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Spirit Airlines is sued for $75,000 after removing girl,15, from plane

am1

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Plane should have returned. But when flying cheap airlines anything can happen. I hope they win.
 

bbodb1

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There simply has to be more to this story.....but if there isn't then yes, Spirit should look to settle.
And revisit their procedures.

One question that came to my mind was this - shouldn't something in the passenger manifest indicate to Spirit personnel the parties that are traveling together?
I know the article touches on this a bit, but what would be going through the mind of the Spirit employee who removed a 15 year old from a flight???
 

Tia

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Terrible mistake taking a minor child off a flight, separating her from her family. My kids at that age wouldn't of had $ to eat much less all the other that could of happened.
 

PigsDad

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One question that came to my mind was this - shouldn't something in the passenger manifest indicate to Spirit personnel the parties that are traveling together?
Not necessarily. If the two were booked on separate itineraries, there is no way the system knows if two people happen to be related. On Spirit, the minimum age to fly unaccompanied is 15, so it is very possible the child was booked on her own itinerary. I could see this being done if one ticket was with award points and one with cash, for example.

Kurt
 

CanuckTravlr

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Unbelievable!! I understand that flights are often over-booked. That is part of the passenger's risk of not paying for seat selection. You may not get a seat on that particular flight. But I still don't understand any airline pulling someone off an aircraft, where that person has been issued a boarding pass and assigned a seat and particularly where they are actually seated on the plane. How is it possible to issue a boarding pass and a seat to someone else, for a seat that has already been assigned? It seems way too arbitrary. And in this case it was a minor child, and not one of the staff gave a xxxx! :shrug:

Is their system broken, or is it about someone with higher "status", or in-transit airline staff, being deemed more "important"? Once your seat has been formally assigned it should not be possible to remove someone, unless they are misbehaving. The regulations need to change to severely fine airlines for this type of practice or "error". And I am not talking about just a refund and a few hundred dollars of "compensation". It should be an automatic fine of several thousand dollars. It needs to really hurt the airlines to make them change their ways. It seems to happen way too often these days! :mad::mad:
 

AJCts411

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Apparently in the race to the bottom, the bar has been lowered. Over booking flights, is PURE corporate greed! All those non-refundable seats are paid for. Or is this a case of Spirts connecting flights so late, so many of the times that they over book to keep profits up?
One of their profit games, kick people off flights...the ones who do not pay ridiculous fees for checked bags and booking a seat....make an example of them for not paying up. And keep rising "extra fees"

The persons making this decision, probably based on some computer generated lottery, this time you lose, as I have seen, mini dictators exercising full control in their banana republic of spirit. Do I fly Spirt? no, My vacation time is valuable, so I don't ever leave it to these bargain basement airlines.
 

vacationhopeful

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I have flown alone since Spring, 1970 ... when I was 17yo. That flight was to a college interview ... where the college told me get the Trailways Bus on the state highway across from the airport, ride 20+ miles and show up to a dorm where I would have a bed to sleep in. I was 1000+ miles from home and the era before cell phones & GPS devices. The university did provide a ride back to the airport (after my college visit).

Yes, I did enroll and graduate from that university .... But I was a very independent person for years BEFORE I flew down to my college. I lived for 7+ weeks each of 2 summers in a Girl Scout Camp plus worked til 1AM the summer before college on the closing kitchen shift of a KFC (fed lots of State Troopers from the local barracks ... even the night they stopped in for FREE food to go up to the Rahway State Prison riot).

I basically MOVE OUT of home at age 15 .... when I was sent to live on a farm with my aunt's family to help with her 'monster' of a nonverbal 4yo boy. He is now a house parent & instructor as the Williamson School of Trades in PA. This school/junior college has FREE room, board and tuition for the entire student population for the 3 years in attendance. Founded in 1888.

The Philadelphia architect Frank Furness designed the campus buildings .. still in use today.
 

am1

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Unbelievable!! I understand that flights are often over-booked. That is part of the passenger's risk of not paying for seat selection. You may not get a seat on that particular flight. But I still don't understand any airline pulling someone off an aircraft, where that person has been issued a boarding pass and assigned a seat and particularly where they are actually seated on the plane. How is it possible to issue a boarding pass and a seat to someone else, for a seat that has already been assigned? It seems way too arbitrary. And in this case it was a minor child, and not one of the staff gave a xxxx! :shrug:

Is their system broken, or is it about someone with higher "status", or in-transit airline staff, being deemed more "important"? Once your seat has been formally assigned it should not be possible to remove someone, unless they are misbehaving. The regulations need to change to severely fine airlines for this type of practice or "error". And I am not talking about just a refund and a few hundred dollars of "compensation". It should be an automatic fine of several thousand dollars. It needs to really hurt the airlines to make them change their ways. It seems to happen way too often these days! :mad::mad:

My son and I misconnected in business going from United to ac. But on standby and then we’re issued tickets/seats. Made new arrangements on the other end and 20 minutes later called up and to the gate. Seats were taken back and put back on standby. Not sure at the original spot or the bottom. Never cleared standby. Airline refused to compensate for idb. Almost 2 years later and this week is the mediation to refuse it. They tried to brush me off every chance they could.
 

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Terrible mistake taking a minor child off a flight, separating her from her family. My kids at that age wouldn't of had $ to eat much less all the other that could of happened.

I shared this comment with my husband and we both had the same thought. "Great, something else we need to teach our kids." In the same category as "This is what you do if we get separated when getting on the train."

"And this is what you do when mommy and daddy are sitting elsewhere on the plane and the flight attendant comes and drags you off."

I always make sure my kids have plenty of emergency money when they go out by themselves, but not if we're together. Well that will have to change.
 

Talent312

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The child should be given the seat behind the adults, so that:
It would be the adult removed, or they'd see the child removed.
.
 

PigsDad

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The child should be given the seat behind the adults, so that:
It would be the adult removed, or they'd see the child removed.
.
Or better yet, the airline should listen to the kid when they say they have a parent on board! :wall:

Kurt
 

vacationhopeful

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Many 15yo LOOK like they are 20 ... and most 15yo are NOT traveling with photo ID to prove they are a MINOR.
 

PigsDad

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Many 15yo LOOK like they are 20 ... and most 15yo are NOT traveling with photo ID to prove they are a MINOR.
What's your point here? Are you saying that the airline representative should not have believed the girl that her mom was on the plane? Or not believed that she was a minor just because she couldn't show an ID to prove that? Not sure what just LOOKING like she might be 20 has anything to do with the situation.

Kurt
 

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Many 15yo LOOK like they are 20 ... and most 15yo are NOT traveling with photo ID to prove they are a MINOR.

If they are over 18 they will not get on the aircraft without an approved photo ID document. If they are between 15 and 18 I would hope the parent would ensure the minor child has some type of ID on them, whether the minor is accompanied or not, even if it is not technically required. It is just a safe practice, particularly in case something happens and the person needs to be identified and is in a situation where they cannot self-identify.
 

bbodb1

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I can see where some youth may not have an ID at 15 if they live in a state where they cannot yet drive. But at 16 and older, every youth should have an ID.
 

mbh

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Thanks for the link, Richard. It may sound unfeeling, but if you want to sit together,and seats together are available, just pay the money to select seats together.
 

jehb2

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No, No, Nope. It is not unreasonable to expect airlines to seat parents and their minor children together without charging extra fees.--I'm not referring to Basic Economy.
 
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Talent312

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If a family can't cough up the $$ for a seat selection fee, perhaps they should find alternate transportation or leave the munchkins home. <ducking>
 

Luanne

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If a family can't cough up the $$ for a seat selection fee, perhaps they should find alternate transportation or leave the munchkins home. <ducking>
Even the best laid plans can go awry. We had seats together on a United flight. Flight was cancelled. So we, and many, many other people were put on another flight. Parties flying together, including those with children, were split up.
 

bbodb1

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If a family can't cough up the $$ for a seat selection fee, perhaps they should find alternate transportation or leave the munchkins home. <ducking>

Now I won't throw anything here....... :D

But I do want to add that paying for seat selection in/at the lowest fare rates is a fairly recent development for the airlines. Asking additional money to select one's seat has NOT added anything positive to the customer travel experience - rather it serves to extract more money from the customer for the benefit of the airline.

In other words, what I'm trying to say here is this development has not improved the travel experience for the customer, but it has enhanced profitability for the airlines. IMO that is NOT the definition of an improvement.

But if I am being consistent here, the consumer is (or should be) aware of this and chooses to operate in their best interest.
 

paxsarah

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If a family can't cough up the $$ for a seat selection fee, perhaps they should find alternate transportation or leave the munchkins home. <ducking>

Most 15-year-olds are more than capable of sitting and behaving appropriately for a couple of hours separately from their parents who are on the same plane. Certainly you can't be suggesting that because the parents made that decision, that their choice of not paying to select adjoining seats justified the airline removing the minor child from the plane to spend several hours abruptly and unexpectedly alone in an airport while the parents were unreachable in the air.
 

VacationForever

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If a family can't cough up the $$ for a seat selection fee, perhaps they should find alternate transportation or leave the munchkins home. <ducking>

On a separate topic, people prioritize their spendings differently. In my previous life (at work), I came across people who were on food stamps and welfare checks who regularly paid salons to do their nails and for Starbucks drinks.

We pay for better seats when flying, whether it is business, first class or Early Bird. The last time I paid for a drink at a Starbucks was more than a year ago and I have not spent a dime for someone doing my nails in my life. I don't even pay someone to cut and color my hair anymore.
 
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