Delta Let A Drunk Passenger Fly from Detroit – He Punched A Woman In The Eye. Is The Airline Responsible?

A woman flying Delta from Detroit to Los Angeles was punched in the eye by another passenger. A flight attendant who witnessed the incident on Delta 908 asked the man, “Did you just punch her?”

It seems that the man “had been vaping, touching other passengers in appropriately” and causing a disturb. He appeared drunk. Crew escorted him to the back of the aircraft, where he was detained. Another passenger monitored hi in the back row to keep him from harming anyone else for the remainder of the flight.

The woman who was hit reported being shaken and with a sore eye. Police met the aircraft and she provided a statement about the incident. However, the Delta agent who met the flight “wasn’t even sympathetic.”

They told me they were aware this guy had caused trouble before the flight and that he probably should never have been allowed to board in the first place. Yet, somehow, Delta still let him on the plane.

After the flight, the woman reached out to Delta customer service. She was offered 4,000 SkyMiles as a goodwill gesture. She feels she should have been given greater compensation or a refund, but according to her, “Delta says they don’t get involved in conflicts between passengers.”

What do you think? On the one hand, while the customer wants compensation from Delta, Delta isn’t the one who assaulted them. It was a passenger. Shouldn’t they seek compensation from that passenger instead? On the other hand,

  • They purchased a ticket on Delta for safe and reliable transportation. It turned out not to be safe. They were assaulted! They didn’t get the product they purchased.

  • Delta had some obligation to screen passengers for fitness and safety, and didn’t catch this problem passenger. Do they have some liability for this?

I don’t think we have enough to really pin the blame here on Delta, but their customer wasn’t safe on their plane and 4,000 SkyMiles is an insult, since the currency is so low value and the number itself is so de minimis. They should do better here.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. I know that FAs are not allowed to serve pax who are already drunk when ordering alcohol. Is there no responsibility to deny boarding to drunk pax?

  2. Unfortunately a lawsuit is the only way to get Delta to live up to their obligations, assuming that this story is true. Let’s hope the injured party has retained a mean one.

  3. There are SEVERAL things wrong here.

    1) Presuming (and I know, there is no proof) the passenger in question did indeed show signs of inebriation, a) he should not have been allowed to board, and b) he certainly should not have been served any additional alcohol.

    2) The woman in question should have pressed charges. There is a question as to jurisdiction, if the District Attorney wants to get picky…did the battery occur in California airspace? Michigan? Utah? etc., etc.

    3) Why was another passenger “assigned” to keep an eye on the individual who *clearly* was causing trouble on board? Doesn’t DL stock a few zip-ties on board for just such an event? Delta should compensate the passenger that was “drafted” into helping out the crew.

    4) The 4,000 miles is a f*****g joke, and downright insulting. Delta should do better, much better. If the woman wanted to get assaulted, she’d fly Spirit.

    5) The unsympathetic agent that met the flight needs to be “re-trained” in a) Customer Service, and b) what to do in the event of disruptive passengers — especially when law enforcement is called out to meet. the plane. But so should the entire flight crew, including those in the cockpit. It is the job of the Captain (and crew) to safely transport their passengers from Point A to Point B. They failed miserably.

  4. The bar that over served the person is liable and Delta would also be partially liability “if” they knew the person was drunk before the flight. Delta could also be extra-liable if they continued to serve an already drunk person. This is the reason bars and restaurants carry liquor liability insurance but Delta likely self insures for this risk.

  5. “4000 Miles”

    Heh. Typical Delta. Over Promise. Under Perform.
    When they Eff It Up Big Time, “Hey, here’s 4000 SkyPesos for your trouble”.

    If Delta knew this passenger was a risk prior to boarding? yeah, it’s DL’s responsibility to keep the drunk-and-dangerous off the damn plane.

  6. Wow 4000 miles
    normally delta only gives 500 miles per passenger assault’s
    How generous
    Proud to fly Delta (roll eyes)
    How much if you get stabbed and bleed 5000 ?

  7. I bet accepting the 4000 let’s DL off the hook for any liability (like with an insurance settlement). Always read the fine print before accepting any offer

  8. Delta is the most premium airline in the world. They are not at fault. Delta can do no wrong!

    I got 5,000 miles for bag that didn’t get on the flight. So that is worth more than being punched in the eye!

  9. How is the airline to screen every passenger for intoxication prior to boarding? I’m willing to put some money on there being more than a few people around this site (and certainly FlyerTalk) who can go on auto pilot from their local Sky Club onto a plane and into their assigned seat without arousing any suspicion (and wouldn’t be legal to drive).

    Should they have devices like ignition interlocks to make the boarding pass scan?

  10. @NedsKid

    They call it Drunk-and-Disorderly for a reason.

    DL staff admitted the pax was out of control before he boarded… So why was he boarded?

    People have been pulled off DL flights for far less than this.

  11. They told me they were aware this guy had caused trouble before the flight and that he probably should never have been allowed to board in the first place.

    Based on the above statement, Delta is culpable. The customer deserves at least a refund of her ticket.

  12. Let’s be honest. The airlines and even hotels for that matter WAY, WAY over promote alcohol. Whether it’s airlines serving bottomless drinks to passengers in certain classes of service or hotels using alcohol as a customer service recovery. Yes, many of us can handle alcohol. But a lot of us have alcohol abuse issues. Giving endless alcohol to an alcoholic is like pouring gasoline on a fire.

    I flew Delta Saturday night from Detroit to Minneapolis in first-class. My seatmate was the last passenger to board. He was drunk when he boarded. He got a last-minute pre-departure beverage that he then spilled all over himself. Once at cruising altitude, he got another drink that he downed immediately. He then went to the bathroom. I went up and told the flight attendant that he was way beyond the limit. What did she do? She kept serving him. He had 3 more cocktails before landing.

    Then today from Atlanta to Dallas, the flight attendant in first-class was giving mini-bottles to ECONOMY passengers as they passed through during boarding. He then just started pouring drinks to passengers in first. Some people had THREE pre-departure beverages. Then another two or three in-flight. Most people didn’t even ask for refills. He just kept going. I had to cut him off after one pre-departure and one in-flight, insisting to him that I was driving when I landed and couldn’t drink anymore.

  13. @Jason:

    Assault, battery and other crimes once airborne are federal, not local or state matters.

  14. Delta can’t guarantee other passengers. The plane landed safely. That is all Delta is responsible for.

  15. Many years ago I was on a flight that was nearly empty. At most 1/3 of the seats occupied. I was in my seat up front and saw this lady looking confused and asking the FA where her seat was and then she kind of was wobbling as she walked.

    I looked back and a GA was watching her and I heard her tell the FA that she has to come off the plane. I don’t think the passenger knew what was going on and got off the plane w/o any issues.

    At first I thought, what is the harm since the plane was nearly empty but if something happened, she probably wouldn’t be able to get off the plane quickly. In those days I never thought about her becoming violent.

    Although impractical, testing everyone’s blood alcohol would reduce a lot of in flight issues. Getting drunk and/or mixing it with other substances isn’t something you should do or be allowed to do.

  16. at a minimum it’s a great ‘fetcher’, actually file the suit alleging DL had the duty to protect passengers from others it knew (or should have known) were intoxicated, violent, but boarded anyway. It’s definitely not just ‘a dispute among passengers.’ Based on these facts I think a competent lawyer (who doesn’t advertise on tv or billboards, settling massive amounts of the cases super-cheap to afford the ads) would get a very favorable verdict. Worst case, it will ‘fetch’ DL’s insurance company to offer a hefty cash settlement to avoid spending $100k++ getting ready for trial. I haven’t looked, wouldn’t be surprised if there’s a Federal Law that limits airline liability. Things like that, excusing companies that donate to Campaigns, are far too common.

  17. Delta’s been dropping the ball lately. They used to be the best at getting ahead of bad PR with generous compensation. I wonder if their poor reactions to the recent IT disaster and incidents like these indicate a policy shift of some sort.

  18. I have to say, i’ve had some good flights, but overall, Delta flight attendants have been the most unprofessional I’ve experienced in the skies whether it’s over serving customers, flat-out flirting with passengers for half the flight in first (that they’re also over serving then kneeling down next to them for minutes on end to flirt), or things like assigning a passenger to guard a passenger rather than doing their own job to watch an unruly passenger.
    I just haven’t experienced that on AA or UA though I’m sure it happens as well, but it’s much more common on the Delta flights I’ve been on

  19. I couldn’t even read the entire story there were so many typos Jesus do you proof read before you post?

  20. Jason wrote, “The 4,000 miles is a f*****g joke, and downright insulting. Delta should do better, much better. If the woman wanted to get assaulted, she’d fly Spirit.”

    I agree. When a passenger on a premium airline is physically assaulted by being punched in the eye, I expect Delta Air Lines to offer at least 4,000 SkyMiles PLUS four adult beverage coupons.

  21. Gate agents are under pressure to get flights quickly boarded and out on time. Unless the gate agent happens to observe behavior at the gate, or advised by another passenger, it’s that 2 second interaction at the bp reader that’s going to determine whether someone gets on or not. Some really bad drunks can act “appropriately” when necessary for very, very short periods of time.

  22. getting punched on delta aircraft, within Delta cabin, in front of Delta crew watch, on Delta real-estate…
    4k points = good lawd!? sometimes 2+2 is 0

  23. If the flight attendants of Delta were aware that the passenger had been drinking and they let that person on board anyways,then you betcha that they are liable for that amateur mistake and if the person acted inappropriately towards other travellers & used violence as well towards a person,then you betcha that they are 100% responsible for that

  24. She needs a lawyer to fire off a demand letter. Delta is not going to want to litigate this case. The first discovery request will be for a passenger manifest. Do they really want all their passengers deposed (plus flight crew and gate agents) for a case that could probably be settled for 10 grand? Or perhaps they think they have a better shot than UA did with Dr. Dao?

    Obviously DL has no way of knowing if a passenger is a mental case when they board the plane. But they could easily spot a drunk and it sounds like their own staff will bear witness on this one.

    4k skypesos is insulting, the equivalent of $40. They probably hand out more to elites for flight delays and lost bags.

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