American Airlines responded quickly on Friday to a video that shows a sobbing mother with a baby in her arms after a confrontation with a member of the flight crew.
The initial reported confrontation was not in the video, but a passenger on the flight out of San Francisco said the employee “violently took a stroller from a lady with a baby” and hit her, “just missing the child.” The airline announced the worker was “removed from duty,” Fox News reports.
The woman in the video appears shaken and can barely catch her breath.
A male passenger is seen getting up from his seat. He can be heard saying he wanted to know the worker’s name.
When another apparent employee gets on the plane, the same male passenger gets out of his seat again and says, “Hey bud, hey bud. You do that to me, and I’ll knock you flat.” The other man says, “You stay out of it,” then later, “Hit me.”
The flight landed at about 7:45 p.m. at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. American Airlines issued the statement minutes after the plane landed.
American Airlines released a statement late Friday, saying they had seen the video and were investigating what happened on the plane.
“What we see on this video does not reflect our values or how we care for our customers. We are deeply sorry for the pain we have caused this passenger and her family and to any other customers affected by the incident. We are making sure all of her family’s needs are being met while she is in our care.
“After electing to take another flight, we are taking special care of her and her family and upgrading them to first class for the remainder of their international trip.
“The actions of our team member captured here do not appear to reflect patience or empathy, two values necessary for customer care. In short, we are disappointed by these actions. The American team member has been removed from duty while we immediately investigate this incident.”
I think it is fair to say that what transpired on the United Airlines flight with the elderly doctor who was dragged from the plane that airlines will be handling confrontational issues with more care.
