The passenger was THREE years old, and plane was still on the damn GROUND.


rocktivity

How about some training in "Don't be fucking stupid, Stupid."

j/k! Although I did drink heavily for a time, I never wet myself except for spilled beer.

... I wish more airlines had Sunny Delight as a drink option for kids. Of course, that means I'd be asking for some for me....

For making the kind of "humane exception" to general practices on this point(not only for a child, but also for example, for an adult passenger with irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn's disease)that this FA was afraid to make out of fear of retribution.

And the airlines should begin to take some steps to reduce the stress FA's are subjected to in their work.

The FA's choices in this case were deeply influenced by factors outside of her control but within the control of her employer.

The family deserved the apology, but you can't put it all on the individual employee.

and good of you to make the point.

to passengers if a plane is delayed on the tarmac. So an employee wouldn't be punished for allowing passengers to use the restroom while the plane is parked there. Instead, the employees are now being given sensitivity training because they didn't handle the incident properly.

OP doesn't indicate at all that the FA was worried about her job. It said she was "disgruntled" (which I assume means in a bad mood for some reason) and took it upon herself to refuse the child's request to use the restroom. If that is the case, then it was the FA being jerk, not a problem with company policy or a fear of losing her job.

And do we know the FA's aren't threatened with disciplinary action or termination if they let people use the toilet in that situation?

That's what we need to find out. It's not fair to assume it's just the FA herself being personally evil.

that would be rather peculiar.

I haven't assumed that the FA's in this case were being "evil". All I am doing is pointing out that you have the right to get up and go pee or poop while the plane is stuck on the runway going nowhere, ignorant, evil, or deliberately misinformed FAs notwithstanding.

Last edited Mon Jun 16, 2014, 01:41 AM - Edit history (1)

requires that when a plane is delayed on the tarmac, restrooms must be functioning and available to the passengers.

So does JetBlue's own policy:

Accommodation during onboard ground delays

"JetBlue will provide customers experiencing an onboard ground delay with 36 channels of DIRECTV®*, food and drink, access to clean restrooms and, as necessary, medical treatment. JetBlue will not permit the aircraft to remain on the tarmac for more than three hours unless the pilot-in-command determines there is a safety or security-related reason for remaining on the tarmac or Air Traffic Control advises the pilot-in-command that returning to the gate or another disembarkation point elsewhere in order to deplane would significantly disrupt airport operations."

The airline apparently didn't properly train their employees.

That's why I said "practices", instead of FAA regs. It may be that this was the expectation that Jet Blue had of its FA's...that, FAA regulations be damned, NOBODY was going to be allowed to get up to use the toilet while the plane was waiting to take off.

What I'm trying to get people to NOT do, in looking at this, is to put it solely on the FA herself. It's in the airline's interest to have the narrative on this be "one bad apple".

would have saved a lot of trouble...

What would have saved trouble is if the airline had followed the FAA regulation.

I agree the attendant was out of line... however...

It really doesn't sound like the family flies very much. There are often large amounts of time you simply are not allowed to go.

would have been a huge insult. OF COURSE having an accident would be worse. But I don't blame the mother for not anticipating this. The airline should have followed proper procedure. They are legally required to provide access to restrooms when the plane is stuck on the tarmac and during the flight, except for times when it would be dangerous (like takeoffs, landings, and times of turbulence.) Children aren't the only people who can have urgent toilet needs.

She's just another worker in a stress-filled survival race.

That indicates the airline thinks she may need some. They also probably should do a better job in training workers about the effects of the Federal rules that were put into effect in September 2012.

I'm fairly sure the airline itself caused this incident(and there have probably been others we just didn't hear about)by pressuring the FA's to not let people use the toilets on the tarmac.

When something like this happens(and when an FA gets THAT stressed out), it has to have something to do with the work culture the airline creates.

seatbelt sign on when it doesn't have to be -- which makes many people more likely to get blood clots. It's more convenient to them to keep everyone in their seats as much as possible, so that's what they do.

wtf?

"And your seat cushion maybe used as an emergency bathroom in the event that some cranky flight attendant decides they'd rather see you crap yourself instead of using the bathroom"

It 'depends' on what brand you like.

Fine, Jetblue's doing something, but, still, there's a screw loose somewhere.

Management decisions likely caused this, and they're going to want to take people's minds off that point.

was quite strenuous in defense of the flight attendant (HEE HEE I started to type fright attendant).
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10025102117

still insists it was based on safety concerns. But I think the TV report probably included information about JetBlue's initial stance, which was that they were concerned about safety and regulations.

I'm sure they were concerned about that. But I also think the fact that, after investigation, they offered restitution and sensitivity training to the employee is the bottom line.

So to speak.



Also -- she said she thinks the mother views herself as a "special snowflake" because she is blonde.

or until someone pisses their pants.

This likely was the result of management telling FA's "don't let people use the toilet on the runway or YOU'RE TOAST!" over and over and over again.

JetBlue undoubtably treats their FA's like...well, something you'd see floating in a JetBlue toilet.

That's unheard of!

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