Southwest apologies to deplaned mom

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Pamela Root, who was kicked off a Southwest Airlines flight Friday, will receive another chance to fly on the airline. She and her son were removed from a San Jose-bound plane when her two-year-old son wouldn’t stop screaming “Go! Plane! Go!” and “I want Daddy!”

In addition to an apology, the airline gave her a refund and a travel voucher for $300. Root had hoped to be compensated for the portable crib and diapers she said she had to buy, but alas, that wasn’t in the cards.

I have to admit, this seems like a tough call. While it’s never easy to boot a paying passenger, you need to balance that against the eardrums of everyone else who shelled out for a ticket. Of course, a bit of compassion for kids (who don’t know any better) is necessary, but that’s little consolation to everyone else.

It looks to me like Southwest made the right call in both parts of this. It removed what was obviously a problem for the other passengers, and it more than compensated Root for the trouble. Southwest is out a few extra bucks for the decision, but that seems to be a small price to pay for the goodwill it earned with the remaining fliers. And, it swiftly apologized and compensated the mom.

Mom and kid booted from plane, demand apology and compensation

by Tom Johansmeyer on

It’s easy for passengers to grow annoyed with kids on planes. There’s nothing worse than hearing a scream and knowing you’re about to be part of a captive audience for several hours. Yet, flight crews usually show a lot more tolerance. Hey, they’re on the plane to earn a paycheck. Every job has trials to be endured. Pamela Root’s son, however, was too much for them.

Kid and mom were kicked from the Southwest flight from Amarillo, Texas to San Jose, California, because the former was screaming, “Go! Plane! Go!” and “I want Daddy!” Root believes the kid would have piped down once the wheels were up, but the plane’s staffers didn’t want to roll the dice. Root and child were escorted off the plane.

Of course, the 38-year-old stay-at-home mom has her list of demands. In addition to an apology, she’s looking for compensation for a portable crib and diapers that she needed to buy for the unplanned extra night away from home. I’m curious as to why. She’d need the diapers anyway: the kids bowels, I suspect, work just as well in Amarillo as they did in San Jose — no more, no less. And, where did the kid sleep the nights before she bought the portable crib? Were they unable to stay where they had been for the trip? Did she not feel like it?

Hmmmmm …

As to the apology, I’m sure she apologized repeatedly and profusely to the flight crew and other passengers, right?

If anyone was on the flight and can shed some light, please leave a comment, thanks!

Drunk man tries to steal jet fuel for his car

by Jamie Rhein on

Here is a way to not combat high gas prices. Breaking into an airport to steal jet fuel for your car might seem like a good idea, but it’s one of those feats that gains notice–particularly if you’re drunk. At least at the Reid-Hillview Airport near San Jose, California, it does.

This past Sunday a 20-year–old man tried out that exact scenario, but to no avail. He was caught, arrested and charged with breaking into an airport, attempted theft, and to add insult to injury– driving while drunk.

According to the AP article, the plan was foiled before he ever cooked it up. It sounds like you have to buy the gas with a credit card to get it out of the pump.

If he had succeeded, he might have regretted the decision anyway. Unless he had a race car with a special engine, his regular car engine probably would not have liked the jet fuel diet. That’s what I found out when checked out the difference between jet fuel and normal fuel.