Pram row creates new social media storm for US airline industry
Another US flight boarding drama has turned into a public relations disaster – this time for American Airlines.
Video footage posted on Facebook by an onlooker shows an altercation when a male passenger challenges an employee who is accused of forcibly removing a pram from a mother.
The mother, holding a baby, is seen sobbing at the front of the plane after the pram incident, which was not caught on camera.
The male passenger sitting close by confronts the airline employee involved, demanding to know his name and saying: "Hey, bud, you do that to me and I’ll knock you flat."
The employee, in an American Airlines’ uniform, then retorts: "Hit me! Come on, bring it on. You don’t even know what the story is."
The passenger replies: "I don’t care what the story is. You almost hurt a baby."
American Airline has since removed the employee from duty and issued an apology for the incident, which took place on a plane due to take off from San Francisco.
In a statement, it said: "What we see on this video does not reflect our values or how we care for our customers. We are deeply sorry for the pain we have caused this passenger and her family and to any other customers affected by the incident."
The mother was reportedly upgraded to First Class when she took another flight to Dallas.
The incident comes after United Airlines received widespread criticism for the treatment of a passenger who was forcibly removed from one of its flights to make room for crew. It was also blasted for the way it initially reacted to the incident, which was also caught on camera and shared on social media.
A few weeks before, United was the subject of another social media storm when two teenage girls were not allowed to board because they were wearing leggings.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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