Dad Fumes After Cabin Crew Tells Him To Move Infant Off Unoccupied Seat

Mar 06, 2023 by apost team

A frustrated father has been left fuming after cabin crew aboard an American Airlines flight he was on refused to let his wife put their baby down in an empty seat next to her while she pumped breast milk.

The couple had been on a four-hour flight from Las Vegas, Nevada, to Austin, Texas, when the incident occurred. The dad took to Twitter to complain about the “rude” behavior of the airline staff, whom he said forbade his wife from putting the child down on the seat as they hadn’t paid for it.

“Did AA1592 flight attendants get bad news today?” he tweeted on Dec. 16, 2022, under the handle Matt Tolhurst. “Did they have to be blunt & rude to my wife who placed our 4-month-old son on an empty seat next to her while she was pumping, demanding she hold him because she hadn’t paid for the empty seat?” he added.

The father explained that, at the time, there appeared to be no safety hazard or passenger they were inconveniencing with their actions.

“Flight was in the air, seatbelt sign was off and the seat next to her was empty,” he explained.

He added further that a crew member came by to tell them off. “Flight attendant came through and told her off for placing him on the seat while she pumped… she had to hold him,” he fumed. 

In response, the airline offered an apology.

“Rudeness has no place in one’s travels, and we’re sorry if a different impression has been made,” it tweeted and asked the man to provide them with his contact information.

The reaction from the Twitterverse leaned towards the airlines, with many reminding the father that rules are rules for a reason.

“Call me crazy, but it might’ve had something to do with the fact that she placed her infant unsecured, on the seat of a moving vehicle. What would’ve happened if you hit turbulence? Also, why couldn’t you hold him?” one reader said.

“You are wrong! The baby is too young to be in a seat alone if there was turbulence the baby could have been injured. You should she paid for the seat and brought a car seat along!” another comment read.

“Freeloading on the part of some creates stress for others. While the ‘momentary’ appropriation of rentable, but unrented, space for use with a baby will appear tolerable to many, the issue is no different than if the interloper had stored her bags there,” another unsympathetic reader piped in.

Another reader also took the airline’s side and wrote, “No car seat? She must hold the baby. Turbulence, air pockets, in the blink of an eye, your baby can hit the ceiling and be severely injured. If something did happen you’d be first in line to sue. #buyyourchildaseat.”

According to the airline’s rules and regulations, “infants under 2 years old can travel at no charge in the lap of their parent.” However, it added:

“If your infant will travel in their own seat, you must buy a ticket. The infant must either travel in a safety seat approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) or be able to sit upright in their seat without assistance and have their seatbelt securely fastened during taxi, takeoff, landing and whenever the ‘fasten seatbelt’ sign is on.” 

apost.com

What are your thoughts on the situation? Would you side with the father or his detractors on Twitter? Let us know and go ahead and pass this on to friends and family to see who they would back.