manner and listened to him a little; he would only tell Nice Gentleman that he would get him on a
later plane. Nice Gentleman explained
that he needed to get back for a school
field trip the next day. He explained
that he understood what happened, but that he needed to use the restroom and it
was an emergency. Bryant R. claimed that
Nice Gentleman broke the rules and that this requires that Delta staff talk to
him. Nice Gentleman said he would
explain his situation to everyone who needs to hear it but does not want to
leave the plane to do so. Bryant R.
claimed that Delta had never encountered an issue with someone using the
bathroom during taxi/waiting takeoff (REALLY DELTA?!?!). Nice Gentleman stated he would not leave the
plane because he is afraid he won’t get on another flight out. Bryant R. then left the plane.
Next we heard the plane engines turn off, and the pilot
indicated that it would be getting warm in the plane. Apparently Delta was trying to sweat us and
Nice Gentleman off the plane!
Then a flight attendant announced that Delta was making
everyone get off the plane. The seat
neighbors around us were all astounded and visibly angry at Delta. There was a general talk of no one leaving the
plane in support of Nice Gentleman and in rebellion for the terrible treatment
by Delta of this man. We eventually deplaned and, in the airport, Nice
Gentleman was kept apart from everyone.
While we were waiting, I spoke with another Delta Airlines passenger
from a different flight, DL566 from
Melbourne, FL to Atlanta. The same thing
happened on her flight: while waiting to taxi, TWO people used the
restroom. However, that situation was
handled very differently. The flight
attendant informed the pilot not to move because two people were using the
restroom; when the two passengers returned to their seats, the flight attendant
informed the pilot that the people had returned to their seats… and the plane
continued to taxi and eventually take off.
No return to the gate. No removal
of a passenger.
We were eventually allowed to reboard the plane, sans Nice
Gentleman. Delta staff claimed that he was not criminally charged, because he
was not aggressive, which is not nearly the legal description of probable
cause. But, here’s the kicker – Delta staff refunded his flight (but only from
Atlanta to Milwaukee – and they kept the taxes and fees) and refused to
transport him to Milwaukee! Delta
wouldn’t return his gate-checked bag to him and told him he could get it when
he finds a way to Milwaukee. I doubt
that Delta paid him the cancellation fee that it surely would have charged if
he had attempted to cancel his flight that day.
Once back on board the plane, imagine our surprise when a
woman arrives on the plane with the seat assignment for the Nice Gentleman’s
seat! Delta used the 2 hour delay that
IT created to bump someone onto our flight.
The final event of this horrifying saga occurred when, after
the plane was airborne, the pilot announced his apologies for the delays and explained
that the situation was due to a security concern/issue. My husband and I observed the entire event
(my husband accompanied the Nice Gentleman when he was taken aside in the
airport), and there was never any hint of a security risk or concern… unless an emergency need to use the bathroom
after unpredictable delays is now considered a “security risk/issue”.
Delta, what was Nice Gentleman supposed to do? Here are the options as I see it: 1) Urinate in his seat. This would be unpleasant for him, everyone
around him, and the airline staff member who has to clean it up. 2)
Urinate in a vomit bag or some type of device he could have possibly
found. Again, same issue with being
uncomfortable for him, those around him, and anyone cleaning up later. 3) Do
what he did—wait as long as humanly (remember, we are humans?) possible, and
then go to the bathroom as quickly as possible. As evidenced by what happened earlier in the day on Delta #566, the
flight attendant can tell the pilot someone is using the bathroom, and then the
flight process proceeds as usual. In the
worst case, perhaps we have to wait a little longer to get back into line—no
one wants that…especially not the Nice Gentleman who doesn’t want to hold
everyone up! I am racking my brain to
think of other options that would have been a better solution for this Delta
customer’s unfortunate situation.
Yes, Nice Gentleman may have broken the rules when he stood
up to use the bathroom. Yes, flight
attendant Katherine S. may have had her authority questioned when he used the
restroom quickly. However, the situation
was resolved in the 1 minute he was out of his seat. I don’t believe the plane moved an inch
during that time. Why did Delta have to
continue this saga by returning to the gate to remove him? What about him made you want to remove him
from the plane? Was it the color of his
skin that you didn’t trust? Or the color
of Katherine S.’s skin that made you trust her version of the story? When did using the bathroom become a security
risk? Do you truly claim that this is
Delta’s policy EVERY TIME this happens?
Because, based on the events on Delta #566, we know that it doesn’t
happen this way every time… and, regardless of what Bryant R. says, I am sure
that this occurs on a daily basis.
My take-away from this experience is that I will not be
flying Delta again. Who treats a person
like this? Have you forgotten that the
people that pay to fill the seats are actually human beings who sometimes have
emergencies (like having to use the bathroom when you have been waiting on the
plane for an hour)? Nice Gentleman was
faced with an emergency that I’m sure nearly every passenger has faced before;
no one wants to be “that person” who needs to use the bathroom while awaiting
takeoff.
Sincerely,
Krista R.
Two videos of the incident:
https://youtu.be/4MTMfblDYso
https://youtu.be/7z1XH5L8Jx4
Krista R.
Two videos of the incident:
https://youtu.be/4MTMfblDYso
https://youtu.be/7z1XH5L8Jx4
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)