Girl Kicked Off Plane After Tantrum

KarenMarie

Elite Member
Sep 20, 2003
14,372
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Text

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- Flight attendants often deal with obnoxious passengers who won't listen to instructions by kicking them off the plane. But a Massachusetts couple think AirTran Airways went overboard by treating their crying 3-year-old daughter in much the same way.

Julie and Gerry Kulesza and daughter Elly were removed from the flight when the girl refused to take her seat before takeoff, airline officials said Tuesday. But her parents said they just needed a little more time to calm her down.

The Kuleszas planned to fly home to Boston on Jan. 14 from Fort Myers after a four-day visit with the girl's paternal grandparents. She was removed because "she was climbing under the seat and hitting the parents and wouldn't get in her seat" during boarding, AirTran spokeswoman Judy Graham-Weaver said.

AirTran officials say they were only following Federal Aviation Administration rules that children age 2 and above must have their own seat and be wearing a seatbelt 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," Graham-Weaver said.

But Julie Kulesza said: "We weren't giving an opportunity to hold her, console her or anything."

"Elly was sitting in front of our seat crying," she said in a phone interview. "The attendant motioned to a seat and asked if we purchased it for her."

They had paid for the seat. Gerry Kulesza said another attendant then approached the family and told him: "You need to get her in control and in her seat."

The couple told the attendants they were trying. Julie Kulesza said she asked the attendants if Elly could sit on her lap, but they said no.

The family flew home the next day.

The Orlando-based carrier reimbursed the family $595.80, the cost of the three tickets, and offered them three roundtrip tickets anywhere the airline flies, Graham-Weaver said.

But that's too little, too late for the Kuleszas. The father said they would never fly AirTran again.

This makes me SO mad!

Just because they could not control their kid, should not mean that everyone else on the flight should suffer, especially the staff who need to follow rules and regs.

I am pissed off that they refunded these ppl. They say they will never use this company again.... GOOD! I would not ever want them on a flight I was on!


 

Looney

Lifer
Jun 13, 2000
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I'm with you on that. Sounds like the parents has absolutely no control over their kid. Wait until that kid is 14.
 
Nov 5, 2001
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In their defense, in this day and age, it has become much more difficult for parents to instill discipline in unruly children. 15 years ago, that child would have gotten a light spanking and the situation avoided. These days, kids run wild and parents are pretty much helpless.
 

Garet Jax

Diamond Member
Feb 21, 2000
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Originally posted by: Looney
I'm with you on that. Sounds like the parents has absolutely no control over their kid. Wait until that kid is 14.

Sometimes even the best 3 or 4 year old kids go into uncontrolable tantrums. There is very little that can be done when you are in a confined spot.
 

yowolabi

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2001
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They should be thankful they received either a refund or free tickets. They deserved nothing except a seat on the first flight out in which they were able to control their kid.
 

bignateyk

Lifer
Apr 22, 2002
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Having screaming kids and barking dogs is bad enough, but its possible to get away from them by going to first or business class. Having a disobediant child delay a flight is another matter entirely. I'm glad they kicked them off. They gave them 15 minutes to control the kid.

I was flying in the upper deck on business class to australia a year or so ago, and someone decided it would be a good idea to book a business class seat for their child. Needless to say, after everyone else in business class started to complain, they made the child and one of the parents move downstairs.
 

Mill

Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
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I'm a frequent flyer and I HATE whining kids. The company would have been in the right, but they screwed up in the end. They should not have denied them boarding for 24 hours. That is absurd to think it would take 24 to calm the child down. They should have told them they couldn't take this flight, and that they need the child to be calm before the next one OR they would be denied boarding for 24 hours.
 

D1gger

Diamond Member
Oct 3, 2004
5,411
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I don't think the parents deserved a refund. They can't control their own child long enough to get them in a seat, they shouldn't be on the plane.
 

Saulbadguy

Diamond Member
Jan 27, 2003
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Originally posted by: Garet Jax
Originally posted by: Looney
I'm with you on that. Sounds like the parents has absolutely no control over their kid. Wait until that kid is 14.

Sometimes even the best 3 or 4 year old kids go into uncontrolable tantrums. There is very little that can be done when you are in a confined spot.

Take the next flight.
 

yowolabi

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2001
4,183
2
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Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
In their defense, in this day and age, it has become much more difficult for parents to instill discipline in unruly children. 15 years ago, that child would have gotten a light spanking and the situation avoided. These days, kids run wild and parents are pretty much helpless.

That's why you spank them in the privacy of your home. Then you only need to threaten it when you're out in public.

I'm not sure that even the best parent can prevent a 3 year old from ever throwing a tantrum though.
 

waggy

No Lifer
Dec 14, 2000
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Originally posted by: Looney
I'm with you on that. Sounds like the parents has absolutely no control over their kid. Wait until that kid is 14.

at 3 it is very hard to get control of a child. they really don't have 100% control anyway. so when they get intoa tantrum they totaly lose it.

but saying that they did the right thing. they should have kicked them off.
 

TehMac

Diamond Member
Aug 18, 2006
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If the Liberals and goons weren't so damned nosey, this couple would have been able to spank their child, no prob. With all the crap thats going on, well...surprise, I hope the liberals like their harvest.
 

bignateyk

Lifer
Apr 22, 2002
11,288
7
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Originally posted by: waggy
Originally posted by: Looney
I'm with you on that. Sounds like the parents has absolutely no control over their kid. Wait until that kid is 14.

at 3 it is very hard to get control of a child. they really don't have 100% control anyway. so when they get intoa tantrum they totaly lose it.

but saying that they did the right thing. they should have kicked them off.


they should just give their kid a sedative or something if they are prone to going into tantrums while flying. A little bit of dramamine, and the kid would be out like a rock.
 

Garet Jax

Diamond Member
Feb 21, 2000
6,369
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Originally posted by: bignateyk
Originally posted by: waggy
Originally posted by: Looney
I'm with you on that. Sounds like the parents has absolutely no control over their kid. Wait until that kid is 14.

at 3 it is very hard to get control of a child. they really don't have 100% control anyway. so when they get intoa tantrum they totaly lose it.

but saying that they did the right thing. they should have kicked them off.


they should just give their kid a sedative or something if they are prone to going into tantrums while flying. A little bit of dramamine, and the kid would be out like a rock.


Only to have your kid taken away by protectice services....
 

MX2

Lifer
Apr 11, 2004
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3 year children cannot be "controlled" its a very delicate situation to deal with tantrums. They come in all shapes and sizes and each one takes a different measure of parenting to deal with.

That said, I do agree with the airline and the decision that was made. The fact that the couple were not a bit more in tune with the scene as a whole bothers me. They should have stepped off the flight gracefully out of respect for others. The airline obviously went above and beyond the call of duty with the refund and such.
 

theknight571

Platinum Member
Mar 23, 2001
2,896
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They shoulda just spent the $4 for the mini-bottle of Jack and fed it to her.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz .... all the way home. lol

just kidding... of course ;)
 

SarcasticDwarf

Diamond Member
Jun 8, 2001
9,574
1
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Originally posted by: Mill
I'm a frequent flyer and I HATE whining kids. The company would have been in the right, but they screwed up in the end. They should not have denied them boarding for 24 hours. That is absurd to think it would take 24 to calm the child down. They should have told them they couldn't take this flight, and that they need the child to be calm before the next one OR they would be denied boarding for 24 hours.

Um, they did not DENY boarding as far as I can tell.
 

tomywishbone

Golden Member
Oct 24, 2006
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The plane was on a treadmill, so the flight wasn't going anywhere anyway... that said, throw the brat off.:)
 

RapidSnail

Diamond Member
Apr 28, 2006
4,257
0
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Originally posted by: bignateyk
Originally posted by: waggy
Originally posted by: Looney
I'm with you on that. Sounds like the parents has absolutely no control over their kid. Wait until that kid is 14.

at 3 it is very hard to get control of a child. they really don't have 100% control anyway. so when they get intoa tantrum they totaly lose it.

but saying that they did the right thing. they should have kicked them off.


they should just give their kid a sedative or something if they are prone to going into tantrums while flying. A little bit of dramamine, and the kid would be out like a rock.

We're putting children on drugs too early these days.
 

Specop 007

Diamond Member
Jan 31, 2005
9,454
0
0
Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
In their defense, in this day and age, it has become much more difficult for parents to instill discipline in unruly children. 15 years ago, that child would have gotten a light spanking and the situation avoided. These days, kids run wild and parents are pretty much helpless.

I would argue parents choose to be helpless. Parents, sadly, dont want to parent. Their quite happy to just fvck, but parenting be damned.
 

AStar617

Diamond Member
Sep 29, 2002
4,983
0
0
Originally posted by: Specop 007
Originally posted by: MikeyIs4Dcats
In their defense, in this day and age, it has become much more difficult for parents to instill discipline in unruly children. 15 years ago, that child would have gotten a light spanking and the situation avoided. These days, kids run wild and parents are pretty much helpless.

I would argue parents choose to be helpless. Parents, sadly, dont want to parent. Their quite happy to just fvck, but parenting be damned.

QFT. Nothing has genetically changed in kids to make them more unruly when unchecked by a parent than any other generation prior. Parents need to step the fvck up, simple and plain, and stop acting like "timeout" is the answer to the world's problems. :roll:
 

PClark99

Diamond Member
Jan 12, 2000
3,825
70
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Just wondering do any of you experts have children or ever flown with a child under the age of 3?

Up until around age 4 kids are pretty prone to meltdowns due to any number of causes. Though it is possible to somewhat minimize the duration if you are patient and understanding.

We did a trip to FLA and back last year with my then 16 month old son. It was about 2 and a half hours from hell each way.

That being said if it was my son delaying the flight from taking off, even for 5 minutes I would talk to the attendant and offer to disembark and grab a later flight if necessary.