American Airlines Cancels Flight Because Their Customers Are Too Pissed Off To Fly
Can it actually be unsafe to fly a plane full of seething, rage-filled passengers from Florida to New York? Apparently so. Flight 1908 from Miami to LaGuardia was delayed because the flight crew didn't arrive on time. When they did finally show up, the angry passengers started to boo.
One passenger describes the incident, "...and then they closed them behind glass doors, and they kind of threatened us that they weren't going to fly with the way people were acting. Some people got very agitated."
Another passenger says that a few people were using harsh language and acting like a mob. That's when two American Airlines crew members refused to work in a "hostile" environment. American was unable to find another crew.
"They gave us a hotel and all that, but the hotel we stayed at had barbed-wire all around it. Nice place. Nice hotel, but barbed-wire around it," another passenger told Fox 5.
The passengers may have been rude, but American certainly got the last laugh. When the passengers finally arrived at LaGuardia the following evening--they found out that their bags had been sent to JFK.
American Airlines Cancels Flight Due to Hostile Passengers [MYFoxNY]
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I don't really blame the airline here depending on why the crew was late. I wouldn't fly with an angry mob either.
Wow. That's just...wow. The major carriers just seem to be snakebit with Customer Relations. I don't recall a day in the last two weeks that Consumerist has been airline-free.
Yet another example of how unions have ruined the airline industry.
The passengers are angry because we are late. Do we: A: Get them on the plane as quickly as possible so that they won't get angrier? B: Offer a sincere apology and possibly some small compensation, then get them on the plane as quickly as possible? C: Cancel the flight and let someone else deal with it tomorrow?
Because the best way to deal with people who are angry about a delayed flight is to cancel the flight, of course.
The best stories are the ones where no side gets the sympathy vote.
Sure that the misdirecting of the baggage was a complete coincidence.
You have employees who have been hit with staff reductions and probably pay cuts too, and likely a bigger work load.
They don't see any benefits to American so when met with a bunch of cranky customers they pull the "hostile atmosphere" card and basically say "well teach them to complain" and pull the hostile atmosphere card. I flew American to London Christmas of 06. While the flight was okay, the ground crew (Boston, Logan) were the rudest non caring bunch of SOB's I have ever seen. They would fit in very well as prison guards at a Federal Correctional Facility. Next time I fly to visit my wife's family overseas, I'll pay the extra few bucks to stay away from American, United, & Cont.
Pilot #1:"Wow, they seem mad at us b/c we were so late and had to wait. What should we do to calm them down?
Pilot #2:"Let's tell them they have to wait longer, unless they calm down. I think that should work."
Navigator: "Brilliant!!"
the hotel we stayed at had barbed-wire all around it. Nice place. Nice hotel, but barbed-wire around it
...wait, what?
@trecool95: A few people saying "Boo" doesn't necessarily make for a angry mob. Angry customers are something people have to deal with in business. You don't escalate the situation by making them angrier.
Well, you don't if you want to stay off Consumerist, anyway.
Further evidence that an unshakable prerequisite for employment with an airline is being a pompous, arrogant a**hole.
Was it the Hotel Guantanomo?
Last 2 weeks?
Try last 6 months!
Sometimes I side with the passengers, and sometimes I can see the airlines POV. In this case ... as a steward/stewardess would you want to be locked into a small canister with a large group of people who just booed and verbally abused you?
Honestly it doesn't say why the crew was late, but likely it wasn't the individual crew members faults. The crew was probably JUST as aggravated about the delay as the passengers.
I shudder to think what a flight from MIA-LGA, on AA, and running behind schedule, must look like. Can you imagine the threats from sweaty, tired, frustrated wanna-be Tony Sopranos AND wanna-be Tony Montanas? The comedy sketch in my head in pretty entertaining.
As my wife puts it, "American Airlines -- how can one company screw up every single element of their business so completely, every single time"
@BStu: A few people saying "Boo" doesn't necessarily make for a angry mob. Angry customers are something people have to deal with in business. You don't escalate the situation by making them angrier.
The blurb above also says people were using harsh language, in addition to booing. I presume this means that people were cursing and possibly making indirect threats. It's a lose-lose situation.
@g2g: Nope, it's not a coincidence, but it probably wasn't malicious.
I was just told this weekend that if a flight is delayed "too long," they'll "clear some space" by putting the baggage on the first available flight to the appropriate destination. You can guess how well that works with redirected flights, connections, baggage processing protocol, and general baggage handler ineptitude. My flight was only delayed an hour, but it was enough to send my bags (luckily) to the far side of the airport I arrived at.
They'd probably get more compensation if they complained about the missing luggage than the mistreatment by the airlines. Even some credit cards will compensate for missing or delayed luggage.
The blurb above also says people were using harsh language, in addition to booing.
So now the TSA will start screening for f-bombs.
@apotheosis: I'm assuming this person was alluding to the fact that they were treated like prisoners. Either that, or the hotel literally had barb wire. In which case, your response is wholly adequate.
I was on a plane once in Bangkok going to London that was seriously late. 5 or 6 hours hanging out on the runway. The passengers were mostly Australian, British, and drunk. When we started to take off most passengers were booing and yelling. Then the Thai army got on the plane with about 12 machine guns pointed in all directions while the British captain said the plane wouldn't leave until every single passenger was quiet. It worked.
I have to assume that there were only *some* passengers using harsh language. Keep them off. But to cancel the whole flight...???
I just have a hard time believing there were more than just a few really hostile people. Angry and grumpy, I can understand. If only more people understood how often a sincere apology (and not necessarily one that assumes blame either) can calm most people down.
Or maybe it's just me.
The people had a right to be upset but at the same time.... Does cursing out a reservations agent when your flight was cancelled help you? Not really.
These people (airline crew) are likely the only people that can help you get what you want (to get to NY on that flight). So best not to piss them off... at least not until you get what you wanted. Boo them when you get off the plane in NY.
On another note... It's their job... Sucks they were late but many of us have had problems that made us late too.
that was a bit stupid of the airline. By offloading everyone, they had to pay for everyone's accommodation, meals, etc. If they had just identified the troublemakers individually, they could have denied them boarding for interference. Or they could've made an announcement that they'd better calm down or they will be removed.
@spikespeigel:
That's what I couldn't figure out, if the guy was just being hyperbolic. I'd like to think so.
Watch the video, it's clear he meant the place was a nice enough hotel, but still surrounded by barbed wire, i.e., you don't really want to go out for a stroll in that neighborhood.
@kepler11: that was a bit stupid of the airline. By offloading everyone, they had to pay for everyone's accommodation, meals, etc.
The flight crew made the decision to not work in that hostile environment - thus canceling the flight because a replacement crew could not be procured. The flight crew certainly does not pay for the accommodations for the passengers.
instead of harsh words they should've used harsh letters
just like the stranded family yesterday. the airlines have a little bit of power and it gets to there head. no excuse for this. someone needs to give them an ego check.
Perhaps the passengers could have handled this better but I can literally think of about a dozen things I could have done if I were part of that flight crew before canceling the whole flight. Seems like the crew addressed the problem vindictively instead of addressing the customers like adults or actual human beings. If I were AA I'd probably fire the whole damn crew.
@trecool95: @heavylee-again: @chemmy: Customer service is their JOB! I wish when I worked at Micro Center or as a Compaq telephone support guy, that I could have refused to deal with/answer calls from angry customers because it was a "hostile work environment".
Their reasons are bull***t and they should really be fired for that.
How does one's luggage arrive at another airport?
I totally blame the passengers here. They should have just acted like sheep, and sat and waited for the crew to finish whatever was more important than coming to work. When the crew did show up, the sheeple should have just kept quiet and looked at their feet.
If people just did as they were told- no problems!
Oh, if you didn't realize, that's sarcasm.
@kepler11: That cost makes me think that the crew had a valid complaint against the mob. It did cost American more money to handle the situation this way so I have to think that there may have been a legitimately hostile work enviornment. I used to tell people that I trained in the service industry, "You always have to be polite but you never have to take abuse."
I don't know... this is a hard one. AA probably should have just flown but I don't know that I can come down on them to hard.
@heavylee-again: When I was on a cruise earlier this year with my family, there were a ton of people taking their time to get to the muster drill. Announcements were made every few minutes stating where to go, yet half an hour later there were still people coming in, carrying the booze they just had to get before standing around wearing a life jacket. The hundreds of us in my section were an angry mob, booing and yelling at everyone who walked by. It was a nice way to bond with my fellow responsible cruisers, and the staff was laughing. ^_^
Can we get back good rail service in this country now please?
The airline employees themselves created that "hostile environment". Do you think any of the airline personel bothered to communicate the issues (the lateness of the crew) to the passengers? If they were there at all.
It is simply amazing to me that the airline people who do the check-ins at the gate don't communicate to the passengers more. If they would take 5 damn minutes to just apologize and keep people informed, no problem.
The OP never stated whether or not he was among those people who were booing or using the "harsh language". If he wasn't, I feel seriously bad for him and anyone else who was being quietly upset and still got the shaft here. I'd be among the quiet minority until they canceled the flight, then I'd blow up.
That being said, American's crew needed to just deal with it, or just pick out the ringleaders and make a bit of an example of them by kicking just them off. There's bound to be a few people they could single out.
Wow. Just. Wow. I saw this back a few times when I was riding low-cost airlines (remember People's Express anyone?). With cash-strapped budgets, they just didn't have the money to keep their planes in the air or provide any useful customer service. It is disheartening to know that we've come to the point where the big airlines are experiencing the same types of trouble. Blame who or what you want to, but it's still a pretty sad end to the golden age of air travel.
@ThinkerTDM: Whatever was more important than coming to work may have been being delayed on another flight or being delayed in security. You can get priority in either case, but that doesn't always ensure you'll get to where you need to be on time. Regardless, if only one of the crew was late and without replacement, the entire crew must wait.
That doesn't excuse the actions of the two "deserters" when faced with an angry crowd. If it was so bad, why were the rest of the crew still willing to work through it?
I hope AA is "taking this seriously." Somebody ought to clarify "hostile environment," so that it is clear what constitutes it. And, these flight crews seem to be in dire need of some attitude adjustment. Corporate headquarters, are you listening?
These idiot airline employees get away with murder now (Post 9/11 Nazi airline behavior). They should all be fired, or @ the very least suspended. Totally unprofessional. Thank God I don't have to fly anymore. Ridiculous.
Booing? Nasty comments to the flight crew? Did any of them think that maybe it would be a bad idea to act like children and treat the pilots with such amazing disrespect?
I wouldn't fly them anywhere either.
No doubt (hopefully) their extended stays in Miami were equally frustrating.
There's bound to be a few people they could single out.
What, and risk getting hit with some kind of discrimination lawsuit, which might ultimately be more damaging than pissing off the whole flight?
It sounds like there were a couple very hostile passengers and the flight attendants got spooked. They may have already been stressed out from whatever made them an hour late. The real issue here is the fact that AA doesn't have enough flight crew to fly their planes on time.
Also, I'm sure AA apologized over the course of the wait. There are people out there that don't accept apologies, and get angry anyway.
No no, misdirecting the luggage was a *service!* They knew that the baggage might get stolen in LaGuardia. Oh and that will be $15 please.
That's strange...I could have sworn the Phillies were at home this weekend!
@me and the sysop: When I was on a cruise earlier this year with my family, there were a ton of people taking their time to get to the muster drill. Announcements were made every few minutes stating where to go, yet half an hour later there were still people coming in, carrying the booze they just had to get before standing around wearing a life jacket. The hundreds of us in my section were an angry mob, booing and yelling at everyone who walked by. It was a nice way to bond with my fellow responsible cruisers, and the staff was laughing. ^_^
I don't understand why this was directed at me.
What makes the customer's angry is not that the flight was late...its that American Airlines is really good at showing time and time again that IT DOESN'T CARE! Now that is something to get angry about...specially when you have no choice since you already paid and are stuck miles away from home. I applaud these passengers...we need more public revolt over the lousy service the Airline industry is providing these days...and specially American Airlines.
For those who want to give AA a pass...I have seen how they apologize. Its like they get mad at you for even having to talk to you..."customer service" is something they just hate dealing with...and suck at either way!
@ThinkerTDM:
That was my reaction too. If the passengers were kept up to date on the situation, the reception for the crew would of been better. Also, sounds like claiming "hostile work environment" is a union thing, so there is my contribution for the anti union flame war.
Does anyone remember the footage of airline passengers rioting in some airport in South America somewhere, so at least it didn't go that far.
They weren't saying "boo". They were saying "Boo-urns."
Reason #43587 I no longer fly anymore.