I was flying from NYC to Phoenix, Arizona on American Airlines. My seatmate was a father; his wife and two daughters, who were about six years old, were seated in the seats behind us. The flight was uneventful, but to the left of the wife and the daughters was this really desperate woman. We took a while before we could pull into the gate, and this woman kept screaming that she was going to miss her connecting flight and ordered the FA to let her off the plane. She repeatedly got up (since we were taxing, we had to remain seated) to which the FA (rightfully, I think) told her to suck it up because she had almost an hour to catch her flight, and other passengers had even less time.
Anyway, she kept muttering about horrible service and complaining to a manager. Finally, we stopped at the gate and the woman was the first to stand up and grab a big bag from the overhead bin. It looked heavy, and it had those metal sheets on the bottom for the little wheels. Then, she practically slammed the bag down on the seat behind me where one of my seatmate’s daughters had been sitting not three seconds before. The dad got really mad, and kept asking her to apologize, but the woman kept saying that it was her right to put the bag wherever she wanted and that she didn’t care what happened to the little girl.
After threatening to walk so slowly that the desperate woman would miss her plane, the family disembarked behind me (blocking the mad woman — I helped a little with that). Personally, I think they were right – had the girl been in her place, she could have gotten seriously hurt.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Judging by her behaviour, I'm guessing she has issues of her own which left her seriously stressed out. An uncomfortable flight would have blown her fuse and temporarily lost her sanity. I somehow feel sorry for her.
I feel no sympathy for her, none. Slamming down a heavy bag to a spot where a small child had been sitting seconds before then saying it was her right to do so… this woman does not need to be out in public with the potential to harm my loved ones.
This woman must have been Hot Blooded.
Well, I'm hot blooded, check it and see
I got a fever of a hundred and three
Come on baby, do you do more than dance?
I'm hot blooded, I'm hot blooded
You don't have to read my mind, to know what I have in mind
Honey you oughta know
Now you move so fine, let me lay it on the line
I wanna know what you're doin' after the show
Now it's up to you, we can make a secret rendezvous
Just me and you, I'll show you lovin' like you never knew
That's why, I'm hot blooded, check it and see
I got a fever of a hundred and three
Come on baby, do you do more than dance?
I'm hot blooded, hot blooded
If it feels alright, maybe you can stay all night
Shall I leave you my key?
But you've got to give me a sign, come on girl, some kind of sign
Tell me, are you hot mama? you sure look that way to me
Are you old enough? will you be ready when I call you bluff?
Is my timing right? did you save your love for me tonight?
Yeah I'm hot blooded, check it and see
Feel the fever burning inside of me
Come on baby, do you do more than dance?
I'm hot blooded, I'm hot blooded, I'm hot
Now it's up to you, can we make a secret rendezvous?
Oh, before we do, you'll have to get away from you know who
Well, I'm hot blooded, check it and see
I got a fever of a hundred and three
Come on baby, do you do more than dance?
I'm hot blooded, I'm hot blooded
Hot blooded, every night
Hot blooded, you're looking so tight
Hot blooded, now you're driving me wild
Hot blooded, I'm so hot for you, child
Hot blooded, I'm a little bit high
Hot blooded, you're a little bit shy
Hot blooded, you're making me sing
Hot blooded, for your sweet sweet thing
You have way too much time on your hands.
That woman is a bitch.
No, she's a CRAZY bitch.
Not a huge fan of kids on planes but I am even less of a fan of me first types. Poor planning is not the fault of the airline or that kid. If you need a connecting flight plan for delays. It's better to have a longer wait at the gate than the fear of missing a connect. Better yet if you can fly direct. It's better to cough up extra cash and go direct. Lashing out at a kid is just wrong. Lashing out at the staff is just wrong. Someones poor planning is not everyone else's emergency
I agree, but I also know that in my situation coming up at Christmas, I wasn't the one that booked the ticket; my father did. I only have an hour layover in DTW from YOW to CWA. Since I haven't flown Delta from Ottawa yet (I've only flown Air Canada and gone through customs in Toronto or Montreal on my way back to the States), I'm obviously concerned about making flights, especially since there's the risk of bad weather and of course the crazy Christmas travel with everyone trying to get to their destination. So maybe this woman's situation was the same?
Also, when people have to travel to rural airports, such as CWA, there are VERY limited choices for flights, so that's always a factor as well when trying to plan a trip; the ability to have a reasonable layover in a hub isn't always there.
Considering all this, I can empathize with the woman's plight, but the way she handled it wasn't cool.