April 11, 2017 AngeliaJGriffin (Thoughts from a Pilot Wife About Flight 3411)
“I’m not saying it’s pretty, but the only one who actually broke a law was the passenger.
The
pilot's wife wrote because she knew about the laws, of aviation. She
can stuff her knowledge and stop being condescending. Instead of
pouring oil on troubled waters, she writes it is all the passenger's
fault. If it is, why are millions of people wrong, and why did the CEO
eventually apologizing.
The Chinese have a saying, if you don't open your mouth, no body will know you are stupid.
Finally,
it doesn't matter that Dr Dao is a Vietnamese or a Chinese. For all I
can conjecture, he could be an ethnic Chinese, just like me, an ethnic
Chinese born outside China.
Ann, writer
I Know You’re Mad at United but… (Thoughts from a Pilot Wife About Flight 3411)
If there’s one thing I have learned over the years, it’s that there are
always two sides to every story.
On April 9th, a very unfortunate incident played out on United Flight
3411, the video of which has since gone viral causing a mass social
media uprising with an ‘off-with-their-heads’ mentality. I mean, across
the board. Fire ’em all and let the gods sort it out later.
Look, I get it. When I first saw the video I was appalled too. To say
that it was inflammatory would be putting it mildly. But it was also a
situation that was escalated far beyond the boundaries of necessity.
If a federal law enforcement officer asks me to exit a plane, no
matter how royally pissed off I am, I’m going to do it and then seek
other means of legal reimbursement. True story.
Knowing what I know about airport security, I’m
certainly not going to run
back
into a secured, federally restricted area at an airport flailing my
arms and screaming like a banshee…because, you know, that just happens
to be breaking a major federal Homeland Security law.
But that’s just me. Obviously.
The moment I made that particular ill-advised choice, I would become
an immediate and imminent threat to the aircraft’s security. That’s kind
of a
big deal. I mean, come on, I once actually had to remove my
infant son’s socks because they mimicked little baby sneakers. These
guys mean business.
I didn’t like it. I thought it was just plain stupid, honestly. But
instead of pitching a massive fit, refusing to comply, and bolting
through the TSA checkpoint like an out-of-control toddler, I did the big
girl thing–sucked it up, removed the offensive socks, and went on with
my happy life, sans being tackled and dragged through the airport in
handcuffs by a bunch of big men with guns.
Because if you choose to take advantage of the services the airport provides, you play by their rules.
I know you’re all out there screaming that the ‘rules’ are unfair,
but I am a pilot wife. I remember 9/11. Do you? I want my husband, the
father of my children, to
come home. I want you to get home
. That
law exists to protect my husband. And your wife. And your grandmother.
And your child. And you. I, for one, am glad for the law.
I’m not here to dispute the facts of 3411 with you. I am not
interested in getting into an argument of opinion with anyone. We’re all
entitled to our own. I’m not arguing that what happened wasn’t
completely terrible–it was, on multiple levels. But I am suggesting that
the general public take another look at the situation, ask a few more
questions, gather a few more facts, and then create a less hostile and
more intellectually wrought opinion about what happened.
Because the media is giving you just enough information to keep you enraged–enough to keep their ratings up.
Things to consider:
1)
“You can’t just kick a paying customer off the plane!”
Psssst! It’s in the fine print. They can, indeed, do just that. And
it’s not an airline specific rule, it’s a commercial aviation rule.
Every ticket you purchase comes with a plethora of fine print–you know,
the stuff we just click ‘next’ on without actually reading what we are
agreeing to. Yeah, that. Well, it’s in there, and you checked the ‘I
agree’ box when you purchased your ticket. You can read about it and
oh-so-much-more
here. Kind
of makes you want to read all those tiny words on your next phone
update before you click ‘I agree’, huh? You should. United did not break
any law, and he agreed to the policy and possibility of involuntary
bump when he bought his ticket. And so do you.
2) “
Kicking a paying customer off an airplane!? I’m taking my business to Southwest!” Ummmm, okay. But just be sure you understand that
every major
airline, Southwest included, has a similar policy for involuntary
bumping in a ‘must ride’ scenario. Don’t believe me? It’s called the
contract of carriage. If you’re really bored, you can read Southwest’s
here. Or Delta’s
here.
Believe me, it’s in there. This could have been any airline. In fact,
it happens all the time. Most people just don’t wrestle the feds in the
aisle.
3:
“So what’s this ‘must ride’ nonsense anyway? They shouldn’t bump a paying customer for a free employee ride!” I’m
afraid you’re going to have to take this up with the federal
government, not United. And it’s actually pretty important to you as an
airline traveler anyway. They were not ‘freeloading home’. That’s called
non-rev and they have to wait in line behind your checkbook and
often don’t make it home to their families if flights are booked
(believe me, I know). No, this was a
must fly, a positive space situation. In layman terms, it means that a crew
must be
flown to an airport to man a flight in order to avoid cancellation of
said flight due to crew unavailability. This is a federal DOT
regulation, not an airline one. The airlines are
required to do
so to avoid disruption of air traffic. In other words, if there are no
willing volunteers and they need seats to get a crew somewhere to avoid
disruption of aviation flow, they can, will,
must by federal
regulation bump people for the better good of the 1000’s. Why? Because
one cancelled flight has a serious domino affect in the delicate,
complicated world of connections and aviation law.
4:
“It’s the airline’s fault for not planning better!” You obviously have
no clue
about the complexities of aviation travel and should do some research.
There are about a million and one things that can cause a crew shortage
including but not limited to weather, maintenance, weather, connecting
fight delays, weather, FAA timeout regs, and did I mention weather? I
wish I could control Mother Nature because I would be one filthy rich
person. But I can’t. And neither can United. So they inconvenience one,
or four, to keep hundreds on track. Do the math. And of course, if we
were on the
other end
of this thing, we’d be tirading and blowing up the internet because United
didn’t
bump a passenger to make sure our flight didn’t get cancelled and left
hundreds stranded. Damned if you do; damned if you don’t. We’re a fickle
crowd, we social media folks.
5:
They shouldn’t have picked the minority Chinese doctor! It’s racist.” That’s
just silly. Though federal regulation demands they involuntarily bump
to prevent interruption of flights when necessary, each airline
does have
the leniency to determine how they choose the bumped passengers. They
did not play spin the bottle or walk down the aisle looking for the
Asian guy. Use your heads, people! There is a computerized algorithm
that takes into account price of ticket, how long ago it was purchased,
whether or not they can get the passenger to their destination in a
timely manner, etc. It wasn’t an ‘Asian thing.’ Stop, people. Just stop.
6: “
United should go under for assaulting that passenger! Fire the entire crew!” Read the facts. United
neeeever touched
the passenger. In fact, by all witness accounts, the United flight crew
remained calm and pleasant throughout the entire event, never laying
hands on the passenger. They followed protocol as required by law. Once
law enforcement became involved (also as required by federal protocol),
United stepped out of the decision-making process. They had nothing to
do with the rest. The passenger was forcibly removed by
federal aviation security
(the disturbing clip that everyone is talking about) after running back
into the secured area after being escorted out once. Once he did
that,
like it or not, they (law enforcement) were under full discretion of
the law to apply necessary force to remove the threat. I’m not saying
it’s pretty, but the only one who actually broke a law was the
passenger.
There’s a reason for these laws–it’s called 9/11. We can’t have it both
ways. But by all means, let’s berate and punish an entire flight
crew–in fact
thousands of pilots, FA’s, gate attendents, ground crew, etc.–because it makes us all feel a little better.
7:
“You piece of **it!” I get that
the passengers were upset, angry, maybe even confused. I get that you
are too. After all, media is tossing you out chunks of bloody meat like
you’re a pack of starving wolves. But I’m seriously disgusted that the
poor
must ride crew that had to take those seats after the
unfortunate mess that unraveled were verbally abused and threatened. Can
you imagine the
very uncomfortable position they were in? Then
they were demeaned, belittled, threatened. Along with many others all
over the internet and airports today. They were and are men and women
doing their jobs to feed their families. Just. Like. You. They didn’t
have a choice. They didn’t ask for this. They didn’t assault anyone.
They are not a corporation; they are individuals who need a job. They
are my friends and maybe even my husband. There’s a very fine line
between what you despise and
becoming what you despise. Many of
the comments and actions I have seen perpetrated against United
employees cross it. Don’t become what you hate.
Like I said, I know you’re mad at United, but there’s much more to the story than hits the media fan.
I truly hope that this gives you something to chew on and gives you a
smidgen more insight into the complexities of aviation. I’m not making
excuses. I think there were bad decisions made on both sides. However, I
am saying there are always two sides to every story. Make sure you
consider them both.
Tailwinds.
***A correction to the previous article. Mr. Dao was indeed
Vietmanese and not Chinese. That quote was verbatim from a comment off
the internet. I apology profusely for the confusion.
Angelia (A Pilot Wife)
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