Something
crazy happened today. An American Airlines flight was about to taxi off from DFW
Airport on its way to Chicago, when a flight attendant on board started ranting
over the loudspeaker. At first, the passengers thought that the flight
attendant had just forgotten that the PA system was on, but then they realized
that she was trying to communicate something to them. According to reports, she
made remarks about the plane crashing and referenced 9/11 and the airline’s
union issues.
Greg
Lozano, a passenger on the flight, heard her say over the loudspeaker, “Hey
pilot, I’m not going to be responsible for your crash.” Shortly after that
comment, another flight attendant attempted to take the microphone away from
her, and a scuffle ensued. The flight attendant fought back and began screaming
as the other flight attendant and some passengers wrestled her into the first
row. She struggled against them, and it took several adults to restrain her.
She continued to scream until authorities removed her from the plane. She and
the other flight attendant who took the microphone from her were each transported
to different hospitals.
The
plane went back to the gate, changed out the crew and took off for Chicago at
9:46 a.m. No passengers were harmed during the incident, and the plane arrived
safely in Chicago.
The
news media picked up on the sensationalist value of such a bizarre story and
have been reporting on it throughout the day. CNN has been airing an iReport of
the incident taken by one of the passengers. The video shows passengers crowded
around the front rows of the plane and maniacal screaming can be heard. The
flight attendant can be heard screaming, “Get off the plane!”
As reports
of the incident started surfacing today, I went to American Airlines’ newsroom
on its website to see what sort of information was being made public. I couldn’t
find anything. There wasn’t even a news release about the facts of the incident
available as of 8 p.m., almost 12 hours after it occurred. This seemed strange
to me under the circumstances. If CNN is reporting a story about something that
happened with your company, calling the sounds that the flight attendant was making “demonic” and showing video of panicked customers, shouldn’t there be
some kind of public information available? I’m no public relations veteran, but
if I worked for American Airlines, I would have immediately pooled the facts of
the situation and issued a news release for the media. You can’t just leave
such bizarre behavior unaddressed, especially in a country full of people who
are pretty paranoid, and with good reason, about the safety of air travel.
ABC
News published a statement issued by American Airlines which reads, “This
morning Flight 2332 had left the gate at DFW bound for Chicago, when an
incident occurred involving some of the cabin crew. The aircraft returned to
the gate, where it was met by Department of Public Safety officers. Two flight
attendants were taken to local hospitals for treatment. We continue to
investigate the details and circumstances and will have no further comment at
this time.
We
will ensure that the affected flight attendants receive proper care, and we
commend our other crew members for their assistance in quickly getting the
aircraft back to the gate so that customers could be re-accommodated. Our
customers were not in danger at any time.
The
cabin crew was replaced. The flight departed for Chicago at 9:46 a.m., and is
scheduled to land around noon. We apologize for any inconvenience to our
customers and we appreciate their patience and understanding."
This
is an acceptable reaction by American Airlines, but the statement is minimal
and only accessible on a few of the news outlets’ websites. When Diane Sawyer
is reporting a story about something that happened with your company entitled “Rage
on the Runway,” in which she uses wild, sensationalist language regarding the
incident, you should have more information accessible to the public and
definitely on your company’s website. The PR department should have published a
fact sheet, including a more detailed timeline of the incident, and links to
other information, such as on board emergency protocol for flight attendants
and whether or not tranquilizing materials should be administered to hysterical
individuals. Have something written and available about what could be done if
something like this were to happen midair. Make available a 24/7 call center
for potentially traumatized passengers. Delineate the steps being made to
ensure that this will never happen at your company again.
Customers
need to know that a company has customer safety as a top priority. They deserve
more than a few cold sentences about an incident that could have jeopardized
their safety. American Airlines failed to cover all their bases on this and let
the news media have a field day with a sensational incident. They should have
combated the media coverage with comprehensive information on their website.
Bad
PR.
Sources:
“Flight
attendant’s outburst delays flight,” by Mike M. Ahlers via CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/09/travel/dallas-airpot-flight-delay/index.html?hpt=hp_t3
“Attendant
outburst called ‘demonic’” by The Situation Room via CNN. Retrieved from http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t2#/video/us/2012/03/09/tsr-oleary-attendant-outburst.cnn
“Rant
on American Airlines Flight Ends With Flight Attendant in Hospital,” by Jim
Scholz, Matt Hosford and Genevieve Shaw Brown via ABC News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/flight-attendant-rant-sends-american-airlines-flight-back/story?id=15886557#.T1rCBnl62So
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