A travel blogger got removed from an international American Airlines flight, after he moved a flight attendant’s carry-on bag, in what can only be described as a bizarre overreaction.
Continue reading: American Kicks Travel Blogger Off Flight For Moving Bag: “You’re Outta Here”
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
How do you know the blogger didnt deliberately engineer the situation for eyeballs
I’m confused why a miles blogger was flying premium economy. First red flag. I’m just a humble dude with an Amex Gold and my wife never flies premium economy over an ocean. Period.
@Ben: Air India AI171 has crashed after takeoff at Ahmedabad, India. This was a Boeing 787-8 (VT-ANB) with 242 onboard. No information on survivors is known, though I don’t expect it. Rescue operations are underway. This is the first hull loss of a 787 and the deadliest crash in quite some time, since at least Metrojet 9268 in 2015.
Some of these megalomaniacal space-waitresses have gotten way too big for their boots. Mr Precious, the delicate flower who was mortally offended by his bag being moved back a few rows, plus the venomous, petty little bitch who tattled to him about this pathetically trivial matter, should both be disciplined.
Correction: *possibly* the deadliest crash. Not proper to comment or speculate on deaths or injuries, since we do not know anything at all. Also, it crashed in a dense residential area.
I long for the day these worthless people are replaced by androids. Most of the tasks are repetitive and were on the cusp of technology making that job obsolete.
What does that have to do with this post on someone getting kicked off his flight?
That was just to alert Ben to create an article, which he has now done. Praying for any survivors.
Stvr, “I’m confused why”, why you are more concerned about the subject bloggers reason for flying premium economy than the appalling treatment both he and his wife received at the hands of dictatorial AA FA’s?
I'll happily move another person's bag to another locker right near to my seat, but to another section of the plane entirely? Rather get a sky waitress to help you.
I've never moved someone's bag but this story sounds bizarre. Hopefully JT sues, but audio is inadmissable in a court room.
Just more evidence of toxic FA behavior internally.
"He touched my bag".
Well, bags can cope with being touched without suffering - they aren't sensitive body parts.
Some of us have never flown AA. Thanks to Ben and those who have contributed to his blog, one is confident that one will never have to do so.
Do people here regularly move other people’s bags to other bins unilaterally, let alone an entirely different cabin?
Not that I’m saying he should get kicked off the flight, but that frankly seems like bizarre behavior and expecting it to have no consequences seems wrong.
First of all your comment is very rude. Second, NYC to London is not a very long flight and sometimes I am tempted to just fly premium economy as I am not a huge eater nor do I drink. I am not going to sleep for very long on a 5-6 hour flights where 2 meals are served anyway.
JFK to LHR is a 6-hour overnight flight which all but guarantees you won't get any significant rest even in Business. In other words, flying Business out of pocket on this premium-heavy route is a waste of money/miles by most metrics, even for a blogger.
Why didn't the crew simply move their bag to the first class bin that they were offering to the pax and be done with it? This is incredibly stupid.
And I see crew moving bags all the time to ensure they all fit.
@peter
If I board in my cabin First or Business that I usually travel in and there's no space and I ask whose bag and it doesn't belong to anyone - I would move it. I would not be putting my bag in economy when I am sitting in First or business.
Alonzo your posts really are so full of inaccuracies and BS that you should just stop adding your ridiculous comments on here. Audio certainly is admissible in court. In conjunction with your posts rallying against privacy rights, you really should just be moved to a communist country where you just aren't allowed to use the internet or have a phone, for the sake of everyone here.
So, someone apparently boards after everyone else in PE and decides that his bag simply must go over his row. That's not the way it works. If having your bag over you is paramount make sure you board as earliest as your group is called. And yes that means leaving the lounge a bit earlier.
you don't touch other people s stuff unless you politely asked and was given permission - as a travel "blogger" (whatever that is ...) you should know that.
Why would audio be inadmissible? New York is a cone-part consent state. The FA does not need to consent to being recorded so long as JT is part of the conversation. If he recorded the FA and Purser conversation that he may not have been part of, that would be different.
He should have taken the FAs bag to front and asked a different FA to gate check the bag
Even in a two-party or all-party consent state, he wouldn't need permission, because it's in a public space and within the hearing range of other people, so the participants have no reasonable expectation of privacy there.
Honestly I am not surprised and there is a reason why American ranks the last when it comes to premium cabin service, when compared to Delta and United. I don't understand why US carriers continue to cut back on storage space for crew bags. US F/As are notorious on the amount of cabin bags that they carry, and that's why US airilnes cannot cut back on space, especially they can't work with F/As on a solution. Many Asian airlines like Cathay have their cabin crews checking in their bags, and the compromise is that their bags will come out first. Many ground staffs often have the crew bags all lined up in the baggage claim area before the crews even clear immigration and custom.
I’ve never flown AA. My daughter and her family had to fly AA overseas last summer at short notice and in first class. Class should not matter how you are treated but for a costly last minute first class booking you definitely do not expect the arrogant and rude check-in staff they were subjected to at Detroit metro airport. Horrendous behavior. Fortunately, AA is never an option for us. I can see why most customer complaints are on AA.
Another sky waitress drunk with power. I hope JT cooks this airline as loudly as he can for months.
Flight attendants have a ridiculously overinflated ego these days. Someone needs to break their union and put them back in their place. This entire incident happened not because the PIC removed him, but because one steward refused to do his contracted job unless JT were removed. That’s ludicrous, and against airline policy. But he’ll never be punished, because his union contract protects his right to be abusive to the passengers who make his job possible.
I am most annoyed when passengers demand to know which bag belong to whom thinking the space above them is theirs and start moving bags like it's their furniture at home. It does not. How else is the owner of the bag know where he placed it? And the big wouldn't fit, so what? He left the door opened with a potential accident for the seated passenger below? He's wrong on so many levels.
This cabin crew should be placed on leave or fired immediately. Imagine if firefighters refused to go to a fire because they couldn’t get their favorite seat on the truck? Imagine if a surgeon refused to operate a surgery because they couldn’t wear their favorite color cap? Completely juvenile, unprofessional behavior. Incidents like this help explain the (I believe unjustified) contempt for FAs as “sky waitresses”.
At the end of the day, the problem is that AA's talking coke machines earnestly believe that the airline exists to provide them free travel, and paying customers are something between the thing that susidizes that and a mysterious nuisance. If this attitude could have been fixed by now, it would have. AA will never get out if its death spiral until it fires every single one of its talking coke machines and rebuilds the entire employee corps from scratch. The existing employes in that role are a cancer.
Union won't allow that, but 4 weeks without a shift will make them think twice next time.
'I also wouldn’t expect that I’m entitled to have my bag in my bag... "
My bag in the cabin I'm flying?
Its amazing the AA FA's took time away from their cell phones to actually attempt to do their job. AA's new crop of FA's are 90% terrible.
He is not a freelancer shrill. He works for reputable sites and never have I read anything other than professional travel related articles from him.
I'm probably off here. But I wonder... what was in the bag that lead to this reaction by the FA. A change of clothes and a toothbrush don't cause people to act that way.
The flight attendant was in the wrong, but if you look at JT's last tweet before that flight, JT was ready for battle before he boarded that plane. I may be off, but it sounded like he was at the gate trying to get an upgrade instead of boarding his flight with his group. This probably would have avoided the whole situation.
Lay off the tussi bro. Recording consent is one thing. Using audio that you recorded yourself in a courtroom would violate the authenticity statute that would be needed for the audio to be permitted. No judge can verify the audio hasn't been altered because it was taken on your phone.
Dummy.
Why was the FA’s bag taking up PE space anyway? If it went how he said it did (and I believe him) then it’s yet another MASSIVE overreaction by flight attendants. The fact that they apparently went full “sorority sisters” and refused to fly with him on board is frankly insane.
US flight attendants hold far too much power with seemingly zero accountability or avenue for resolution. Passengers are absolutely powerless to deal with a FA power trip, which since COVID only seems to be more frequent. They can get away with it and they know it, thanks to union contracts. AA is bad but there’s plenty of stories from other US airlines, too.
Enough is enough. This does nothing but harm the majority of FAs who are great, and I’m sure are also powerless to speak up for fear of being shunned by the “gang”. Frequent fliers and travel writers are probably the only group that can drive change.
Since when did touching someone else’s property become “assault” thats pretty much what the prima donna flight attendant is intimating.. ridiculous situation.
Sets a precedent that means if we follow the “first come first served “ rule then this would mean on American flights economy passengers can place their bags in business class overhead coz the overhead bins are classless….
insane reaction by FA but also JT should know better than to touch someone elses bag period. I wouldnt have done that in a million years. Why give them a reason to overreact?
On a transatlantic overnight flight.. I had to listen to the FA’s laughing and hollering the whole flight.. you’d think that we were held hostage having to deal with raucous captors. There was absolutely no consideration that people who pay their wages were trying to sleep..
I actually met some over aggressive gate agents at the JFK station working AA 106 on a recent night! It was the FAs who were the nice people on my flight.
Interfering with other people's personal property on a commercial flight is a violation of social norms and airline policies.
I would not appreciate anyone moving my bags without permission and am not surprised there were consequences to the passengers actions.
Sorry, no way I'm taking this at face value. Bloggers posting about themselves, guarantees details are being left out and the full story is not being shared.
Gotta get those clicks. And no better way to do it than exaggerate an encounter with airline staff and then have Lucky, Leff and all the other credit card sellers repost it.
How exactly does one "haggle for an upgrade?" You're on the list. If a seat becomes available and you're number one the seat is your. Otherwise, it's steerage or steerage plus. There's no "bargaining" for an upgrade. You can always make yourself known and ask that if a seat becomes available the gate agent will come onboard and upgrade you. You can also monitor the app. Again, assuming you're number one on the list.
There's a way to avoid all of this. Either buy business/first or purchase the cash upgrade. Problem solved.
He could have been doing it for a review or maybe he wanted to save his miles.
@Michael Interfering with other people’s bag is a violation of airline policy? Does that extend to the flight attendants as well who may need to shuffle some bags around to make more room for carryon bags? If a passenger moved your bag just a bit to fit his bag because your bag fell down in the overhead bin would that be a violation? I have seen so many times where flight attendants and even passengers shuffle some bags around to make extra room in the overhead bins without any arguments or negative interactions but of course these were on non-U.S. airlines. So, do you mean it is a violation of U.S. airlines policy? Because i have seen passengers on U.S. airlines getting nasty with the overhead bins. Lastly, whatever the ‘consequences’ are should not have resulted the F.A. going on a power trip and refused to be on this flight if the involved passenger was not removed over a ‘moving my bag’ situation. Never happens on non U.S. airlines that I know of.
Typical American Airlines behavior. I don't miss them. They left me...I didn't leave them.
@Bob there may be some merit to it because a lot of flyers will tell you horror stories about some of the U.S. flight attendants going on a power trip such as who ate my snack or so-called unaccounted for snack box stories that Lucky recently had posted. Not only are they sometime downright rude to passengers but to their fellow colleagues as well. Read Lucky’s post about the why customer service is lacking on U.S. based airlines.
Not the point. If he had boarded with the earlier group, there would be space in other bins.
The fact that 'JT' is an experienced traveler does not imply he is not a jerk. You do not touch other people's bags, never, period. Then the crew tells him where to place his bag and he refuses. Fine, outta here, bye!
@Stvr You may be confusing OMAAT with TPG. Actually, if you know about JT and Katie they fly anywhere from economy to first class to test all the different airline products. JT and his wife even stay in ‘oh my gosh’ Choice hotels as they do review other hotels besides the perceived ‘Big Four’ hotel groups.
@Jd Not the crew. Just one flight attendant going on a power trip. Even the purser and supervisor tried to mediate this and did not go on a power trip like that flight attendant did. If what he did was so bad, then why did the supervisor even offered to upgrade him to first class?
Hey John. My tweets refer to my discussions at the SoHo lounge during my long layover. I didn't even speak with the gate agents before boarding this flight.
AA has some of the best employees I've ever interacted with and some of the worst. This was definitely an example of some of the worst along with a weak supporting cast that couldn't get a minor situation resolved. Seconding Lucky's thought--how does a person who has flown more than 2m miles not know that it's not cool to move someone's bag to a different compartment? Even if you ask, there's a good chance someone has their headphones in and won't hear you.
Hey John. JT here. My discussions about trying to pay for an upgrade on this flight occurred in the SoHo lounge. And the PE cabin was already full at my boarding as 21 non-revs were cleared into the PE cabin and were seemingly very quick to board since they were surely carry-on-only.
Not gonna lie, this probably all could have been avoided if JT said "Hey, I am really really sorry.... etc etc" Just kindness and a little bit of empathy. But yeah, tough from the crew for not letting him fly.
I observed this yesterday morning in AMS waiting for my flight. The DL and AA crew I saw had what looked like a 24" rollaboard, another smaller bag and a largish purse / personal item. Almost all the Asian airline crews had a small bag and a small personal item. There was a unmarked (but looked like a ex LH A346) operating for Surinam Airways and that crew also wasn't carrying much onboard.
Both on a power trip. Since when is a passenger entitled to have their carry on above or near their seat?
JT is one of the kindest, gentlest dudes out there. The aggression all comes from the FA's side.
The article said there were a "number of electronics, medications, credit cards, and currencies." Credit cards and cash are things I wouldn't put in a carryon suitcase. And if I actually might need medicine in flight, then I'd also keep that in a bag under the seat in front of me. But what do I know, if this blogger actually flew 2m miles I assume he has a system.
Until the TSA updates/improves its screening of the Flight Crew(s), there exists a non-zero chance that the flight attendant's bag in question contained a firearm that was not to be onboard - it has been happening more and more recently. That's probably not the case here, but the fact that it could be is alarming enough. Don't touch anyone else's belongings. Ask the attendant to assist.
Right? And I always insist that my stowed luggage is directly below my seat. LOL
Well, you know the old saying that there's three sides to every story: your side, my side, and the truth. I personally find JT Genter's online persona extremely annoying, so it's possible that he affects some folks that way in real life, too.
Ben can you help demyth the economics here of why airlines are so into avoiding checked bags generally?
BA is a great example. Every incentive cost-wise to have a passenger not check a bag. Then at boarding .. "Groups 3-6 will have to mandatory give their bags for putting in the hold - no negotiation"
Is this airport fees for checking bags / handling, or something else?
The flight attendant is the crew. You don't follow instructions, you're out. Plain and simple.
I hate having to put my hands on someone's bag, that being said, we've all seen someone who had a seat in the rear, place their bags in the front. It makes no sense whatsoever, they still in the back.
And the flight attendants, they're waiting for a passenger to meet them on the field for a game. SMH
How to tell if you are on an American Airline flight:
1) You are not on the flight.
2) Premium Economy entitles you to one carry off item.
3) FAs are there to assist you …. off the plane.
4) FAs are not there to assist you … while on the plane
5) Wi-Fi is for cabin crew only.
A flight attendant will never be replaced by robots. Some jobs actually need a human. With that said, that fa needs to go elsewhere.
@JD He is a part of the crew. He is not the whole crew for this flight. Even another crew member which was the purser disagreed with the flight attendant. Also, the supervisor which may be a part of ground crew disagreed about how the situation was handled by that flight attendant. He was on a power trip. But there is a distinction between for safety reasons and his own ‘ego trip’.
OMG Alonso knows more about legal that Arps the fake Skadden who earned imaginary millions.
And “first come, first serve“ should not necessarily apply to crew at all. If it’s a compartment “crew use only”, it’s a different story. Otherwise that FA should remember who’s paying his salary and be eager and helpful to make a paying passenger’s stay on board comfortable if this involves moving his own bag to a different location, so be it, unless there’s an operational necessity to have his bag in that exact space.
This person is an idiot. He spent an entire day taking a positioning flight to Toronto, wasted six hours in a lounge, and thought he could talk his way into an upgrade on a JFK/LHR flight in the middle of the summer season, when it would be clear to any intelligent person that the odds of an upgrade would be very low (including in the context of standard formulas for allocating seats between paying passengers and non revenue passengers, which is a standard component of any airline’s P&L model). What kind of an idiot wastes 12+ hours of his day to save a tiny amount of money, vs. just buying the J/F seat to being with??
Lesson #1 - Don’t fly US carriers internationally.
Lesson #2 - Refer to lesson #1
As a US expat living in Asia/Europe since 1998, I only wised up 10-years ago to Lesson #1 - life’s been great ever since!
he moved a bag to an entire new section of the plane.
definitely should be kicked off.
Right, the old brainwashing propaganda saying. And all those suckers born every minute always falls for it.
The truth never matters. The hypocrite with power tells you what are the facts.
Well said, flight attendant being replaced by machine are still decades away as our technology isn't there yet.
However, pilots and ATC are obsolete and should be replaced by machine right away.
Here is where you are wrong regardless of the whole story.. the flight attendants were NOT on the clock. We get paid doors closed to doors open. Boarding is unpaid. Look into it.
By the way JT, since I saw your replies here, did this mess up your Maldives trip?
Hah! Not headed to the Maldives now. This was an itinerary to Corfu, Greece, and we have since moved onto Albania.
Not sure where you're getting your information.
Regarding the upgrade: There were 4 available seats with 2 on the business class upgrade list. So I approached the agents at the SoHo lounge about *purchasing* and upgrade (with miles or cash).
Also we originally booked Condor via Alaska, but there was an issue with our ticket that we discovered a week before the trip. So we cancelled that award and booked PE on AA as a placeholder, hoping that a business class itinerary would open via some program.
Regarding "wasting" time in the JFK lounge, my wife and I worked this layover. In our case, it was actually quite a productive and well-timed layover letting us work much of the US Eastern Time zone day.
“On the clock” has. A general meaning that you’re at work… but you probably are just trying to be cute. These FAs reported for duty and signed in up to 2hrs prior to departure time and were actually collecting per diem. They were clearly at work, “getting paid” or not.
But, to take your example to an extreme… does that mean you turn into a nice, customer-friendly and attentive employee once the aircraft door is closed?
@Tara Your comments says it all too clearly. Now, we know why some of the flight attendants are surly or on power trips. You apparently do not get until the door closes so you are all pissed off at how flight attendants at other airlines get paid for pre-boarding. We all need to understand that. So, Ben whenever you want to write any subpar service or power trips by an AA flight attendant do keep in mind what Tara said. Hopefully, if Tara and her crew members can get paid for pre-boarding service then their service can have some decent improvements such as pre departure drinks. Lol.
Male flight attendant: “You moved my suitcase. You touched my suitcase and you moved it.”
BAG ASSAULT! BAG ASSAULT! UNWANTED BAG TOUCHING! JT BELONGS IN JAIL!
I'm more interested in this comment
She offered to put him in first class on the next flight in a non-reclining seat, but he refused, and stayed in premium economy.
AA is flying around jets with broken international first class seats?
I wonder if the Purser had to bring out the doll so the snowflake flight attendant should show the Purser where the bad man touched the bag.
@Herb even if an AA flight attendant would be half as nice would already be to the extreme. Hehe.
Stop the pitiful commenting, complaining, explaining, rationalizing... Just buy J/F!! Should be banned for life from AA!
“…but there wasn’t enough space, and one bag in particular was “far too oversized.”
It’s a stretch, given his experience, but let’s give JT the benefit of the doubt that he assumed this was a pax’ bag. (Another example of what happens when one assumes…)
“So he moved the bag to the economy cabin to make space for premium economy bags, given that the overhead bin placard clearly stated “reserved for premium economy.”
I’ve come to admire Lucky’s precise language and it’s worth noting here. Did JT place this “far too oversized bag” in an overhead bin? Or just put it on the floor at the bulkhead of the economy cabin?
I've had bad luck with unamerican airlines and refuse to fly on them again. SK
Wow, sounds like the FA had a serious attitude problem from the start, and went to full throttle aggressive in a second. He gets that a passenger would how know it was a cabin crew bag if it was not labeled and that the passenger did ask other passengers around them if it was their bag. The FA was very out of line. The Purser did not do the right thing, and should have resolved the situation without de-boarding the passenger. The Captain did not do the right thing (they allowed the passenger to be de-boarded). Stories like this are why I avoid flying AA.
To be sure, there are some real, honest and valid complaints to be made about AA (and US carriers’) FAs. But a lot of you are making tremendous generalizations, that may do more harm than good.
IMO calling people out for their bad service/job performance/attitudes is fine. But minimalizing their job (“walking coke machines”) or outright devaluing them (“worthless… need to be replaced by androids”) is cruel and only forces them to a place where they react as if they’re under attack, because they are.
When you see $h!**¥ people everywhere in the airport, and then they treat you $h!**ily, how can you keep up any semblance of empathy?
Someone claiming to be the flight attendant involved is commenting on a couple other travel blogs and does make several salient points. For example, that the bag was clearly labeled with crew tags. All I'm saying is that you can't 100% rely on one person's account of the situation. Not sure how that makes me a sucker?
Facts:
1) Crew bags are allowed to be oversized
2) This crew handled the situation thoroughly inappropriately
JT and Ben Schlappig are two of the most intelligent and high class people out there who could have become $20MM+/year equity partners at top law firms serving corporate clients. Yet they're providing free content for you to improve your travel life. And you're implying JT lacked kindness and empathy - wow - depraved
1) How do you know all 21 non-revs were seated in PE?
2) are you implying that whatever number of them were in PE rushed into the cabin to deny you overhead bin space?
3) you say a non-rev “outed” you as the person who moved the bag. How did you know their status? Did they also point, leer and hiss in your general direction?
I honestly don't know why anyone would choose to fly anywhere anytime anymore. Have not been on a plane in 17 years and it's so liberating. Move somewhere you actually want to live and stay put. Like San Diego...paradise every day. Think about it.
the guy saying "you touched my bag" sounds as if his genitals were touched. maybe he was SA'ed and got triggered. and im not kidding or trying to be funny, ive seen it many times when people get triggeed over the smallest things and it all ends up leading back to SA.
While I agree with the passenger, he could have placed contriband in the F/A's bag, to be recovered after customs, Remember they always ask if your bag has been in the care of some one else?
I agree with both those facts. I can still be curious about JT’s actions and their effects on the situation.
First off, most FAs’ bags have some kind of identifying marks/tags/ties that make it clear to whom those bags belong. If I was the FA coming across my clearly marked crew bag just sitting on the floor at the bulkhead, I’d be a bit indignant. (Though I’d like to think I would conduct myself much better)
On more than one occasion I have witnessed pax remove clearly marked “Emergency equipment” pouches or “For Crew Use Only” pouches from overhead bins in order to stow their carry-on bags. Each of these times those pouches were left on an empty seat as if to say “Here FA, find a better place for this.” SMH.
Never touch anyone else's bag. It was rude of you the moment you moved that bag, flight attendants bag or not.
Not something worth kicked off the plane but definitely something setting off that "DYKWIA" influencer alarm.
- "So he moved the bag to the economy cabin to make space for premium economy bags, given that the overhead bin placard clearly stated “reserved for premium economy.”"
I do not think any passenger can self-enforce such rule and move other pax' personal properties. They are not authorized to do so. "Help enforcing the rules" is just a bad excuse to some selfish, nuisance-like behavior. Considering this, the FA's "first come first serve" is not a factually incorrect statement.
I would still blame the FA for the power trip, but in the meantime I am also glad that they taught an entitled influencer a hard lesson.
A pig could fall out of the sky. You could lose your virginity one day. See the problem with wild-ass "could" statements?
Some "professional bloggers" will attempt most anything to increase their following.
Did the flight attendant over react? Maybe.
Was this a "set - up" initiated by JT to get his name and blog noticed?.....free advertising? Maybe.
You seem nice Arps… why not keep a bit of all these wishes and diagnoses for yourself?
You seem nice Arps… why not keep a bit of all these wishes and diagnoses for yourself?
It was best they took the next flight. After antagonizing the crew, it would not be safe to spend the next six hours in a confined space with hostile flight attendants. A traveller with a lot of miles but very little common sense:
(1) You never pack a carry-on with indispensible itens - you put those on a backpack, as there is no guarantee there will be overhead bin space. He should have known that.
(2) Moving someone's luggage across cabins without their knowledge or consen? Are you nuts?
Set-up or not. Proof is in the recording. As such, the flight crew needs to be disciplined or they become emboldened to act more outrageously. The supervisor should've called their bluff. Fine, you walk off, you walk off the job permanently. They are a clear and present danger to flight safety.
lol. If he was the "highest of high class", he wouldn't have moved someone else's bag. Repositioning is understandable, but you don't move a bag to a different section just because you can't find the owner.
Sounds like the flight attendant was in control of the aircraft and not the captain.
Everyone from the gutless captain to the snowflake flight attendant should be disciplined. The captain doesn’t deserve to be in charge of a passenger aircraft and the flight attendant should find another job.
It appears to me that maybe they should consider careers in cargo.
It's really quite simple, you don't have control over someone else's stuff. I have people move my jet ski bouys to make room for their stuff. I have had people move my chairs set up at a concert venue at a public park. You aren't in charge of other peoples stuff. Its extremely rude and offensive. Think about all the other crap flight attendants put up with. So this guys gets rebooked, cool, but to be given an extra 5k miles.... really?
Taking the facts as stated, the FA should be suspended without pay for a month, the purser should be suspended for 2 weeks and every FA who 'refused to fly' should be suspended without pay for a week.
The passengers should get two free FC seats RT as compensation.
Simple
So many illusions, so little time. This could have been avoided by:
1. Getting to the gate earlier to board as soon as the group was called
2. Not having some fantasy that lounge staff will do miracles when it comes to upgrades (or anything else). They usually won't do anything more than a gate agent. Even the premier lounges are so crowded they just do not have the time.
3. In today's reality if sitting up front is that important that you would try to engage a lounge staff member, just buy the upgrade when it's offered on the app
4. Understanding that many flight attendants see themselves at god and NO ONE at AA, UA, DL, WN, etc. is going to change that. Not with a union around.
All problems solved.
Hey Regis. JT here. To clarify:
1. My solo carry-on bag is my backpack, and it fits under most seats -- but not the MiQ seats that AA installed in premium economy (and Project Oasis first).
2. For sure this was a mistake. But, to clarify, we were seated in the back row of premium economy. So the bag was only moved a row back. Still a mistake for me to move it in the first place. While it was out of frustration that it seemed an economy passenger stuffed their oversized bag in PE on the way back, it was still a mistake.
I’m inclined to believe this was a set-up, especially if the bag was clearly marked as “Crew” as the FA claims on another blog.
I’m still waiting for an answer about exactly how JT disposed of the offending luggage… another bin or just leave it on the floor? I doubt he did anything overly gracious or thoughtful. “(So-and-So) is so polite and kind!” is something all the church ladies say when one of their own is arrested for drunk-and-disorderly conduct. (Or jackkn’ it in San Diego, as South Park once put it)
Nobody Addressed The Fact It Was Clearly Marked For Premium Economy Class !? Nobody Addressed The FACT The bag Was Oversized !!! Which Means It Had No Business In Overhead Storage In The First Place !! It Should Have Been Checked !!? I Would Have Not Taken The Miles And Sued For Crew termination !!? The More I Hear About AA's Problems The More ! They Shouldn't Be In Business !!? And That's That !!?
Wow! You hear that Ben? I hope that doesn’t mean you’re going to go around wishing cancer on people and examining the tightness of peoples’ rectums.
Absolutely true about the three sides to every story. And that's why I knew to flip on my recorder as soon as the drama started so that there was no doubt to what was said.
It’s not that deep. He had a bad interaction with one person and that’s that. Obviously, not very crew member acts like this and clearly the supervisor was understanding. People have bad days including flight crew and passengers. How often do you think this happens opposed to passengers getting on causing issues with crew and others. Again it’s not that deep.
Omg shut up, it’s not that deep and you heard one side of the story from a blogger to another blogger. Who I’m sure is bias atleast when it comes to this. This guy will be ok, he wasn’t hurt but here you are taking about removed someone without pay as if this economy can hold up anyone. That guy got miles and probably a more peaceful flight. Yeah that flight attendant was hella extra if that’s what happened but who knows. It’s odd to hear them offer to place his bag up front and then it turned into this. It’s more to the story I’m sure.
Exactly, like nothing happened to this guy, he was late and just moving things for his own comfort and now this guy is posting about it as if he was peppered sprayed and slapped across the face. Talking about power trip, and I’m sure this “blogger” guy is not a poc and feels entitled cause he flys all the time. It’s these people that think they are above it all because they showed up to flight. Show up on time like everyone else. and if the person wasn’t there to claim there bag what happens when they go look forward and can’t find it and assume someone took it.
This is not news.
The real news should be why this dude was fired from TPG in 2020 (?) but his wife was not.
Do some real reporting and find out, Lucky boy.
P/S this dude gives me the creeps. So does his wife. Digital nomads my ar$3
This was a minor misunderstanding that the unhinged FA turned into a disaster. There are professional ways to address these issues and this was not it.
My guy shut up! This kid could’ve placed his bag in that same bin he moved the bag in if it wasn’t so far. He clearly thought it belonged to some random “basic economy” passenger and moved it. He moved it thinking it’s my space not theirs and so on. He dismissed the request to move it up from and so. This guy is annoying af and so are you. He was compensated and asked to wait what an hour. The other flight should’ve been enough. And at the end stop touching people stuff. Be on time. Be respectful.
No--that's what was in the passenger's bag. What Chicagomike is asking, is what was in the FA's bag to make him keep saying "You touched my bag?!" and demand that the pax was removed.
Many people come on the aircraft and have absolutely no situational awareness. The entitled traveling public far outnumbers those who understand what a shared space actually means.
As a crew member I have personally had passengers take my bag taken out of the overhead bin and left it in the aisle, I have also had my bag moved to another overhead bin several times, and it is not always near the designated bin where I placed it. Twice I have had my bag taken off of the aircraft by a passenger. One time I had to go through the lines of passengers in customs to search for my bag. So what may seem like a silly bag incident to the average person, is actually a much bigger situation. We carry everything we need for our job and all of our personal articles, including passports and other government documents. Crew do not always have their bags tagged as a crew bag, for many different reasons. Regardless, whether it is a crew members bag or another passengers bag, what makes your bag more important than the next persons? Also, if you are trying to locate the owner of a specific bag and nobody answers, that does not give you free rein to move it to accommodate yourself. And as a base level thought, imagine if your things were moved and you had no idea why or where.
If you are a problem on the ground nobody wants to be locked in an aircraft inflight with you, a loose cannon, unable to keep your emotions in check. Being entitled, rude, hard headed, and the "don't you know who I am" or "do you know what my status is" passenger is becoming the norm these days.
To the influencers and those who create incidents to "go viral" or escalate situations to "gain miles" STOP!!!
To those passengers who are not described in this post, thank you for your kindness and common sense, we appreciate you.
When we lived in the Cayman Islands, and the great majority of flights back to the U.S. were American Airlines, we got used to all of their garbage.
Once, we flew to the Bahamas, and my eight-year-old daughter and I had this exchange:
Her: Daddy, is this the bad airline?
Me: No, it's British Airways.
It took me a couple of years to get through to her that American Airlines was just the name of this one airline, and not all airlines in the U.S. stank.
The bag should not have been touched regardless of who it belongs to. That's simply Courtesy 101. Getting kicked off for it is harsh. But I do think he should have been given the choice of moving with his bag or deplaning.
He should know not to move someone’s bag. It’s simple, it’s first come first serve, this is an entitled person that should be kicked off for being just that. Why do you think all the frequent travelers board the flight first, it’s to make sure we get space for a our bag, if you get on late you have to deal with no space and may have to heave your bag elsewhere on the plane.
Really wish there was more accountability on the FAs. I’m a pilot on an airline with patriotic livery in question and my bag goes in the overhead bin. Every once in a while a passenger grabs it for whatever reason, usually FAs come running angry to me (as if they want me to get frustrated over it/scold passenger). It usually ends with me joking with the passenger “well if you actually ended up taking it I hope all the clothes inside would’ve fit you well”. FA was out of line and purser should’ve acted like an actual purser (which doesn’t exist in US)
It was a huge mistake. You take responsibility for that [although maybe not truly 100%; the fact that "the bag was only moved a row back" is irrelevant].
What if the bag owner were in the bathroom? Helping settle an elderly parent in another cabin? Asking the crew a question? You have no idea why they might not be there at that moment. Asking only the people currently there and, when no one claimed it, moving the bag was an egregious presumption.
[Side note: Many people have disabilities that are not obvious to others--or anyone else's business. Think mobility, visual, etc. Someone might have had permission to put their bag in a particular location because it was accessible, visible, medically necessary, etc. to them. Ask a Flight Attendant for recommendations when you have a problem stowing your carryon.]
The article notes that you had "electronics, medications, credit cards, and currencies" in your bag. What if the unknown bag owner had the same items in their bag [or maybe a gift, an heirloom, something fragile, etc.]. Can you imagine the stress it might have caused them if their bag "disappeared"?
Once the overhead bins are closed, you would have no idea if someone moved, stole, etc. your bag. What would you do in that case? Open every bin until you find it? Bother lots of fellow passengers by asking if they moved a bag? Ask the flight attendants to help you find it?
People will debate the staff reactions. If you have ever worked with the public, however, you have probably learned from painful experience that people who feel entitled to do things once usually feel entitled to do other things. As a fellow passenger, I would not trust someone who chose to act the way did. And Flight Attendants have a lot of experience upon which to base their opinions and decisions.
I hope the takeaway from this is that you should always respect other people's property. An overhead bin is a shared space, but that does not mean you can touch or move other people's stuff without their permission.
[For what it's worth, I have touched people's stuff with their permission. When putting a bag on its side will allow more bags to fit, I have asked people in the vicinity who owns it and if it would be OK if I move it 90 degrees (or would they want to do it). The same with people who put hats, coats, and other things that they were told to put under the seat in front of them--but didn't. I have asked politely if I can move someone's jacket on top of their luggage or hand it to them so I could fit my bag. No one has ever objected and no flight attendant needed to be involved. Just common courtesy and remembering that we are all in it together.]
I say good for American Airlines. Thank you, please give us MORE of this...go ahead and remove ALL so-called "travel bloggers" from any flight when they can be identified - they are self-important idiots, parasites, and a cancer on society!
Flight attendants are out of control? Nonsense.
Bloggers are out of control. The world would be a better place without them. Get a job.
Well said, and I agree with you. Thank you for putting up with idiots like this every day.
"Regardless, whether it is a crew members bag or another passengers bag, what makes your bag more important than the next persons?"
Because he's a TRAVEL BLOGGER. What could possibly be more important than this attention-whore?
"Digital nomads"...in other words, pretentious, spoiled children, and most of all, self-important arseholes.
Why is there no dedicated area for FA'S to put their luggage? This problem would not have happened! FA'S depend in their luggage arriving safely to insure they have their personal items available to them for their next flight, in order to keep their jobs. Designated storage for them should apply on all flights, thus ending an episode like this.
Agreed! While we're at it let's also remove anyone named Frank from flights. I've never met one I liked. They're all toxic, bald, impotent, overweight men that honestly are just nauseating to be near.
I've been fly since 1954 as a child to now. I have watched the deterioration of the flight experience to the point that I dislike getting on a flight less than business, level dislike the majority of gate agents attitude regardless of airline and wonder how the flight attendants cope with the entitled passengers. Serious changes are needed in the entire industry.
I no longer fly AA for similar reasons. The offensive arrogance some flight attendants and boarding personnel is unacceptable. I would gladly go to competive Airlines where I am appreciated as a repeat customer.
The problem is the flight attendants will run into the Captain and make the situation look way out of proportion to the Captain and claim a security issue or not following crew member instructions. The Captain has the final authority on people being removed from the aircraft and that authority is played on by ego driven flight attendants.
The decades old design of the airline industry simply isn't healthy and sustainable in todays culture.
Yeah !! It's Not That Deep !! When An Entire FA Crew Threaten's To NOT ! Do There Jobs !! That's Mutiny On An Unheard Of Scale !! - Just Because Of An Oversized Bag That Shouldn't Have Been There In The First Place !!?? Was Moved !!? " No Sorry This FA Crew Needs To Find Work Else Where , If They Can After This !!!
I support the FA. This is her/his duty bag. Imagine you get to your destination and your bag is not onboard because some blogger decided to move it and replace it with his?
I dont know if you guys know but every flight attendant on an airplane has a designated location where each of their bags are supposed to be located and as per their contracts the company would have to check a passengers bag before moving theirs
Exactly !! And Back In The Old Days Their Were Plenty Of Room For Pilots & Crews !! This Shouldn't Be An Issue That Can't Build An Aircraft With Space For Crew No Matter How Tightazz !! The Carrier is !!!
The FA was clearly on a power trip. However, it is equally wrong to think you can just move someone else's belongings! Especially when you can't find an alternate space for it. What kind of inconsiderate asshole does that and feels like he is in the right?
Several things can be true at the same time. The pax should not have removed the bag. The FA should not have gone nuclear.
All this said, if the airlines are going to charge for checked luggage, thus essentially encouraging everyone to bring carryons, then customers should have first dibs on the space, especially above bulkhead rows, as pax can’t keep anything on the floor. Crew can always gate check.
I had a similar experience on a different airline that didn't have first class. We upgraded to premium seating in row-2. We boarded early yet the bin above row-2 was already full. I started to rearrange bags to make room only to have the flight attendant tell me not to touch their bags. The attendant told me I have 2 choices: to ether gate check my bag or put it under my seat. Airlines need to have assigned bin space for flight attendants.
That's No Excuse !! I Belong To A Union !! That's A International !! Right Here On Terra Ferrma !? Stack My Horse Power And My Unions Horse Power Against Any Flight Attendants Union That This Is Proper Bargain Agreement !!!!? Mutiny !!? Unbelievable ???
That's the problem, Herb. Pouring drinks and fellating pilots *is* their actual job. They've convinced themselves that their job is to fly around the world for free doing nothing, and they've marketed themselves as somehow being essential for "safety" in a million ways when of course they do nothing real in that area. The culture among the management at AA has become one of learned helpessness about this - they barely even try anymore to manage the TCMs and are terrified of them, as the supervisor in this story indicates.
Having known Mr. Genter for several years, I can attest to the fact that that he has among the worst personalities of any person on this planet, which has only been amplified as his internet persona as a "travel blogger." Entitled, stubborn, rude, combative are just some of the words I’d use to describe him.
I stand 100% with the AA flight crew in this situation, as there is no way I believe Mr. Genter was doing nothing to instigate this situation for clicks.
As a crew member your bag should be properly identified with a crew tag. Simple and effective
He moved someones bag? A flight attendants no less. If he moved my bag he would be out the emergency exit.
Watching these videos, most of these guys are annoying A-holes.
The flight would have been cancelled without the flight attendant so I understand the supervisor. After the fact the Flight Attendant should be fired.
The passengers need for medications made the luggage being near him and ADA issue. Moving the employees bag was a reasonable accommodation for the customers disabilty
The author mentioned new procedures from 2024. I wonder if the flight attendant wanted the purser to go to bat for them to fulfill some requirement of the new procedures.
They can still operate that flight as AA staff more than the FAA minimum for these international flights
Here Tara !! Is Where You Went Wrong !! Weather You're On The Clock Or Not !!? Once The General Public Step's Foot On That Aircraft !!? The Captain Is Responsible !! Therefore YOU !! , You Tara Are Responsible FAR Reg , FAA Reg .: eg: Catch The Drift !!?
I think the FA had drugs or contraband in the suitcase! Should be a tip to customs!
Wrong !! Not If They Mutiny A Flight !! Over A Bag Issue Is NO Excuse ! For A FA Crew To Mutiny The Flight Their Union Would Try To Protect Them ! If it Was Against Me !! I Guarantee They Would Lose Badly !!!!?
My bag has always been marked as crew and that does not deter the entitled.
Always travel with situational awareness and airplane etiquette.
It would not have been canceled. Nor would the FA's have refused to fly. They were bluffing and if the supervisor and pilot had the "balls" to calm them down they would have backed down.
Jeez, what a show AA FA's are. They are beyond words with drama queens.
I had a similar situation several years ago on a 7 hour flight to Hawaii in business class when the bin space above my seat was taken by someone else’s bag. So i used the next closest bin which was in the seat behind me. Little did I realize that the seat was reserved for a pilot on that flight who had not boarded yet. The female purser was closing bins and noticed my bag in the reserved bin and proceeded to say in a loud and annoyed voice questioning whose bag was in the bin. All the passengers around me were rolling their eyes at her hysterics as I sheepishly raised my hand. I tried to explain to her that the bin above me was taken and I just put my luggage in the next closest space. She proceeded to scold me like a child asking if i could read the tiny writing on the outside of the bin lid which said reserved for flight crew. Unfortunately, what she failed to realize is that with the bin open, the writing was facing down toward the floor and not visible to passengers placing their luggage in the bin.
No apologies and i had to be served by her for the next 7 hours. I only fly American for the most part (and have been executive platinum for five years) since I live in DFW and don’t have many other options and I realize that flight attendants have a tough job. However, to be treated like a common criminal for a misplaced bag with the intention of embarrassing the paying customer was so overboard. Unfortunately, American Airlines does not take care of their hard working employees and many take it out on the customer.
Actually, you are the annoying a-hole given this comment. Read. He asked everyone if it was their bag.
This Flight attendant should have been DAMP tested. Sounds like they are way too highly concerned about what's in their bag as well.
You haven’t been on a plane in 17 years but you take the time to make comments on an airplane blog? That seems really strange.
While I think the flight attendant overreacted, the passenger had no right moving anything. He should have asked the crew to move a bag. His entitled attitude that he is somehow owed the overhead bin space is exactly what's wrong with people. I don't care how many miles he's flown or what his blog is, he was in the wrong.
Yeah what has this got to do with getting kicked off? Damned Indian nationalist.
Guaranteed there is more to this story but you are only publishing the moron passenger's perspective
The flyer should never have touched the flight attendants or their belongings. Doing so was both rude and alarmingly self centered. Flight attendants are trained professionals who carry essential items such as handcuffs, CPR equipment, and other critical tools required to ensure passenger and crew safety. Interfering with their personal items could compromise their ability to respond effectively during an emergency. If flight attendants are unaware of the location or status of their safety equipment due to a passenger’s interference, it could delay or obstruct vital emergency procedures. This behavior is not only inappropriate, it potentially endangers everyone on board.
Here we go again,the article with his holier than thou views. What about jerks who place their bags in the first overhead bins as they walk to economy? Crew have wardrobes to put their bags and they're huge culprits of big bags.
We avoid American at almost any cost. They are terrible. They are unkind. The flight attendants are not polite. The story underscores what we already believe.
False. "2 sides" people are smooth brained who can't appropriately incorporate Bayesian priors
JT Genter: extremely well educated, high class, polite, CREDIBLE
Flight attendant: poorly educated, low class, rude, NOT CREDIBLE
JT Genter is 100% right
100% false - flight attendant should never have had their belongings in the position it was in
JT Genter is NOT a rude person in any way shape or form
Guaranteed you are a moron. The FACTS are
JT is an extremely high class and polite person unfailingly
AA has notoriously poor flight attendant service
"James" please learn Bayesian statistics - or at least common sense
Keep your oversized asshole bag out of the space reserved for paying pax who are much more high class than you
STUPID AA FLIGHT ATTENDANT -GET OUT OF HERE -DIE OF CANCER!!!
Antwerp is 100% correct
Joe pampas please die of cancer due to your stupidity and adding no value to the world
Having known of Mr. Genter for several years I can attest to the fact he is educated, high class, and unfailingly polite - as such any individual coming into conflict with him is a COMPLETE AND TOTAL MORON
Airlines need to have assigned bin space for flight attendants.
Flight attendants should check all their shit into the cargo hold
However, it is equally wrong to think you can just move someone else's belongings!
JT asked the entire cabin who has the bag. Nobody replied. The overhead space is marked clearly for the cabin (Premium Econ) only.
JT GENTER IS NEVER AN ASSHOLE - "cupertinojay" are you an asshole in Cupertino? I have seen a shocking uptick in assholes in the SF Bay Area over the past 2 years
However, it is equally wrong to think you can just move someone else's belongings!
JT asked the entire cabin who has the bag. Nobody replied. The overhead space is marked clearly for the cabin (Premium Econ) only.
JT GENTER IS NEVER AN ASSHOLE - "cupertinojay" are you an asshole in Cupertino? I have seen a shocking uptick in assholes in the SF Bay Area over the past 2 years
Whatever the flight attendant wanted, I can tell you what that flight attendant deserves
Death by cancer
Several things can be true at the same time.
Smooth brained take
JT Genter was 0% in the wrong
AA was 100% in the wrong
Extremely simple calculus here - anything else means you're a moron
The Captain has the final authority on people being removed from the aircraft
The Captain must answer for the situation here - Captain deserves benefit of the doubt (not death by cancer at least not immediately) but this is an unknown part of the story. Still AA is 100% at fault, JT Genter 0%
The only way JT Genter can be made whole is to be given ConciergeKey AAirpass with unlimited Flagship First flights, and the ability to immediately terminate, in the moment, any AA or contracted staff member who misbehaves
Suppose that at that time Passenger A replied that it was his luggage. So what would JT do? Ask A to move his luggage to economy class so that he can put his luggage near him? They offered him a reasonable solution, but he refused. He was kicked out not because of the luggage, but because he refused to follow the instructions.
Why do these strange interactions only seem to happen in the US? I cannot imagine this happening in Europe, much less in Asia. Are flight attendants working or do they think they are passengers? It’s just a bag; get over it. While instead of moving the bag myself I would ask one of the FA for assistance, but even still, the FA should be fired, as the comments are completely out of line, especially within earshot of a paying client. Luckily I don’t need to travel to the US often, but when I do, I’m always amazed at the overwhelming indifference of the vast majority of FAs I’ve come across in the US.
Was the fa working in premium economy if not his luggage should not have been in the overhead locker at the end of the day we as passengers pay to be on the plane they the fa's get paid to be on the plane a ridiculous situation made worse by poor fa training
I cannot tell you how many times I see people leave their bags in business in priority then proceed to walk to the back of the plane.
The passenger was right.
This is why I never choose American and always fly British Airways to the USA. The US crew say and do whatever they like.
While JT was entitled in his actions by moving someone's bag, this shouldn't warrant removal from the flight. Just imagine how this would've been dealt with on Japan Airlines, Qatar or Singapore Airlines; it would've most certainly had a different outcome.
I was on a flight , sitting patiently waiting for a late arrival passenger . The flight attendant was leading the passenger down the aisle when they open up the bin over my seat to put his bag in there . He wasn't sitting near us she just decided to try that bin it was full so she grabbed my bag out of there and tried sending it all the way to the back of the plane so she could fit his bag in there she was trying to look like a hero . I complained that she should leave my bag there and put his bag to the back since he held the entire plane up because he was late . While she did leave my bag there she was very rude to me and acted like she was some kind of princess . I was a business travel I was flying twice weekly . The flight attendants on these planes are real primadonnais
So what if it was a prem passenger's bag that had earphones on? The guy was wrong, and is the one/blogger on a power trip.
Usually, on US based airlines, the Flight Crews put their bags in the very front of First Class overhead, right where they tell bulkhead passengers they can't have their bags. I confronted a flight attendant once about this, saying, you stay on the plane until the very end and can easily retrieve your bags, but you want the bulkhead passenger to try to walk backward in the plane to get their bag.... they were not happy , but I didn't get kicked off the plane. US Airlines = Non existent Customer Service
I have been flying several times a year for just over fifty years, in that time I have seen an inexcusable decline in service and the attitude of flight attendants. Fly on a foreign airline like Orient and you will see what flying was like fifty years ago on domestic airlines. As far as AA is concerned, if that's the only way to get there, I'm not going.
Jt was being a prima Donna th inking he was entitled to move another pax bag to a different bin.
Bottom line. He started it.
The airline was correct! You should never, ever touch other people's property! He should have asked the Crew about the bag. What if the bag owner said that something was missing from the bag??? This blogger is the cause of his removal from the flight and should be banned!
Look, I hate it when other passengers touch my bags - while many are very respectful and careful about it, the number of times I've had my items shoved, crushed, or bent up has made me speak up if someone touches my bag without asking around first. And most folks do not ask first, nor are they particularly gentle about touching other's bags. Whether in J, F, PE, or E, it doesn't matter. All this being said, it feels like the passenger here (I don't care that they are a travel blogger...) asked around and was genuinely trying to be respectful...and if there was zero indication that the bag was a crew member's bag, it is totally reasonably for him to assume it was another passenger's bag, perhaps sitting in another cabin. Might I have asked an FA for help before moving someone else's bag from the cabin? Yes. But refusing to fly with this passenger feels like the FAs' problem - not the passenger's problem...and him being removed feels ridiculous.
Totally agree that JT also went about it wrong because he should have asked a crew member to see if there could be space for his bag without him moving other people's personal stuff. However if I had been the supervisor instead of putting him in another flight and offering all this compensation I would have fired the whole crew that refused to take off. Maybe not before that flight because where would I find a replacement crew to take all those passengers but after reassigning their future flights to other crew members they would be out.
Sad. While I've seen some highly entitled passengers that deserve to be removed, I've also seen some highly entitled crew. Not many, but it appears that this attendant does not have the right attitude. Assuming the accounts are accurate and there are no other interactions, I would hope American reviews the entire incident and if it confirms the flight attendant was in the wrong, that attendant should be fired.
This blogger is clearly not an experienced traveler since you never move someone’s bag without asking them (and since he never found who it was he shouldn’t have moved the bag). He got his 15 minutes of fame for this story and pretty much showed how he’s a pretentious traveller. .
Please don’t come over to United where I’m a 2 million mile flyer - we don’t want you.
Nearly had the exact same thing happen to me! Was flying BOG-DFW on AA in an A319 in the two row first class cabin. Upon boarding the whole first cabin was full of what I assumed was crew luggage. Complained to my wife which was overheard by the flight attendant. She proceeded to tell me that what I said wasn’t right and I could put my bag back in coach. I scuffed at her and said fine.
Two minutes later, asked to step off the flight and the supervisor explained the flight attendant felt uncomfortable and wanted to make sure I wouldn’t make a scene the rest of the flight… it was a 1 am flight, I was sick and traveling with a wife that was 6 months pregnant. They eventually let me back on but was shocked how fragile the ego (or power tripping) of the flight attendant.
Nobody’s defending the movement of the bag. The point of the story is the flight attendant was out of his mind.
There's plenty of dedicated closet space for the crew to stow their baggage, no need for any crew member to take up passenger overhead space, especially in a class area with explicitly marked bins. This employee should be disciplined and retrained. Rule 1 The customer is always right, Rule 2 the crew member is an employee.
"Fly on a foreign airline like Orient and you will see what flying was like fifty years ago"
What airline is "Orient"?
The flight attendant bags should have never bin in the travellers bin. They have allocated area to to put their luggage and if they have too much baggage put it on the checking. Furthermore each passenger is entitled to one hand luggage above their seats. Yes or no
So this frequent traveler can’t ask for help or find another space? No they were entitled to remove anyone’s bag so they don’t have to walk a few feet. They’re a frequent flyer!
I don't think he deserved to be kicked off but also...you don't move someone else bag. I think he should've been told to move his bag or leave.
Sounds like it wasn't a normal crew bags. Most crew are smart enough to use standard size carry-on bags. It also didn't have crew markings on it like most do.
"She offered to put him in first class on the next flight in a non-reclining seat, but he refused, and stayed in premium economy."
What on Earth is a non-reclining seat in First Class between JFK and LHR? Like a broken seat that doesn't fold down flat correctly?
The flight attendant didn’t have any weight to bring an oversized object into the plane to start with. And work for the payees. The attitude of the attendant was out of place.. jccampusano
Carry-on bags used to come with bigger suitcases as a three part set of suitcases and those bags were like large square purses with shoulder straps. These monsters now have wheels and handles and are about the size of the old large suitcase, nothing against wheels and handles, I own a backpack which can be comfortably worn or pulled on its wheels and I own a 'suitcase' as I call it, with wheels and a handle.
I thought those old carry-on bags were too big and though I used mine for air travel, it fell out of favour for a smaller bag which didn't match the set. A backpack with or without wheels and a handle is better on the plane sized space for me, or people can just get a large purse with a shoulderstrap, check the bigger bags and suitcases in with the cargo, then things will fit under the seat where I put my square carry-on bag or in the overhead bins.
And I thought crew members had standard suitcase bags on wheels which weren't oversized as well as storage space for crew bags. Did crew members crowd out some of their bags with bigger bags? They travel, but those are supposed to fit in somehow without crowding out the passengers' bags.
If everyone settles down, as in lower the checked bagage fees, take smalller carry-on bags and some people take less baggage overall and stop fighting, there can be space for everyone.
I think the raised checked baggage fees caused people to carry more belongings and now some airlines are chasing them with new carry-on fees. Yet, no one can use all what those monsters carry during the flight, those go overhead which can seriously injure or kill someone if that falls out during movement of them or during turbulence if the bin unlatches.
Add to my comment: I haven't flown in decades. But I recall using the overhead bins for jackets and parkas and I saw other people's winter clothes up there with maybe a small bag.
In fact, that's how a fellow in uniform and I also in uniform inadvertently swapped parkas. So, I learned to always empty pockets to protect valuables and when travelling with someone with uniforms on be sure to separate with others' things not matching in between or use a separate overhead bin ahead or behind.
That space was handy instead of putting those thick clothes over seats. My square carry-on bag or other smaller bag or backpack never went up there so I had easy access to some useful things in those smaller bags without getting up and getting other passengers up if not on aisle seat.
With monster sized carry-on bags in those overhead bins, where do people put their winter clothes? If people aren't carrying winter clothes because of warm cars and jet bridges or for winter flights far south and back, bad idea. If the plane goes down with survivors and they are locateable, there'll be less of them before they are found due to freezing temperatures.
This reminds me of a situation on an AA flight from Heathrow to Miami. The pax behind me kept pushing my seat forward and would not allow me to recline. I asked him to let me put my seat back and was verbally assaulted by his female friend. A flight attendant showed up and told me that I had to put up with it as the other passenger was 6ft 2. i suggested that if space was a problem the other passenger may consider a larger seat or exit row. I had to sit not only upright but slightly inclined forward the entire trip while the person in front of me reclined into my face. I wrote to AA and complained about the unfair outcome and asked if it would have been different if I had been a male passenger instead of an older female. I received the same standard response which also stated I would be be compensated which I found strange as I never asked for that.
Re the bag. I just flew back from South American on yet another packed flight. A man arrived after me and moved my bag so he could fit in his. He shoved my on top of that of another passenger. Did anyone complain? No but it was not a flight attendant's bag.