Girl Kicked Off Plane After Tantrum

[paulney]

Originally posted by: theGlove
why didnt the girl sit with one of the parents while the other parent sit in the solo seat?

AirTran wouldn't let them - they asked if they could sit the girl on the lap.

 

[50cent1228]

Originally posted by: KarenMarie
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!

noooooooooo that means they might be on my next American airlines flight

 

[50cent1228]

if those white parents beat their child she would have listen to them...white parents please beat your child!!!

....russel peters

 

[theGlove]

Originally posted by: paulney

Originally posted by: theGlove
why didnt the girl sit with one of the parents while the other parent sit in the solo seat?

AirTran wouldn't let them - they asked if they could sit the girl on the lap.

what do you mean 'on the lap'? you mean parents lap? I'm talking about 3 seats. switch seats, not laps

 

[KarenMarie]

Originally posted by: paulney

Originally posted by: theGlove
why didnt the girl sit with one of the parents while the other parent sit in the solo seat?

AirTran wouldn't let them - they asked if they could sit the girl on the lap.

It is against the rules! The rules state that any child 2years old or older must be in their own seat and strapped in for takeoff and landing ... Its not that AirTrans would not allow them.

 

[Dunbar]

This really strikes me as more of a PR problem for Airtran as seeming intolerant towards parents of young children. I don't think anyone is disputing that young children are sometimes difficult. But they can't push back until everyone is seated with seatbelts fastened (that's federal law people.) Consider the following:

1) Airlines do not hold aircraft for delayed inbound connecting passengers.
2) Delays can cause connecting passengers to miss their connecting flights (which causes airlines to sometimes spend money reaccomodating them.)
3) How much longer should they have waited for the child to behave?

Traveling children are a fact of life on airlines these days, that's what noise blocking in-ear headphones are for 🙂

 

[ultimatebob]

Originally posted by: SVT Cobra
Unless you have kids you cannot comment, hence why I am not giving my opinion. It IS totally different.

I might not have kids, but I do know what it's like to have a movie or quiet dinner ruined by some out of control kid screaming at the top of their lungs. Why should I have to suffer just because their lousy parent doesn't know how to control them? It makes me long for the days of corporal punishment. Hell... if you aren't willing to spank your kids, let ME do it instead! Perhaps the brat will learn to shut up if they knew that a random stranger was going to give them a well deserved beating. 🙂

I'm sure that a few smug people applauded when the flight attendant kicked these people off of the plane... I would have been one of those people.

 

[Mill]

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf

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.

Why sure they did, it is just I read a different article earlier in the day and the article posted here doesn't mention it.

Everyone who keeps saying they should have taken the next flight doesn't know the entire story. They were NOT allowed to. AirTran should have kept them off a flight as long as the toddler was pitching a fit. Once the toddler was calmed down they should have been allowed on the flight. They never should have been denied boarding for 24 hours.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: Mill

Originally posted by: SarcasticDwarf

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.

Why sure they did, it is just I read a different article earlier in the day and the article posted here doesn't mention it.

Everyone who keeps saying they should have taken the next flight doesn't know the entire story. They were NOT allowed to. AirTran should have kept them off a flight as long as the toddler was pitching a fit. Once the toddler was calmed down they should have been allowed on the flight. They never should have been denied boarding for 24 hours.

yeah that part was dumb of the company. once the child was calm let them on a plane. makeing them wait 24 hours was nonsense.

 

[cardiac]

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.

In this day and age, mine would have gotten a swat anyway. But, I doubt if my kids would have went that far, because they know what the penalty is......

Bob

 

[BooGiMaN]

one of the things wrong with this country is how compnaies reward bad parenting just to save face..

did those parents deserve a refund and free trip..hell no...stupid airlines

i have small kids and my kids do not behave like this..i would have talked to them before hand and explained what was to be expected of them on the plane..they would have had toys books and crayons to keep themselves entertained... i do, and will spank them if need be but usually a look from me is all thats needed...anyone who had parent that spanked them knows that look....

my kids know they are not allowed to wander and make a mess when we go to the store or to someones house to visit...or anywhere for that matter...its all about setting rules and punishing them when necessary and sticking by them....

worst thing i see is parents that threaten to do something and dont follow though...kids pick up on this easily and will act out when they know the parents bark is worse than their bite...

 

[Balt]

Good. Nothing worse on an airplane than a screaming brat (now that they've banned smoking).

It sucks that the airline caved and compensated them, though.

 

[animalia]

Originally posted by: Balt
Good. Nothing worse on an airplane than a screaming brat (now that they've banned smoking).

It sucks that the airline caved and compensated them, though.

oh noes, the smoke hurtses my lungses

 

[A Casual Fitz]

I don't think they should have gotten a refund, but simply another flight.

 

[halik]

Never fly air tran again... good! Better yet, don't fly at all. Last thing I wanna do is be stuck in aluminum container with your obnoxious kid going nuts.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: yowolabi

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.

Worked on my and my brother... my mom would definitely punish me physically when I got out of control and then just warm me when I got out of line in public places :thumbsup:

Heh I remember to this day ... "I'm gonna count to three and then I'm taking off my shoe... one ... two " 😀

 

[RollWave]

you DRIVE with small kids, NOT FLY!

 

[Pacfanweb]

All you that are commenting on how they parents should have better control of their kids obviously don't have a 3 year old of your own. A LOT easier said than done.

I agree that you should drive with small kids, not fly, unless it's an absolute emergency.

I have better control of my kids than most anyone, and occasionally the younger one (2 1/2) will still get a little bent to where you can only calm him down by holding him.

 

[miniMUNCH]

A lot of people don't know how to raise kids... if your 3 year old kid is throwing a tantrum and you can't stop them there is something wrong with your parenting style.

 

[Jeff7]

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 don't know why it's so difficult. I think I was that age, maybe 4 when I flew from PA to Colorado. I don't think I minded. I liked airplanes, and there I was in one. Of course, when I was really little, I loved explosions, especially watching old war footage of planes crashing and blowing up. My parents said I'd just totally bust up laughing. I was several years old too when I watched Little Shop of Horrors. My parents were worried that it might scare me. They said I laughed hysterically when Seymore was tossing chopped up pieces of the dentist to the plant. I guess I'm just sadistic from the start. 😀

 

[tfinch2]

I saw the interview with the parents on Good Morning America this morning, and the little brat was about to have a freakout on TV while her parents were swearing she is sooooo good. She was squirming all over the place, and starting to whine mommy mommy mommy. I was hoping she'd have another tantrum, but they ended the interview before it happened.

 

[skyking]

Wise parents pick the battles. Travelling with smaller children, taking infants to movies, etc, those are bad choices.
I can hear all the whiners now about what they did with their kids, but the smart parents stay close to home for a couple of years and pick the battles.

 

[Balt]

Originally posted by: animalia

Originally posted by: Balt
Good. Nothing worse on an airplane than a screaming brat (now that they've banned smoking).

It sucks that the airline caved and compensated them, though.

oh noes, the smoke hurtses my lungses

Ever take an international flight in a cabin full of smoke?

Boo hoo, a minority of people have to go without nicotine for a few hours so the rest of us don't have to breathe in poison and smell like an ashtray.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: Balt

Originally posted by: animalia

Originally posted by: Balt
Good. Nothing worse on an airplane than a screaming brat (now that they've banned smoking).

It sucks that the airline caved and compensated them, though.

oh noes, the smoke hurtses my lungses

Ever take an international flight in a cabin full of smoke?

Boo hoo, a minority of people have to go without nicotine for a few hours so the rest of us don't have to breathe in poison and smell like an ashtray.

Word,
that's why i LOVE NYC bars... all of my stuff doesn't smell like sh!t the next day.

 

[IGBT]

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.

..it's the liberal "free range" way of raising kids. Let em run wild and undisciplined and do all the drugs/sex they want.