Maybe I'm the only one who pays attention during those announcements anymore...the only thing I've ever heard relating to the forward lavatory is "Don't line up in the forward galley." I've never heard anything about not getting up while the captain or first officer is using the lavatory, unless they just started that in the last 30 days.

Heck, I can't remember the last time I've seen the captain or first officer emerge from the cockpit during flight on a Southwest flight. Most of them are short enough that the crew apparently follows their mom's advice to "Go before you leave..."

The whole bit about how SW says flight attendants are required to indicate it's against the law if the pilot leaves the cockpit during the pre-flight safety procedures is pure BS. I've never, ever heard of such a thing. Granted, I've never flown SW, however I've flown on a number of different airlines after 9/11 to know for a fact that not one attendant has ever said anything about this "law". I think SW is trying to cover their asses after they messed up. Witnesses really need to be interviewed to find out what really happened.

In light of this.. it sounds almost like SW is trying to bribe the other passengers of this flight...

wow what a bunch of dicks. I think I might sue them if I was the good doc.

I flew a lot after 9/11. It was my misfortune that my job required me to travel between NJ, and OR at least once a month, round trip. I stopped back in 2007 after 5 years flying anywhere from once a month to once a week.

I have never *ever* heard *any* announcement about "If the captain comes out of the cockpit gtf back in your seat you lousy sheeple!".

There *is* the "Follow the crew instructions or else." variety of statement repeated until it's echoing in your ear drums, and you want to... *twitch*

Sorry flashback . . .

Anyway as I was saying ... Southwests excuse is just that ... an excuse.

I am *so* glad to not be flying anymore now that the airline crews seem to feel that the simplest misunderstanding needs to result in some poor person being arrested, and having to enter a guilty plea for a crime that will remain on their "file" for a very long time.

What if the good Dr. needs a security clearance someday? It's far more common than you think. I'd be fighting it too.

It sounds like we're going to have to hear from other passengers regarding what happened.

Also I have to say that I can recall seeing the captain, or co-pilot come out of the cockpit at least once or twice. I am pretty sure the most they ever did was draw that little curtain, and not let people use that bathroom for awhile (I'm assuming until after the captain was done).

Group me in with the others who've flown within the last 3 years and never been told to remain seated while a pilot has left his seat.

To be honest, I think that the way this person was treated is unacceptable, and while I think he should be compensated, that's a small issue compared to the hundreds if not thousands of other passengers, citizens, innocent people who are treated like MUD when dealing with racist/ignorant security people.

Never heard any flight attendant announcement about not getting up from your seats when the pilot isn't in the cockpit. Total BS on Southwest's part...

@Scuba Steve: I can't agree more. It's one of the biggest reasons I wanted a job with no regular travel. The hassle of constantly delayed flights, inconsistent security practices (don't even get me started!), and the ability for a flight attendant having a bad day after a fight with their spouse being able to have you put in JAIL upon landing?

It's too much.

And the thing is I'm not even a "racial minority" if there is such a thing anymore.

I recently flew AA ORD->SFO and back, and on both flights when someone from the cockpit needed to pitch a quart, they moved the food cart into a sort of angular position blocking the first class lav. It seemed pretty normal to me; they lock the cockpits for the safety of the flight crew, keeping them safe when they have to relieve themselves makes sense.

At the same time, I have never in the gazillion flights I've taken since 9/11 ever heard the crew say don't get out of your seat while the flight crew is in the open.

I agree. I've never heard that on any airline, and I do pay attention to the preflight spiels at least enough to remember the general "categories" they mention (Exits, Oxygen, Seatbelts etc.) I know for SURE that "Pilot Pooping Procedures" were NOT covered ever.

Fuck that horrible whore of a stewardess and fuck Southwest for not taking responsibility and fixing this.

I say this even though I until today mostly liked Southwest for doing ballsy things like throwing bratty out-of-control kids (and their horrible parents) off the plane.

I fly about 4 times a month and while I do zone out on Continental's safety spiel, I've never heard anything about staying in your seat when the captain or co-captain is pooping, even when flying to/from Washington Dulles and National.

Hopefully 24 of the other passengers will send him their vouchers so he can break even. :)

Infuriating. But I wish we knew the whole story.

If it's a federal regulation I'm sure it would be no problem for someone to cite it.

*waits*

*tumbleweed*

I've flown SW several times, most recently in July, and I've never heard an announcement about the pilot being out of the cockpit. I think they made it all up to cover for the bizarre behavior of a flight attendant on a power trip.

@jeffbone: Agreed on the announcement front. I flew a couple months ago and heard no mention of that, and flying freaks me out a little so I tend to hang onto their every word.

"King said the flight attendant tried to explain the regulation to Madduri during the incident."

Basic airline law is DO WHAT THE CREW TELLS YOU MORON.

I'm curious who regulates inflight rules like this...I can't find anything on the TSA or DHS sites relative to this. And I fly first class and I've never heard this or been asked to step away when the cockpit door is open or a pilot is in the galley. I've had flight attendants watch me then, but as long as you're not shifty or aggressive, they leave you alone. And since when does the government get to regulate peeing?

I indeed have heard this announcement. Once one a Horizon flight, when the FA asked everybody to remain seated while the poor little pilot used the potty.

The second, was when I was chatting up an FA on WestJet (a Canadian airline), and the pilot phone her and asked if she could have me move from the door. She gave him a hard time about being friendly to passengers, perhaps he should have gone before they left, etc. All very friendly, all very "Canadian".

I agree that flying in the US is horrific, with all airlines demonstrating that customers should just "expect" to fly their airline, and not actually believe that customer service should in fact be service. It never was great in the last decade, and unfortunately, its just become a lot worse in the last 7 years.

@PhiCancri:

I've flown with Southwest dozens of times and other airlines just as much in the last 7 years (including 10 trans-Pacific flights)and I haven't heard anything about not getting up whilst any member of the flight crew is in the lav.

Assuming the OP's assertion that he's truly an innocent victim is true, this really is a travesty.

How do you vote down a commenter? Is there like a negative heart thing?

Video and Audio recording in flight should be mandatory. Sky Waitresses (and Waiters) should also be required to carry mics.

Southwest routinely gets kudos for not charging extra fees for everything.

But it looks like there's a price for that after all. Ever noticed the relative amount of public, high profile incidents that seems to be a commonplace occurance with Southwest (regardless of whether the people involved have "dirty hands" themselves)?

Unfortunately for Dr. Madduri, it seems like he was just out of luck. Southwest was right when they said "the issue had no racial profile or bias."

He just wasn't a western/northern European(-descent) male (I don't ever recall people in that category being involved in high profile incidents with Southwest, to date). Absolutely no racism there. Don't say the word "racism," you terrorist! Don't listen to that terrorist either. Just take the $100 voucher and shuddap!

@twophrasebark: Agreed, there needs to be something to rate commenters. It's be a really easy way for the comment moderator to spot the rotten apples.

They jail those kids, just like the good doctor.

If aircraft carry bathrooms because of the fact that some people can't hold it in until the plane lands...perhaps it's NOT bizarre behavior that someone can't hold it in?

@azntg:

It may have not been on Southwest, but there is certainly a president for people being arrested for basically no reason whatsoever on an aircraft. Now I'm certainly not going to speculate about what the flight attendant was saying or thinking, but here is an example of something that happened to a little old "white" lady:

[consumerist.com]

Since the bathroom was already occupied, Dr. Madduri would have been forming a line. It doesn't matter that the occupant was the captain.

@azntg: it was INDIA. Get a map. Its in no way a part of Europe.

And if you saw the picture of the doctor in the link provided in the first article you might begin to understand this is a racially charged issue.

I've flown sporadically over 2 dozen times over the last 8 years and have never once heard it anything about the captian/co-pilot's lavatory conundrum. My most recent flight was this June.@PhiCancri:

@thnkwhatyouthnk:
And turn this site into a circle jerk?

I fly Jet Blue and they do this all the time. Before a crew member enters or leaves the cockpit, they angle and lock a serving cart to block the aisle forward of the first row. The cart remains there, with a cabin attendant, until the crew member returns to the cockpit.
They do not make an announcement, but passengers can clearly see what is going on. Passengers going to towards the front are asked to use rear lavatory. No biggie.

On the A320, there is only one lavatory in the forward section, the same with the 737. If a crew member was using it what was the doctor expecting? That the crew member would leap out to allow him in? I'm sorry, I really doubt that they wouldn't tell him why he couldn't use the lavatory, that doesn't make sense.

I watch "Airline" and honestly I'd be afraid to fly Southwest after watching that reality show, but I have to side with them on this one.

Yup, Southwest can die. I hope the government doesn't bail them out if it comes to that. :-\

I personally think that more people need to cover this story... make Southwest take the fire for being so stupid.

@johnnya2: Like, "pee in your pants!"? Screw that.

Plus she pushed him: that's assault.

@jeffbone: I agree. I've flown countless times since 9/11 and haven't once heard that from a flight attendant. Not on Continental, AA, Southwest, or US Air. And I certainly haven't seen the pilot come out of the cockpit to use the lave.

I did hear, "In the unlikely event that the captain needs to use the restroom; stay in your seat and let them go first. As they need to get back to flying the plane."

However this Southwest crew were comics. Later, telling the passengers that they, "love us and our money, personally."

Ever notice the difference in service when flying to Asia? The Asian airlines are much more customer-centric...and when you switch back to domestic, the contrast is quite startling (unfortunately). Let's not forget the lifetime value of a customer. And the power of word of mouth.

@PhiCancri: I usually take two round-trip flights (so four total) a year, and I've never heard of this law. I've flown as recently as the 9th of this month (on Continental) and the pre-flight instructions made no mention of this. The only bathroom restriction was that the forward-most one was reserved for First/Business Class passengers.

Closet thing that I can find to this is:

14 CFR § 121.584 Requirement to view the area outside the flightdeck door.

From the time the airplane moves in order to initiate a flight segment through the end of that flight segment, no person may unlock or open the flightdeck door unless:

(a) A person authorized to be on the flightdeck uses an approved audio procedure and an approved visual device to verify that:

(1) The area outside the flightdeck door is secure, and;

(2) If someone outside the flightdeck is seeking to have the flightdeck door opened, that person is not under duress, and;

(b) After the requirements of paragraph (a) of this section have been satisfactorily accomplished, the crewmember in charge on the flightdeck authorizes the door to be unlocked and open.

It seems that Southwest's interpretation of this means all passengers in their seats. Depending on how their operations manual is written (which effectively supersedes most of the other FARs, it's possible that they are indeed required to have all pax in their seats. Problem is, verifying that would require access to their Ops Manual, likely not an easy task. If one was really interested, the FAA has this stuff on file and a FOIA request might get it released.

I'm really confused here. So Dr. Madduri, a man, is the one who caused the disruption and they say in the letter that they are sending a voucher to everyone who was on the flight "except, of course, the LADY who caused the disruption". Whuh? Not only did they apparently send the letter to him by mistake, they got his gender mixed up too. I used to fly Southwest all the time when I lived in other part of the country and usually was pretty happy with them. Southwest doesn't serve the area where I live now so it really doesn't matter, but come on Southwest, you've been featured on the Consumerist too many times and you disappoint me! You're supposed to be a model in customer service!

@FlyingMonkey: Same here. I've got frequent flyer miles my grandkid's will be using and NO airline I've flown has ever said anything about that. The first class / business class is the only thing that get's mentioned about the front lavatory.

@joel.: I fly twice a week on Southwest, and they always say this. "Due to Federal Regulations, you cannot line up outside the forward lavatory." It's usually said in between the life vests and the oxygen masks, since the flight attendants walk back and check the seat belts when they put the life vest on.

In the words of Terry Tate, "That ain't new, baby!"

Oh I see now. I read the story link and Southwest says they got the gender wrong. Sheesh. Come on Southwest, you can do better!

Oh, and although I wasn't there, the whole handcuffing and making him spend overnight in a jail cell sounds awfully harsh. How does this all make for safer air travel?

@sir_eccles: I did a brief Google search but couldn't come up with anything about remaining in your seat if the pilot is out of the cockpit. Closest thing I read was that sometimes during "heightened security," a federal "rule" prohibits passengers from getting out of their seats within 30 minutes of landing at certain airports. (Source: [www.americanrestroom.org])

@johnnya2: Name calling isn't particularly helpful, johnnya2. Let's tone it down.

@jeffbone: I am fairly sure there is just some confusion, and it really has nothing to do with the captain being in the lav. It is entirely the don't line up rule just being enforced a bit stricter because the captain is involved.

I mean if you get up at that point you are lining up for the lav, which is a violation of security end of story.

@Overheal: I believe Azntg was being sarcastic there, implying that the problem wasn't with the doctor being indian, but rather that he wasn't white. It didn't work too well.

And I saw his picture, he looks like Groucho Marx after falling asleep by the pool.