Earlier, I covered an interesting story where travel blogger JT Genter was kicked off an American Airlines flight by a flight attendant, over an overhead bin dispute. Be sure to read that post first, as I won’t recap it all here.
As many people pointed out, we only had one side of the story. So there’s a fascinating update, as we now have the flight attendant’s version of events as well.
American flight attendant responds to blogger claims
In the comments section of the View from the Wing post about the incident, someone posted with their real name, claiming to be the flight attendant who was involved in this incident (and it checks out, based on the name used). Here’s his version of events, and the only thing I’ll change is the spacing, so it’s a bit easier to read:
I am the flight attendant whose bag was removed from the overhead bin by Mr. Genter. I agree that he should not be removed from the flight for this reason. If he had simply asked someone in the crew about space for his bag, I would have been happy to move mine to accommodate his. There was more than ample space further forward and I was not married to the spot above his seat.
I contend that Mr. Genter was well aware that my bag was a crew bag ( I have crew tags on it…) and took umbrage over the fact that my bag was in “his” overhead bin. Again, I would have moved it for him if asked and I don’t think this conflict over space is a proper reason to remove him.
The real reason he was removed was because he indicated that he did not have to comply with crew member instructions, basically defying me and 3 other flight attendants. Mr. Genter indicated to me, the purser and 2 other flight attendants that he did not have to follow the rules and there was nothing we could do about it.
I think it is reasonable to expect that this defiant and non compliant behavior would continue after take off. That is a problem not only for the security of the flight but also for the financial bottom line of my company. If he chose to remain non compliant and an incident arose with him inflight we would have been forced to divert to another airport to remove him there, costing the airline and the passengers money and time. In consultation with the captain and corporate security we determined that it was prudent to have Mr. Genter removed to avoid disrupting the otherwise normal operation of this flight.
Unrelated to the substance of what he’s saying, it’s unusual to see an employee directly address a scandal like this online, with their real name, no less. In most parts of the world, that would never happen.
My take on the flight attendant’s version of events
JT is a nice guy, but as I said in the initial post, I would’ve handled things very differently than he did. I would never have moved someone else’s bag to another cabin (or even overhead bin) without consulting them, and I would also never think that I’m entitled to having my bag in a certain overhead bin.
So I don’t think he was exactly being a “model” airline passenger in terms of etiquette, but that doesn’t mean this should’ve escalated to the point that he was kicked off. Quite to the contrary, I find kicking him off over this to be a terrible overkill.
With that in mind, what can we make of the flight attendant’s version of events? First, there are a couple of facts that the two parties disagree on, which are worth going over.
JT claimed he had no clue who the bag he moved belonged to, while the flight attendant claimed he had “crew” tags on it, and that JT must have known it was a crew bag. I’m not sure who to believe here, though based on how JT described the bag as being so overstuffed, and given that he’s a frequent flyer, I think he should’ve suspected it belonged to a crew member, especially when no one claimed it. But again, that’s not a reason to be kicked off a plane, and it’s neither here not there.
The flight attendant also claimed that JT “indicated that he did not have to comply with crew member instructions,” and was “basically defying” the flight attendants. JT stated that he audio recorded the entire interaction, so he should be able to pretty easily disprove that, if it’s not the case.
JT provided full quotes of what the crew members said, though didn’t share what he said, verbatim. Did he literally say “no, I refuse to follow your instructions,” or was he simply trying to “negotiate” to keep the bag near him, if at all possible?
But here’s the crux of the reason that I think the flight attendant wasn’t exercising good judgment. Yes, passengers have to follow crew member instruction… in line with FAA regulations, and as it impacts safety. If a flight attendant asks you to do a handstand or sing, you don’t have to comply.
Did the flight attendants give JT a direct order that he needed to place his bag in X bin, or he’d be deplaned? Because it doesn’t sound like that happened. For that matter, even if they had, it’s not clear that non-compliance would’ve even violated FAA terms, at least directly.
Of course, if someone is very combative and refusing to follow instructions during boarding, I can see merit to removing them, because situations only get trickier once a plane takes off. But c’mon, if you use an ounce of common sense, it should be clear that JT isn’t going to cause a diversion over the Atlantic over nothing.
This is really the issue — the flight attendant escalated the situation, rather than deescalating the situation. He had the mindset of “well, I could argue he isn’t complying and could pose a bigger safety risk after takeoff,” rather than having the mindset of “how can we minimize the conflict here, and all move on with our day.”
It’s clear that this was an emotional situation for the flight attendant, given that he publicly told the purser (in front of the passenger) that “I want you to go to bat for me.” In other words, “I want you to escalate this situation, rather than deescalate this situation,” because he wouldn’t have felt supported if the issuer were swept under the rug.
With HBO’s incredible The Rehearsal Season 2 having been about issues with pilot communication, I have an idea for Nathan Fielder to examine in the next season. How about he examine how flight attendants can deescalate situations, rather than escalate them?
Bottom line
The American flight attendant who kicked a passenger off a flight over a bag dispute has now chimed in, sharing his version of events. He claims the passenger was “defiant,” and thought he needed to be kicked off because he refused to follow instructions, and that could be a bigger issue after takeoff.
While there’s a dispute regarding the facts between the passenger and the flight attendant, I’d say the core of the issue here is pretty obvious — the flight attendant did an awful job deescalating this conflict.
What do you make of the flight attendant’s version of events?
