Airline’s unthinkable response to passenger’s complaint
A Delta passenger has complained that she was left in bruises after being repeatedly kicked by the child sitting next to her.
The mum-of-three complained to cabin crew about the behaviour, but they responded by telling her that she was the nuisance, not the misbehaving child.
Sally Canario was travelling to Minneapolis from Los Angeles when the incident occurred, reported The Sun.
“I was up against the window, trying to get some sleep on a red eye flight,” she told Sun Online Travel.
“A stranger’s daughter was trying to sleep on the plane with her head in her mother’s lap and her feet in my face, in my side, and on my lap.
“The girl threw a bad tantrum — screaming, crying, and bicycle kicking while she was trying to sleep, (but) the airline would not accommodate me for a safer, comparable seat.”
Sally said that when she asked for help from a flight attendant, she copped the blame for the incident.
“I flagged down a flight attendant to file an injury report,” she said.
“His response was, ‘I am not a babysitter, you two parties need to work things out.
‘This is a full flight. I do not take injury reports... you aren’t injured.
‘I heard you were causing trouble and harassing the family next to you.’”
Sally claimed that this was an untrue allegation and said the mother of the naughty child made the false complaint.
However, ultimately Sally believes the fault lies with the airline, not the unruly passengers.
“Towards the end of the flight, the mother explained to me that her husband bought discount tickets for spring break where Delta does not allow seat selection 24 hours prior to boarding.
“Why don’t they let families sit together?
“Had I known her husband was on the flight, I would have gladly traded with him and spared myself this painful injury and hellish nightmare.”
Sally said she now has cartilage damage as a result of the repeated kicking.
“I am hurting on my chest from my sternum to my right rib cage.
“It is visible asymmetry of my rib cage. My doctor assured me cartilage will heal but be painful for the next week.”
Sally is now urging the airline to change the policy regarding seat selection for families booking last-minute discounted seats.
A Delta employee has contacted Sally to apologise for the incident and said her claim will be sent to their insurer for investigation.
The airline also mentioned that they had forwarded her thoughts on seating options for families to their leadership team for internal review.
A spokesperson told Sun Online Travel, “We regret to learn of the experience and discomfort described by this customer on a recent flight.
“We are in direct contact with this customer while we gather more information about the situation.”
Have you ever experienced a nightmare plane passenger?