When you buy a ticket to travel on an airline, you’re buying a bundle of rights – to fly within a certain amount of time of your schedule, to travel safely between two points, including a (very) basic level of cleanliness.
Flying first class you may be sold a little more: a bigger seat, maybe a meal, free drinks. But today’s coach product is supposed to mean safe, reliable air travel. And it’s implied that your ticket includes not cleaning someone else’s vomit off of your personal belongings.
So what do you think of American Airlines telling a customer that when their travel includes cleaning up someone else’s vomit that all they are due in compensation is $50 towards future travel (during which time they might wind up having to do it all over again, I suppose)?
@AmericanAir allowed this intoxicated, verbally abusive woman on my flight despite removing one of her friends. Here she is calling the two men in her aisle “pu**ies” prior to puking on the floor and my bags – $50 credit is all they offered as compensation. #americanairfail pic.twitter.com/BTPl4FDBfR
— Nicole Schreib (@NicoleSchreib1) December 4, 2023
I did that and spoke to someone and that’s when I was offered the ridiculous amount of $50 compensation for the horrific flight that included wiping that woman’s vomit off my personal belongings. She was visually intoxicated and verbally obnoxious and abusive well before takeoff
— Nicole Schreib (@NicoleSchreib1) December 4, 2023
When another passenger gets sick on board, that’s not the fault of the airline although they are no longer able to deliver the product for which they’ve taken payment from other customers.
If that passenger was visibly intoxicated prior to boarding, and allowed on the aircraft anyway, that is very much on the airline. American Airlines, like many other carriers, now has just a single agent boarding domestic flights that are up to 80% full. Between taking boarding passes, policing carry on bags, and handling the rest of their duties to get a flight out on time there’s little opportunity to pay attention to just who is boarding their planes – and in what condition they are when they do so.
The passenger cleaning up vomit seems to have made out better than another six weeks ago who was refused compensation for poop in the aisle of their flight.
Had the worst experience on my recent birthday trip with @AmericanAir Someone had a poop accident in the aisle right next to me & they are refusing to compensate ! Talk about a crappy way to celebrate! #AmericanAirlines #BirthdayBlues #customerservicefail pic.twitter.com/f9hnyPSsLc
— Fete Jen (@fete_jen) October 16, 2023
Under American’s terms, customers actually aren’t promised a poop-free experience. Few may realize this!
Wow. I’m extremely loyal to American Airlines as my favorite Domestic Carrier, but why do they let things like this happen ? For those that didn’t click on the link to X/Twitter, here’s the follow-up exchange: American Airlines: “We understand how this can be upsetting. Meet us in DMs with your record locator or the reference number sent by Customer Relations.” Customer Jen Fete: “Why, so you can tell me no for a 3rd time? I’ve been asking for help via email for days and even got a call today from one of your reps just to tell me no again. What a joke. Ya’ll really do have the worst customer service”. Wow. This doesn’t reach the level of a “Dr. David Dao”, but on the Customer Relationship Ugly Scale, it’s right up there. Do better, American.
I guess it will have to be forced into the contract of carriage that cleaning up someone else’s body fluids (not of your party) requires a $100 cash award. This is definitely a job that the safety officers have been trained for and are paid for. It is also a problem that they helped create by allowing the intoxicated woman to board.
At a minimum, AA should give these passengers a complimentary couch round-trip ticket anywhere in North American.
If it was United they would respond to the complaint 2 months later then ask you to restate your complaint.
Passengers are better off under EU customer protections- cash no script..
A valuable lesson to avoid ULCCs such as Spirit, Frontier, and American. Incidents such as this are one of the reasons I support even frivolous lawsuits against U.S based airlines.
AA has argued in court that customers aren’t even entitled to seats. Never mind a vomit-free environment.
AA either allowed an intoxicated person onboard OR served them enough alcohol to get them drunk. Either way, AA has some responsibility.
This is a sterling example of how AA needs leadership with a background of providing service rather than more AmericaWest leftovers trying to squeeze every dime no matter how miserable it makes the passenger.
Ok , At what point do we make people responsible for their own actions?
Everybody wants something for free. You were in a semi-public place. Almost anyone can buy that ticket and be there and vomit or crap near you. It is not the airlines fault. You should not expect some great windfall from some unlucky event.
At what point do we have a nationwide no fly list two eliminate folks like this from traveling by air?
@Tim. I agree that she should sue the drunk lady for damages. But AA contributed to the problem one way or another (unless they’re going to contend the woman chugged 6 shots of vodka right before the boarding door closed – out of sight, of course – and then boarded the plane before her body could absorb the alcohol.
@Richard NOT a public place when you are trapped in a seat and unable to move. More like assault.
Why not start to use breathalizers to determine who is drunk + deny boarding? It would probably get rid of about 80% of the problems due to unruly passengers, planes having to divert + would improve working conditions of flight crew.
As a former business traveler in the ’90’s and early ’00’s, I am so happy I no longer fly anywhere. The devolution of the public spaces will continue and will continue to bleed over into the air.
Eventually people will quit flying. Can’t happen soon enough.