I can’t tell what happens at the beginning of the video. To me it almost looks like the flight attendant puts her hand on the woman’s shoulder to speak to her and that is what provokes the reaction. I’m trying to make sense out of “She came at her first.” I guess when you are scream “We are gonna sue you” at someone and they lean into your space that might seem aggressive? I get anxious when people get into my space but that reaction seemed like it was both over the top and remarkably fluid, like someone for whom it was an appropriate reaction but just in the wrong context. Would someone who had been in prison act that way if you got in their space like that, for example?
It’s scary because you don’t really know when someone will just go off like that.
Despite this past year’s overwhelming evidence to the contrary, most people are really decent and will go out of their way to make civilization work. That other 15%, though…
Even if she does plead down her criminal charges, she won’t be able to plead down a ban from the airline. Hopefully she doesn’t see the inside of another plane again.
Defence lawyers don’t only defend innocent people. They’re there to ensure people have their full rights and access under the law and aren’t unjustly punished, even when their clients committed the act in question.
You’re right, I’ve probably just been increasingly exposed to too many bad faith legal arguments (because that’s what gets clicks) and lost sight of that fundamental. Post edited.
That’s not the only reason. If the cheap seats were comfortable, then people currently paying extra not to be in them wouldn’t do so. The air industry has tight enough margins that the only way to pay for the plane to get off the ground is to price the cheap seats below cost, and make it up on the expensive ones. Basically, you have three currencies to spend, money, comfort, and convenience, and the airlines charge you for the latter two in order to get some to pay instead with the first. (This is why the saturday-night-stay and such rules exist. Why would the airline care?)
In the 19th century passenger trains had the covered cars and the open-air cars, where in the latter you would get cinders and ashes in your face. It would’ve been cheap to cover those too, but then people wouldn’t have paid extra not to be in those cars.
Holy moly. I couldn’t see the video yesterday, but just watched, and that is a vicious attack! That must’ve been so traumatizing for the worker and the other passengers.
I hope the attacker pays heavy consequences.
I hope the workers unite and achieve better/safer working conditions.
And, you know, I hope the airlines update their deplaning policies so this kind of thing can be avoided in the future. (Kidding! Kidding on this last one, for sure. I think that whole derail got moved, but it was here when I first saw it.)
I’m happy that that other passenger stepped in so quickly. That poor FA is going to have a long recovery, and not just from her teeth being knocked out. With people back to air traveling, airlines need to have an across-every company policy of how passengers should conduct themselves. This is at least the 3rd story I’ve read this week about abusive passengers, and they weren’t all American. I’m not planning on flying anywhere any time soon, but when I do, I hope drunk, foul mouthed, physically abusive flyers have a strict code of conduct implemented on them.
Same here. Actively hoping not to, in fact. But this:
Personally, I don’t care one whit how much someone has had to drink. Or what else they might’ve ingested. I care about behavior and hope everyone will have rules of conduct applied. Teetotalers included.
The federal law aims to protect passengers and crew, making it illegal to interfere with the crew (flight attendants and pilots). Assaulting them (injuring or attempting to injure them), intimidating them, or attempting or conspiring to do so can result in a felony conviction if the defendant has interfered with the performance of the crewmember’s duties. Defendants who use a dangerous weapon (any object that can be used or is used to cause death or serious bodily injury) can be punished more severely than those who do not.
(49 U.S.C. § 46504.)
For example, striking a flight attendant or trying to hurt a pilot on an airplane would probably be considered assault on a crewmember."
