An American Airlines passenger wasn’t allowed to board his flight from Austin to New York JFK because he was filming a gate agent that he thought was rude. The agent didn’t like him filming and called for a supervisor, who refused to allow him to take the flight. They deemed filming employees to violate the airline’s rules – though these are secret rules which do not appear published anywhere that customers can see them.
Police were called, the officer confirmed the passenger wasn’t breaking the law, but they still weren’t allowed to board.
Apparently the dispute began when the passenger tried to bring two bags onto the plane that the gate agent deemed carry-ons (rather than the allowable carry on bag and personal item).
- According to the passenger, the agent asked them to consolidate into one bag.
- The passenger did so, but then the bag was deemed too large to be allowed on board and they were asked to check it.
- That’s when the frustrated passenger filmed the agent, who objected.
They told the police officer they’re willing to gate check the bag, they just want to fly, and were filming so they could identify the agent they wanted to submit a complaint to the airline about. The passenger offered to delete the video if they’d be allowed to fly. However they were refused boarding, refused rebooking, and told they could request a refund.
Meanwhile, another passenger kneeling by the bag sizer at the gate says that the agent pushed her.
@liranhirschkorn @American Airlines will kick you off a flight without explanation. Ive taken 100s of flights in the last few years and never had an flying with delta. Please share. #americanairlines #kickedoffmyflight ♬ original sound – Liran Hirschkorn
Filming in public is not illegal, and there is no FAA or Department of Transportation against filming inside an airport or on board an aircraft. Filming is even permitted at TSA security checkpoints provided “the screening process is not interfered with or sensitive information is not revealed.”
However American Airlines adopted a policy in 2014 to prohibit photography of employees, they published it at the time only in their on board American Way magazine. They don’t have signage anywhere telling passengers this, and it doesn’t appear in their Contract of Carriage or on their website. The magazine that used to have this policy was eliminated two years ago.
Is a secret policy, than runs against common cultural practice where people film things with their phone at will (and even tag the airline in social media daily without being told they’ve violated any rule), even a policy at all?
Moreover, the right to film is important. David Dao would never have gotten justice after having been dragged off of a United Express flight and bloodied if there hadn’t been video of the incident. United itself initially defended Chicago Aviation Police and apologized to other passengers that they’d been inconvenienced by Dao’s behavior.
It is certainly understandable that employees don’t like to be filmed doing their jobs. They’re in public spaces, dealing with members of the public, but most people doing the filming wouldn’t like it if the roles were reversed! Still, enforcing a policy that customers aren’t on notice about seems… problematic.
(HT: Off The Beaten Points)
It seems that Allison became a police officer after her (as she claims) Harvard graduation because she has no understanding of the actual law and couldn’t actually be an attorney. This is especially true at the filming took place in Austin Texas which is both a single party consent state, and a state where you can legally film people with very few exceptions (one being you can’t film and broadcast their “intimate parts”, talking about physical body parts). It’s not “harassment” to film someone you’re talking with, especially if you think they’re being malicious, in Texas. Maybe in her communist city of NY, but I highly doubt it as I used to work there and did photography there and it’s perfectly legal to photograph random individuals as much as you want, and NY (as well as the city) is a single party consent state as well. (Though again, this didn’t even take place there). Allison sounds like a horrible cop too
@Loren
Would you take the same position if someone was videoing a person trying to rob someone? What about an adult beating a child? An airline employee berating a customer?
You seem to be taking sides rather than thinking through the issue of when a property owner/lessee should be able to prohibit photography and when should not.
As if I, or anyone else for that matter, needs yet another reason to avoid AA as a carrier. They’ve clearly proven the entire company are comprised of whiney, snowflakes who believe they are above accountabilty.
Sue. Plain and simple. And make sure you personally sue the gate agent for violating your constitutional rights. It will teach other gate agents a valuable lesson.
Yes it’s clearly written in the brochure in the seat pocket that filming airline employees is prohibited. AA is not the only carrier with this rule, United and Delta prohibit filming of employees as well. Stop the entitlement, and stop videotaping people without their consent.
@Biscuit Bunny – no, it is not written on materials in the seat pocket on American Airlines.
Nice American Airlines! Will keep this in mind when choosing whom to fly in the future.
One time I asked a question to american airlines gate agent and she was rude so I asked to see a manager and the manager said the gate agent told her I took a picture of her. I never took a picture of her but now it makes sense. She was trying to get me kicked off the flight.
Even if the policy IS in the written materials in the seat pocket how would a passenger at the gate be aware of it? Smells like BS.
Key West says laughably to sue. For what? AA does not have to do business with you! You have no constitutional right to be on their planes. The whole lot of the comments are funny as they are so misinformed. Article should point out you have no entitlement to be on THEIR plane if they decide otherwise as long as it’s not based on color, et. al.
@Key West no one violated anyone’s constitutional rights. The constitution dictates what the government can and cannot do. American Airlines is not the government.
although I don’t agree with most corporate stances companies make, I respect every business including airlines right to do business with or without whom ever they want. the consumer now a days seem to forget that. they think just because they have money every business should allow them to purchase the goods being sold. I still believe in the right to refuse service to whomever a business wants, as long as it isn’t discriminating against someone. bag size is not discrimination. person might have had better luck by not being so confrontational
Not so say is a safety issue. Recording someone without their permition just because.you are upset with the rules. Nobody would like to be recorded at their work place or.private property. They were no in public, they were recording someone in private property. What a way to manipulate the facts this article.
@Ana – “They were no in public, they were recording someone in private property”
No, they were on public property. At a shared gate, not even an exclusive-use gate. And where is American’s policy against this published anyway..?
Gary – good job. Picked up by MSN.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/american-airlines-has-a-secret-rule-passengers-wont-like/ar-AA1cI1tx
Harvard owes Alison a refund for the poor legal education received.
We have about a thousand rules that are also not published anywhere for the public to read. The point of this dispute is it’s our airline and our plane. If we say you cannot fly with us, that’s our prerogative.
Our vast experience has taught us that if someone is a problem on the ground they will likely be a problem in flight. Problems in flight usually escalate quickly and often cause disservice to other passengers and sometimes outright danger to everyone onboard.
Unfortunately, giving a little bit of power to low level, low wage employees, is putting the general public at risk of not only receiving bad service with a bad attitude, but also having that little bit of power being overabused, and therefore having totally normal people being bullied, mistreated, and direspected, by these low level employees.
Enraged passengers are not enraged for no reason. They become enraged because they are being treated badly for no reason.
While the passenger had one too many bag, he actually agreed to consolidate them and gate check the luggage.
Although the passenger complied, the gate agent still denied him boarding !!!
So he did not get to see his kids because the abusive gate agent decided so. Gate agents should not be given that type of power
I swear these airlines need to make people start watching YouTube videos or something when they purchase their tickets so they know proper etiquette.
Carry on rules.
Rules about putting your bags above your seat only.
Not putting your seat back until the first meal is served and picked up, or when the plane gets to cruising altitude and the seatbelt sign comes off.
Not dressing like you are going shopping at Walmart.
Simple things that used to be common sense.
@FF; Best Analysis of what’s been written so far, and I AGREE w/ it!
I can’t even begin to recall every incident in the last 25+ years that were I’ve also encountered this attitude of ‘alleged authority run amuck’ by ‘low level’ employees too!
It’s a huge problem and Corporate America just doesn’t get it on that score!
In fact, I’ve literally lost thousands over those years B/C of this exact same problem; plus, hardly no [Company Employee] one wants to be held accountable and responsible any longer in the Business world and we the customers suffer unjustly [all of the time!] for this type of ‘low level Employee’ harassment!!!
Further IF you choose to escalate this to the ‘low level’ management team to get satisfaction, 99% of the time you just get crappe? upon again!!!
And also, please don’t forget ‘Corporations’ are chartered [authorized] by state or federal govern-ment (s) to serve the Publics needs by provid-ing goods and services at large, within their own respective jurisdictions, etc…
So then, ‘Corporate America’ has every Legal, Public and Moral Incentive to ‘do it right,’ but they don’t
Conclusion? Potentially every ‘low level’ Employee now-a-days who’s been given just a ‘smidgen of authority’ is really been given a CYA [‘Pass’] at all costs, so then you look good and the customers look bad; and you’ve now preserved your Job another day, and you can just do it again to another person – customer too!
Oh, and by the way; after C-19, and the way AA treated infants, toddlers and their respective parents by kicking them off of the flights w/ out Refunds B/C they couldn’t wear a Mask 100% of the time, utterly disappointed and disgusted me; which ‘threw me off’ of the potential customer list for AA for life! As I’ve ‘banished them to the trash heap of FAILED Airlines’ long ago now…!!! -jbm
P.S.; great job Reporting this for us Gary Leff!
It’s not a secret. You are not allowed to film AA employees. Do so at your peril.
Oh my. It’s just like when you’re calling and talk with someone and ur m you’re obviously bothering them, any customer service number to a business, and when they don’t want to help they start yelling for you to STOP YELLING when your voice hasn’t changed,, than that aggravates me and I tell I can show you what yelling is like. Rudeness and laziness is today’s culture. The SUPERVISOR looked like she was going out,, so not surprising. Hope they get sued big time. Law is law, doesn’t matter what u like, follow the law
How about you follow the rules and we wouldn’t need to record anyone? How did we get here? Because fhe first rule was broken. You can only have ONE carry on bag. Period. If the bag needed to be checked after consolidating the two bags so be it. This constant “I’m going to record you and post to social media is juvenile at best. Grow up and follow the initial rule. Carry the appropriate size bag onto the aircraft.
Another entitled ahole trying to get his extra and oversized bags on the plane, then getting pissy with the agent and taking videos of them to try to shame them with false information. Then having their friend write this article about it and this stupid”secret policy” BS. Y’all are a bunch of losers.
A David Dao sympathizer? Dao was asked to leave the plane and didn’t comply. He pretended to not know English. Not sure if United being sued and giving him a million bucks so he can take a taxi 4 hours home is “justice.”
Not really a secret rule. It’s called “not a government company and therefore can decide who they want to fly on their planes for any reason they want”
The denial is not about legal or illegal. Airlines have complete authority over who they serve, period. Per FAA rules, the captain of a particular flight has the final say over who boards that flight, and 99% of the time we follow the recommendations of our crew and gate agents. These are complex decisions, guided by airline policy which does not have to be publicly disclosed.
@ M.J. Alverson: You wrote, “We have about a thousand rules that are also not published anywhere for the public to read. The point of this dispute is it’s our airline and our plane. If we say you cannot fly with us, that’s our prerogative.”
Thank you for admitting that your airline has approximately one thousand secret rules not publicized anywhere for the public to read. Secret policies at American Airlines and other airlines are problematic. I would not want our group travel halted and passengers stranded halfway to a destination because anybody in my group disobeyed your airline’s secret policy number 269, 623, or 942. For the benefit of the traveling public, please publish the first one-hundred secret policies here to help readers of View From The Wing stay in complete compliance with your rules.
It is simple! AA continues to provide a horrible service to its by rude, uneducated, and unprofessional employees. If they improve their customer service, they would end up with less problematic situations. AA stop blaming your passengers and start holding your employees accountable for their poor performance. Passengers, if you are not satisfied with the airline service they provided you, then stop bringing the money to them. Let them pay for their own expenses until they beg/cry to the government for financial assistance. Politicians, please stop breastfeeding this horrible companies! Let them feel the consequences of their poor choices and that way they will fix themselves.
This thread is really weird. I’m not confused by the fact that commenters OVERLOOK the passenger BREAKING airline rules to begin with BUT by the sheer level of entitlement said commenters have. If you don’t like it, fly another airline. How hard is that? Notice the passenger offered to delete the video when things started to go down hill. Hilarious. #FlySpirit ; )
I don’t get it. Someone is out in the open, CLEARLY multiple people can see and hear what is happening. They all have their own perspective and interpretation. They can tell others, whether verbally or in writing what they saw. The objects of the scene have no control over such telling, other than threat of slander or liable if untrue. But if one of the eyes and ears happen to be a camera, which by definition is truthful and accurate about what happened, ensuring an accurate retelling (barring AI or other manipulation), then THAT is deemed to have cross a line?
Sorry, AA, explain how that makes sense. Would you rather customers tell their own story, from recollection, from their viewpoint, with no opportunity for the other side?
And what if several other passengers happened to take out their phones and recorded the interaction? Would they all be denied boarding too? How would it be determined whether someone so denied boarding had in fact recorded what happened? Does the gate agent have sole discretion and power to deny boarding to whomever he/she/they want, with no recourse by the passenger?
Sorry, hard no. If the agent has a problem with their interactions with your customers being recorded, they should ensure that those interactions are in accordance with how they should treat your customers, both legally and by company policy.
Take the Bus if you don’t like the rules. So many people think there entitled to do what ever they want and treat CSAs any way they want because they bought a ticket. How about AA put HD cameras at every gate and film everyone so we get the whole story. I work at an airport and some times go up to the terminal or the jetway watching people board and deplane I’ve seen so many rude inconsiderate nasty people. All the airlines should share all this data and ban these people from EVER flying again.
So you’re not being allowed on a plane because your bag violates the carryon size limit, but you think your attempt at EXTORTION will help your case. “I’ll erase the video if you let me on.” Let us know how that worked out for you.
Generally, you can film or record anyone in a public place, except where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, say a public bathroom. But a private business can restrict filming to protect their employees privacy at work. So AA can restrict filming in a gate area.
Ban filming by everyone and let the airport authority put cameras in for security. I’m tired of being filmed by wanna be paparazzi. All airline rules must be published for easy access if it’s not then it’s not a rule. Make the rules universal at all airports to avoid confusion. Never argue with a gate agent the more you protest the harder they dig in their heels. One set of rules across the board. Oh and if you film me without my permission I will sue you without your permission
Thanks for informing me. Since American Airlines is abusing their authority to defraud passengers out of a personal item and carry-on and arbitrarily denying passengers boarding, my company will cease booking employees on American.
The policeman should have arrested the American Airlines employees who participated in the theft.
I stopped flying decades ago when airlines forgot about customer service.
Just another example of a tik tocker INSTAGATING where there was no problem, all for the sake of views. This is a sorry excuse for a world we live in these days.
There is a lot of missing context here, and that’s a big reason to objecting to being filmed or photographed. Most would only start filming once they feel they’ve been “wronged”. So the entire context of the events leading up to the situation are missing.
My biggest problem with this account of the incident is the part about filming so they could identify the agent. Huh? They agent should have been wearing a name tag. Even if not, there are ways to identify the agent in a complaint. “Agent X at Austin working gate Y Tuesday at 5pm”.
There’s only one reason to be filming: to post it and hope it goes viral so you can tell your friends “that video got 200,000 views”.
And “secret rule”? That’s just clickbait, folks. It’s no secret–it’s right there on the “Conditions of Carriage” page: “We may not let you fly (temporarily or permanently) for any reason, including if you: Are uncooperative, abusive, harassing, or show the potential to be while on board”.
“For any reason”.
How do I contact someone at American Airlines corporate security office? I had the same issue with an agent at the Charlotte, NC airport.
All gate agents should start their body cameras and post up the behavior of these amazing passengers… post up the video and THEIR names to the public- show their employers, family and friends their “kind and respectful” behavior…I mean turn about IS fair play! Some Passengers just think rules don’t apply to them only the “other” passengers – they get embarrassed when they are told otherwise- this is when they want to pull out tgeir camers and act like they are the innocent…
I used to run one of the busiest locations in the country for a major rental-car company, and I’m with Gate Agent: Film me or one of my employees, and you are 100% not getting a car.
Not because it’s illegal or against policy, but because it’s f***ing rude. Think about it this way: Customer service agents absolutely have the power to help you or make an exception if they want to. A little kindness and understanding goes a long way. Even when the agent is clearly in the wrong, you still have a better chance of a positive resolution if you keep your cool. I’ve seen it time and time again—nice people get the best customer service, in every industry.
By contrast, the fastest way to ensure that you won’t get what you want is by taking out your phone and hitting “record.” No one wants to go the extra mile for a customer who threatens to destroy their livelihood and reputation over an inconvenience. A much more effective reaction would be to smile and say something like, “It’s ok, I understand. I’m sure it’s tough having to enforce all these policies. What do you recommend as an alternative?” in a kind tone of voice. Nine times out of 10, they’re so thankful to have someone be sympathetic and nice to them for a change that they’ll figure out a solution for you. Bonus points for leaving a positive review/survey when they do!
As the adage goes, you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar. Just my two cents.
To the individuals who call these front line employees “low level”, your showing your true colors.
Front line employees don’t make the rules they have to enforce them. The passenger clearly violated the rules.
I am a front line employee who often get berated by people because I have to apply those rules.
Also as a front line employee I realize I am extremely important to the image of my employee. Someone has to do it because people like you who think of us as “ low level employees” are not going to, but it needs to be done.
Please note I am not a fan of AA but rules are rules.
This turd obviously didn’t want to get home very bad !!! Just wanted to start sh** AND you would think with all the trouble that people have been making on flights and getting kicked off, this bozo would shut his yap !!
Airlines are not public transportation. They are private companies. Filming airline personnel is strictly against their rules. It’s their plane. They can deny transportation to anyone they see fit.
I Think everyone is missing the real issue. This customer didn’t want to follow the rules .Was given a possible solution but was mad when still asked to follow the rules. why not check your back if too big .or why not check your carryon if you had two .cause you are a jerk !
First of all, this is not a criminal or constitutional issue, as AA is a private company.
That being said: when you purchase an airline ticket, you enter into a contract with the airline to provide you carriage in exchange for compensation. There are many reasons that either party can cancel this arrangement, but they should be clearly defined and available at the point of purchase – either in their terms of service or directly on the purchase page – so that you know what you’re getting. That’s how contracts work. Further complicating things is that there are FAA regulations that apply to part 121 common carriers which dictate how they must operate their business. I’m not a lawyer and am not as familiar with part 121, but it might be worth looking into.
What everyone seems to be missing is that this happens at an airport in the US. By and large, in the US, airports, especially international one, are MUNICIPAL institutions, not private corporations. That means they are GOVERNMENT property. Further, airlines are in a HIGHLY REGULATED industry, there are statutes and regulations related to air transport at almost every level of government from the Feds down. Denying passage to a confirmed ticket holder who has checked in timely can only be done in accordance with the statues and regulations AND the contract of carriage. If the “rule” is “secret” then it is not a “rule” and the airline will likely face some form of consequences (beyond a flat refund) imposed either by a regulatory agency, a judge, an arbitrator, or otherwise. The US doesn’t allow “secret” laws, they have to be published in an accessible manner for the public to be familiar with. This includes rules that corporations impose on their customers. When dealing with wholly private transactions between private parties the non-secret rules are the CONTRACT between the parties, and judges are VERY GOOD at reading, interpreting, and ENFORCING those contracts. Contract law in the US doesn’t permit for secret contract terms, if both parties weren’t aware of the rule at the time the contract was made because one party hid the rule IT IS NOT A RULE FOR THAT CONTRACT! The US is a nation of LAWS and no one, not the former president and not AA, is above the law.
Gary, I’m onboard and American Airlines flight right now, and the inflight entertainment information card says
“ The use of still and video cameras, film or digital is permitted only for recording of personal events. Two -way pagers, radios, TV sets, remote controls, commercial TV cameras, smartphone projectors and personal humidifiers may not be used at any time during a flight. Please refrain from using any voice or audio recording or transmission while on an American aircraft. Unauthorized photography or video recording of airline personnel, other customers, aircraft equipment or procedures is prohibited”
Therefore, your statement that it is not found onboard is incorrect. Now I’m not sure where else it is posted, but it is clearly written.
Really? He was filming?
Who uses a film camera, anymore…especially in a situation that should appear to be spontaneous?