AirTran defends decision to remove family from plane after toddler's tantrum

[sanctus]

By Jim Ellis

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - AirTran Airways on Tuesday defended its decision to remove a Massachusetts couple from a flight after their crying 3-year-old daughter refused to take her seat before takeoff.

AirTran officials said they followed Federal Aviation Administration rules that children age 2 and above must have their own seat and be wearing a seat belt upon takeoff.

"The flight was already delayed 15 minutes and in fairness to the other 112 passengers on the plane, the crew made an operational decision to remove the family," AirTran spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver said.

Julie and Gerry Kulesza, who were headed home to Boston on Jan. 14 from Fort Myers, said they just needed a little more time to calm their daughter, Elly.

"We weren't given an opportunity to hold her, console her or anything," Julie Kulesza said in a telephone interview Tuesday.

The Kuleszas said they told a flight attendant they had paid for their daughter's seat, but asked whether she could sit in her mother's lap. The request was denied.

She was removed because "she was climbing under the seat and hitting the parents and wouldn't get in her seat" during boarding, Graham-Weaver said.

The Orlando-based carrier reimbursed the family $595.80, the cost of the three tickets, and the Kuleszas flew home the next day.

They also were offered three roundtrip tickets anywhere the airline flies, Graham-Weaver said.

The father said his family would never fly AirTran again.






Copyright © 2007 Canadian Press

 

[TenPenny]

The father said his family would never fly AirTran again.

Speaking as a parent who has flown with young children, all I can say is: learn to control your children before you go out in public again, please, folks. Your inability to control your child is an insult to the rest of us.

 

[Gonzo]

Why do parents bring their children to the mall to yell at them and spank them? I've seen parents on the bus who ignore their children and then when they complain they take their toy away, making them whine more. Some parents should have been fixed before they reproduced. Or have had contraceptives in the drinking water.

 

[selfactivated]

My Sis and I will not fly Air Trans in the future because of this.

I ALWAYS carry crayons, pens , pencils , paper just incase a parent gets "stuck" while Im traveling. You have no idea how many #'s I have from thankful parents to call when Im in town LOL My kids were great traveling. Jessa had a crying fit once and on the same flight Critter was in a cast in a great deal of pain. The Delta Stewardess was helpful, kind and after a 4 hour trip she bought ME a drink!!! Kids are NOT predictable especially little ones and a tiny bit of care always goes a long way.

 

[tracy]

In all fairness, how long were they supposed to wait for this 3 year old to calm down?

 

[selfactivated]

I garantee you after that plane started moving that baby would have calmed down. Another question, What if she had that fit in air? Would they stop the plane?

 

[selfactivated]

Also That flight from florida to boston is at most 90 minutes. From Richmond to JFK its 45 minutes. Its not a long flight. A child screaming will pass out cold after a short bit.

 

[Sparrow]

Some parents don't have a clue what to do with their children. When you leave home with your children you have to be prepared and armed with all manner of things to amuse them. For instance some will bring their children to a resturant with nothing to amuse them and spend 4 hrs. eating and drinking while their kids go wild. Very intelligent! I don't blame the children, I blame the parents.

 

[karrie]

Traveling with a three year old, you really ought to be stocked to the teeth with coping toys and such. This airline sure seems to have done a lot to try to appease both the other customers, and the ones they kicked off. I can't see that they really did anything wrong. I suspect this is more a case of mommy and daddy trying to excuse the kids' nasty behavior by blaming it on the airline.

Planning flights and travel time around a kids' schedule doesn't always work well, nor does taking them out in public at all times.. kids are bound to toss fits once in a while (yes, even in a mall), and society's intolerance to it does get quite frustrating. But, not being able to get the kid into a seat at all is a bit more than you can expect an airline to tolerate.

 

[tracy]

I garantee you after that plane started moving that baby would have calmed down. Another question, What if she had that fit in air? Would they stop the plane?

She needs to be in her seat BEFORE they could start moving. If she can't do that, they can't take off.

 

[selfactivated]

She needs to be in her seat BEFORE they could start moving. If she can't do that, they can't take off.

They have belt extentions not just for fat people but also for children to sit in parents laps.......unless rules have changed.

 

[#juan]

They have belt extentions not just for fat people but also for children to sit in parents laps.......unless rules have changed.

The belt extensions are for fat people(big people), they are not for having children on laps, and never were. I know this is academic but can you imagine what would happen if maybe a 200 pound adult were thrown with any force against the child who was sharing the seat belt?

 

[tracy]

They have belt extentions not just for fat people but also for children to sit in parents laps.......unless rules have changed.

Children over the age of two are not permitted to sit in their parents laps. The flight crew has to abide by those rules. If the parents can't make their 3 year old sit down before takeoff, the plane can't take off.

 

[selfactivated]

The belt extensions are for fat people(big people), they are not for having children on laps, and never were. I know this is academic but can you imagine what would happen if maybe a 200 pound adult were thrown with any force against the child who was sharing the seat belt?

That is NOT my experience. I remember the stewardess taking Jessa's carseat and stowing it telling me to strap her in WITH me. This was Delta back in 88. Like I said UNLESS rules have changed those straps are not just for the weight challanged (I can say fat I am fat)

 

[selfactivated]

Children over the age of two are not permitted to sit in their parents laps. The flight crew has to abide by those rules. If the parents can't make their 3 year old sit down before takeoff, the plane can't take off.

Thank You Tracy. Then the rule hasnt changed I was just mistaken on the age limit. I appreciate you finding the facts.

 

[tracy]

Thank You Tracy. Then the rule hasnt changed I was just mistaken on the age limit. I appreciate you finding the facts.

No worries, I know airline travel is a pain in the butt. I just feel for the airline people because I know what it's like to be the one who has to enforce rules. I can't tell you how many times I've had irate family members because I enforce rules at the hospital. I don't get to make those rules and I don't get to change them even if I disagree with them. It's really no different for flight crews.

 

[jjaycee98]

Oh Puleeeeese! They couldn't get the kid out from under the seat. She repeatedly hit at her parents and was not crying; she was screaming! This is not a "baby", she is 3 and should by this time have some manners. Do you think they should have let her be, and just taken off with her under the seat instead of in it? She was a danger to herself and all on that flight and they would have been breaking the Law to do so. In my opinion the parents received more consideration than they should have. Bet they use the free tickets too.

The only thing that gives me a bit of concern for the child is that if they have flown with her before and she experienced pain and that was the reason for the tantrum. Ear infections can be very painful on a flight. We also know people who's son had an unknown brain aneurism that burst on a flight to Orlando. This child should be evaluated by doctors.

 

[mapleleafgirl]

That is NOT my experience. I remember the stewardess taking Jessa's carseat and stowing it telling me to strap her in WITH me. This was Delta back in 88. Like I said UNLESS rules have changed those straps are not just for the weight challanged (I can say fat I am fat)

i just read an article for school about some airlines not wanting fat people on the planes because they say its a danger or something. as for kids, if they cant behave, they should stay home. even for me it is really annoying being somewhere and some stupid kid is throwing a fit and the mom dosent do a thing to get it together with the kid.

 

[MikeyDB]

The path of least resistance.


This article retelling the incident of poor parenting skills is in today’s world entirely typical.

You can bet that this child will be “diagnosed” as an ADD or ADHD candidate and of course Ritalin or some other chemical “manager” will be dutifully prescribed… (I’m assuming the child is “normal” and “healthy”…no presenting dysfunctions or medical diagnosis of behavioral or psychological import…

Heaven knows you can’t expect parents to be responsible when disciplining their children under the aegis of our modern liberal perspectives on “child-abuse”…prohibit spanking….for instance…

When convenient (and sadly true) the relationship between childhood sexual physical and emotional abuse is directly linked to the cycle of abuse that appears to be just as unsolvable as poverty or homelessness. How did this new perspective on the insurmountable hurdles facing post-modern parents emerge into the social dynamic?

No one that I’ve read on Canadian Content really wants to look at the issues we confront in today’s world through a broader perspective… it’s far easier to lay responsibility for “issues” at the feet of politicians or crazed religious fanatics, or corrupt business and government…

While these agents deserve our scrutiny and indeed our sharpest criticisms, the modern dynamic that we all ignore and would like to pretend “doesn’t exist” is taking its toll.

Conditioned to believe that “success” is inherently and irrevocably bound to disposable income, the accoutrements of wealth and demonstration of conspicuous consumption demand that the conceptual ideation of “parenting” undergo re-sculpting and re-assessment. We have witnessed the collapse of the extended family and are witnessing the collapse of the nuclear family. Latch-key-kids, “DINKS”..Dual Income No Kids…have become the rule not the exception.

No single “type” of parent is uniquely ‘responsible’ for the pathetic exercise of modern parenting. There are adequate single parent “families” and it’s really too early to arrive at any substantive conclusion regarding gay or lesbian parenting outcomes…

This is the world we wanted.

Mommy and Daddy aren’t “responsible”…

No more responsible than Presidents or Prime Ministers for meeting their obligations and responsibilities to their nations citizens…

No more responsible than the thug who victimizes robs rapes and murders…because they were the “victims” of abuse, neglect and poverty…

No more responsible for anything that contorts and re-shapes perspectives on modernity…

It’s not human industry and burning of fossil fuels that are contributing to greenhouse gasses and global warming…no it’s cow farts….

I just wonder how long it will be before the countryside is festooned with human posteriors arching toward the heavens while heads remain safely buried in the sand….

 

[Gonzo]

I remember when Air Canada was sued by a fat women because she wanted two seats for the price of one. They wouldn't give it to her and she claimed that the airline was treating obese people unfairly. I don’t know what came of it. I also remember a guy (a professor at York University in Toronto) sued an airline because they wouldn't let him on with all his gadgets attached to him. He claims they were being unfair to cyborgs. He had cameras and everything attached to him.