American Airlines Misplaces Your Grandmother, Twice
Every once in awhile we post a sad story about someone's 85-year-old grandmother being left at the gate because nobody came to push the wheelchair. This is one of those stories. The difference, however, is that in this case American Airlines left the woman at the gate, apologized, got her a hotel, brought her back, and left her with a Skycap. She missed the second flight too.
The abandoned woman isn't even angry at the airline. She says she loves flying and will do it again. Her kids, however are not in a very good mood after hours of wondering what happened to their mother.
The trouble started Tuesday. Ms. Jones had a connecting flight at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. She made the connection in time, but no one pushed her wheelchair down the jetway.
After the gate agent realized what had happened, he called her family and American Airlines arranged for food and a hotel room. The following morning Ms. Jones was returned to the Terminal and left with a Skycap. Nobody helped her to her gate and she missed the second flight, too. Eventually she was upgraded to first class and given a $100 voucher for a future flight.
Ms. Jones' family says that they are upset about the lack of communication from AA.
From WFAA:
"It's just a simple human error," said Tim Wagner, an American Airlines spokesman. "We apologized profusely to Ms. Jones. We've done everything we've been able to do to make her comfortable."
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Comments:
Was she just silent, sitting in a corner napping? I'd be screaming my head off! "Hey, buttheads! You forget about me I'm gonna haunt you in a few years!!"
Upgrading to first class so she could sit in the jetway longer (or does she get to "pre-wait"?)...
We can only hope they are (say it with me) taking this seriously.
BTW, the $100 voucher in the future might barely cover the checked bag fees!
If she can't even get herself on an airplane, how is she supposed to spend the night alone in a hotel?
obama death panels in preliminary stage -I guess they'll work-
Hey, atleast they did not make her an early adopter for Obama's Socio-Facist Health Scare.
I must be watching too much news. Because the first thing that came to my mind when I read half the headline was "Death Panel Joke".
@doctor_cos: I initially misread it as "$1000 voucher" and thought "thats actually not bad"... and then i realized it $100. Seriously. that sucks. And as you said, by the time she flies next time, she it wont cover the checked bag fee.
@Ronin-Democrat: And actually, this is precisely why we do not want government sponsored death care. They'll just leave them in front of the "harvester" without actually harvesting them.
Wait, or is this a case against corporate run health care?
It's so confusing! Airline oops up, does its best to fix the problem in a commendable way, somehow oops up again on the exact same thing... and then hands out a mini-coupon? I don't know how outraged to be!
@Radi0logy: See, that's EXACTLY the kind of old lady I want to be in 50 or 60 years.
You just made my whole afternoon. Thanks. :-)
"We've done everything we've been able to do to make her comfortable."
Yes.... everything except help her onto the plain so she wouldn't miss her flight.... twice. That's more than human error - that's a pattern of behavior inherent to the airline employees.
@Embriosa: You know, you'd think that by now the airlines would have developed gate checklists that include items like "make sure all 'flying unattended' children and wheelchair-bound old people are on board." Maybe not in those exact words, but something to that effect.
@Radi0logy: This was my first thought, too. I'd be bitching loud and clear. "Hey, you! Ticketing girl! I'M ON THIS FLIGHT SO PUT ME ON THE DAMN PLANE."
Then again, I come from a long line of get-their-way old women, from two families who could win the Stubborn Olympics, if such a thing there were, so there is that. ;)
@Hil-fish: Probably not. But certain administrations might leave her on the edge, and then chase down a completely healthy young guy and beat the living crap out of him till he is all sorts of paralyzed and then make a case about how he could not be possibly allowed to live.
@MostlyHarmless: I've been watching too much Daily Show because it was my first thought too.
Though seriously, what the hell happened? Did they think she was people watching or something?
How come she wasn't just checked in as baggage?
Am I the only one who sees such phrases as :"We've done everything we've been able to do to make her comfortable." More likely to be heard on a medical drama when you know someone is going to inevitably die soon?
Did they charge the woman a $100 upgrade fee, a $50 skycap fee, $25 wheel chair pushing fee? Wheelchair check-in fee? I want to know!
@MostlyHarmless: When will people learn there IS NO SUCH THING AS A DEATH PANEL!?!?!
The purpose of the panel is to enforce mandatory gay marriages.
Crimony.
@vastrightwing: Hey now - you forgot the "additional wheel fee" for the second, third, and fourth wheels on the chair.
Not sure I agree it's American Airlines job to babysit an 85 year old woman in a wheelchair. Where was her family or other caregiver? How did she get to the airport? They just left her for the airline to handle?
@takes_so_little: I would not mind watching Summer Glau and Morena Baccarin consummate their marriage.
Doesn't the woman bear SOME responsibility for ensuring she gets on her airplane? I understand that she needs an airline employee to assist her with boarding, but isn't it incumbent upon her to make sure they do so before her plane leaves? Did she not notice the "final boarding" calls and the other boarding announcements, the gate door closing or the plane beginning to pull away? If she isn't "with it" enough to keep track of this stuff perhaps she shouldn't be flying without a family member accompanying her.
@baristabrawl: No, they kept her off the airplane. Which was undoubtedly more comfortable, so their hearts are in the right place, right?
Sad, but the passenger bears responsibility for making sure she gets on the plane too, and if her age is such that she is too cognitively impaired to do so, she shouldn't be traveling alone...
@PLATTWORX: This happened at the connecting airport. And it's American's job because they took it. (Might also be ACAA, but I'm fuzzy about what point that kicks in.) There's no suggestion that American was being asked to be provide a service that they don't; even the airline is clear that they failed to provide a service they agreed to.
@Radi0logy: Genius.
Seriously, I guess she *could* talk since she said she would be happy to fly again -- but she didn't do so when her flight was boarding? Was her wheelchair even in the vicinity of the gate when the planes were boarding?! Did she not ask?!
@JustinSane07: Oh, that was completely uncalled-for. That mental image of Rush in assless chaps will be with me forever.
@MostlyHarmless: I'm trying to get some of these Death Panels for my house. I heard they save you money AND lower you chances of Reaver attack.
When I flew down to NC recently, they made a special announcement concerning people who need help to come to the front of the line/they were called first. Did this not happen?
@Tamar Weinberg: There's more information only a click away in the original article. Little ironic that people who think she should have done more didn't even click through to get their questions answered :-).
The first time, she was at the gate, and she believed they were coming back to board her after the other passengers. The second time, they didn't even get her to the gate in time to board.
Article mentions that "Airline employees said Jones was a sweetheart - patient and cooperative." Maybe she was so patient and cooperative she didn't speak up when they announced last call for boarding? Yeah, something's missing.
@floraposte: But if I take the time to inform myself, I wouldn't be able to get a top post in! I think we can all agree as to whats more important...
@MyPetFly: Because the AA employees knew that if anything happened to her, they'd find themselves the target of another YouTube country song: "American Airlines Breaks Grandmas".
@Radi0logy: I'm working on that "First!" script as we speak.
It's possible that that first time she could have spoken up--it kind of depends where they left the wheelchair. But my impression is that she's one of these sunny personalities who assumes everything is right in the world. Y'know, psychos.
@GitEmSteveDave'sAPeacefulMandalorian: Two by Two, Hands of Blue v/s the Reavers. Awesome.
I was talking to a girl yesterday, about how it was sad that Firefly never got to develop to a point where the humans could be battling humanoid robots.
Reavers v/s River v/s Robots.
MOST. EPIC. BATTLE. EVER.
@floraposte: LOL damn I spit the water again.
See its comments like these that make me think that you always talk in Leela's voice.
And yeah, it is quite likely that she is one of those people. Especially considering how shes all like "A++++++++++ Shipped late, but would still fly again".
@takes_so_little: Dammit, you weren't supposed to reveal the truth, now the velvet mafia is going to have to have a word with you.
Well , they tried . :(
@calquist: Maybe they just took her there and left her sitting in the lobby all night. That was she was ready to go first thing in the morning.
bastards....
@LupusGray: All she has is arthritis. She seems to be unable to walk the distances required in an airport. That's not a cognitive impairment.
There have been plenty of times in airports when I needed assistance or information and someone there told me they would "get someone" and "be right back" only to disappear. I'm kind of a tenacious jerk, so I make sure that what I think needs doing gets done, but I'm sure someone with a more pleasant personality might for help after requesting it.
@oneandone: If all she has is arthritis, why didn't she speak out when the gate was closing? Twice? Once, maybe, I can give her the benefit of the doubt. Maybe she's just an inexperience traveler. But two times?
Make her comfortable? What did they do, push her wheel chair to hospice?