Toddler's Family Kicked Off Plane Following Temper Tantrum
Julie and Gerry Kulesza and their daughter Elly were scheduled to return to their home in Boston on January 14th following a trip to Fort Meyers, Florida. Reportedly, when the family boarded the plane in Florida, their daughter got upset and refused to be strapped into her seat. Judy Graham-Weaver, spokesperson for the airline, reported that the child was "climbing under the seat, hitting the parents, and refusing to sit in her seat." The incident continued for fifteen minutes past the scheduled departure time and at that point, the crew and other airline personnel decided that the family needed to get off the flight so that it could continue as scheduled.
The child's parents claim that they did not have enough time to calm their child down. Julie Kulesza said, "We weren't given an opportunity to hold her, console her, or anything." The parents have also stated that their request to have their daughter sit in her mother's lap was denied. The airline reports that they denied the request due to FAA regulations which require all passengers over the age of two to be in their own seat and wearing a seatbelt when the plane takes off.
Air Tran refunded the cost of the family's tickets and offered to put them on another flight within 24 hours. They also offered to provide them with three round trip tickets that could be used anywhere the airline flies. The family refused the free tickets and stated that they would never fly with Air Tran again.
Tad Hutcheson, a spokesman from the airline, reports that they have received a number of e-mails and phone calls regarding the incident. While a small percentage expressed anger and outrage at the way the airline handled the situation, the majority of the respondents (92 percent) expressed their support for the airline's decision.
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45 Comments
Post a CommentI agree with the pilot and C England. Who wants to listen to a kid screaming, kicking and crying-- especially when enclosed in an airplane?! It bothers me that parents seem to think when their children are loud, babbling and running around, it's nice or that everyone should enjoy it like they do. This is the same whether you're in a plane, restaurant or ferry (or wherever you are in public).
There is a reason to either give a child Benadryl or take a different route. If you think your child should have the freedom to make life a rumpus room... stay home or in your car.
Thank you to the stewardess. The kids blabbing might have been music to the mother's ears but not necessarily to others. The last thing people want to hear is another persons kid sniveling and having a fit, or even incessant talking. People are paying money for a nice trip, not to hear an out-of-control brat screaming and acting up. Some travelers are tired or very nervous. I remember coming home from a business trip and having to listen to this kid behind me the whole way home. It was a total nightmare. Just because people don't want to hear doesn't make them kid haters.
Safety first! Disturbing the peace is still disturbing the peace, whether it's on a plane or outdoors. Parents are responsible for their young children's behavior, and if a parent can't get their child to settle down & behave, then they SHOULD be made to leave. The other passengers right to peace and quiet takes precedence over a minority of one's "right" to throw a fit and the parent's indifference to their child's adverse conduct.
What if you were a busines person on that plane that had to get to an important meeting? for that person, missing a connecting flight means their job. people should not have to lose their job over a screaming kid. and i am a pilot and Federal Aviation Regulations part 91.107 states, "a person may be held by an adult who is occupying an approved seat or berth, provided that the person being held has not reached his or her second birthday and does not occupy or use any restraining device." AirTran had a right to do what they did.
I'm not going to read all 41 other comments... but I did want to say that flying is not a divine right. I probably would have escorted that family off the plane my damn self had I been there as another passenger...
HeatherB-Yes, calling the child a "brat" certainly lacks any form of compassion or decency.
I do agree with you HeatherB, and I did comment on ear problems in one of my replies to one of the articles on this topic. I actually sit in pain when we fly due to ear problems, and I am so glad my dd has never had an ear infection in her life. I recall my ENT recommending I not fly (when I was a child) due to my problems. Sometimes you just have to drive rather than fly.
The Airtran people, however, could have handled the situation better, just in the way they spoke to the family. They gave one reason, then later changed it. It was ambiguous. But the blame is on the parents. I am sure they were trying to console her but they should have just took her off the plane, which she shouldn't have been on after her ear surgery anyway. In the midst of all of this I feel terrible for that little girl. Everyone is talking about what a brat she is, and she's barely even old enough to understand the word. I've seen horrible things said about her from people who don't even know the whole story and have never met her. It's a real shame. The 120 people got to their destinations, but a little girl is being bashed for crying over an painful ear infection.
I think this is entirely the parent's faults. Expecting a three year old, a toddler with a very limited understanding of the world and very little self-control just by the very nature of her age, to sit quietly on a plane for 3 hours while her ears ached so terribly and then expect her to cooperatively get into her seat and buckle it to repeat the painful process again is just absolutely ridiculous. They shouldn't have been flying at all. It's not about controlling the kid; it's about the fact that the child was probably in pain, and she needed some compassion. I put my kid in his carseat kicking and screaming because it's safe, and I wouldn't let him make a plane be 15 minutes late.
T.H. Pankey- Yes, and it seems much of the judgment does come from adults who aren't even parents. I personally would have sat my dd in the seat, and if that was impossible gotten off (but I'd really try to get her in the seat, and we're against restraining-we didn't even use our crib. But I wouldn't have wanted an entire plane full of people staring at me since I prefer to remain rather anonymous.