Delta Air Lines has apologized and offered refunds and compensation to a California family who said they were forced off a plane and threatened with jail after refusing to give up a seat on a crowded flight.
A video of the April 23 incident was uploaded to YouTube on Wednesday and added to the list of recent encounters on airlines that have gone viral, including the dragging of a bloodied passenger off a United Express plane.
Brian and Brittany Schear of Huntington Beach, Calif., told KABC-TV in Los Angeles that they were returning from Kahului Airport in Maui with their two toddlers. They wanted to put one of the children in a seat they had purchased for their 18-year-old son, who instead flew home on an earlier flight.
Delta’s website says tickets cannot be transferred and name changes are not allowed. Federal regulations do not bar changing the name on a ticket as long as the new passenger’s name can be run through a database before the flight, according to a Transportation Security Administration spokesman.
By late Thursday afternoon, Delta still had not explained why the Schears were removed from the plane. A spokesman said the flight was not overbooked.
On the video, Brian Schear can be heard talking with a person off-camera. It is not clear whether that person is a Delta employee, a security officer or somebody else.
After Schear says he wouldn’t leave — the airline will have to remove him — the person off-camera replies, “You and your wife will be in jail … it’s a federal offence if you don’t abide [by an airline crew’s order].”
“I bought that seat,” Schear protests.
Lap or car seat?
Schear then suggests that his wife could hold one of the toddlers during takeoff and then put the youngster in the car seat. Another person, who appears to be a Delta supervisor, tells him that federal rules require that children under two must stay in a parent’s lap throughout the flight.
The Federal Aviation Administration “strongly urges” that infants be in a car seat, although it permits those under two to be held in a parent’s lap. On its website, Delta recommends that parents buy seats for children under two and put them in an approved child-safety seat.
Brian Schear spoke briefly to The Associated Press by telephone Thursday and said he has been overwhelmed by media requests. He declined additional comment and said the family may hold a news conference.
The apology
The Atlanta-based airline issued an updated statement late Thursday afternoon.
“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,” it said.
Delta said its goal is to work with customers to resolve travel issues. “That did not happen in this case and we apologize.”
A spokesman said Delta would not disclose the amount of the refund or compensation.
Congress held two hearings this week on airline customer service — a response to the video of Chicago airport security officers dragging a 69-year-old man off a United Express flight to make room for crew members who were travelling for work.
Executives from United, American, Southwest and Alaska testified at one or both hearings. Delta was notably absent.
