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Delta apologises for forcing family off flight
Another US airline is facing a backlash after a family claimed they were told to leave a flight for refusing to give up their child’s seat, and were then told they could go to jail.
Delta has quickly apologised for the incident, which was filmed by the mother, and has offered to compensate the family.
In the YouTube video, which has been viewed more than 2 million times, a crew member is heard telling the father: "This is a federal offence and then you and your wife will be in jail and your kids will be in foster care."
The mother told US television networks she was upset by the jail threats which were made in front of her children.
The incident happened on a flight from Maui in Hawaii to Los Angeles on April 23, but only came to light this week when the video was posted online.
The father, Brian Schear, claims he had initially booked his seat for his teenage son, but that he had taken an earlier flight to make sure his other son, aged 2, could have a seat.
But crew members said the child needed to give up the seat on the flight, which Mr Schear claims was overbooked.
The toddler was sitting in a child safety seat, which crew then claimed was banned under FAA regulations, and said the child would have to sit in an adult’s lap.
But this goes against both Delta’s published advice and FAA guidelines.
Mr Schear later relented and agreed to hold the child, but the crew told him the family was being removed from the plane anyway because ‘it’s come too far’.
When he argued there was nowhere for his family, including two infants, to go and no more flights, the crew member can be heard saying: "You guys are on your own."
A statement from Delta said: "We are sorry for the unfortunate experience our customers had with Delta, and we’ve reached out to them to refund their travel and provide additional compensation.
"Delta’s goal is to always work with customers in an attempt to find solutions to their travel issues. That did not happen in this case and we apologise."
The filmed incident is the latest to hit the reputation of US airlines, including a man who was injured while being dragged off a United Airlines flight last month. Dr David Dao settled in court for an undisclosed sum.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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