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Family Stopped From Boarding 1st Class Flight With 'Disruptive' Down's Syndrome Son
BobbyNoMates
Posts: 1,195 Forum Member
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Couldn't find a thread on this, sorry if it's been posted before.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2198317/American-Airlines-refused-family-class-seats-captain-claimed-Downs-syndrome-son-disruptive.html
Anyone with an aversion to DM links can view a KTLA news report here
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2198317/American-Airlines-refused-family-class-seats-captain-claimed-Downs-syndrome-son-disruptive.html
Anyone with an aversion to DM links can view a KTLA news report here
A family have claimed they were stopped from boarding a flight because their son has Down's Syndrome and was not wanted in the first class section.
Joan and Robert Vanderhorst are threatening to sue American Airlines after they say they were victims of discrimination over their 16 year old son Bede.
The couple claim as they waited to board their flight back to their home near Los Angeles they were told by airline staff they were not allowed to take their seats.
Airline staff allegedly told them their son was disruptive and a danger to the flight crew.
But Mrs Vanderhorst told KLTA TV that she began filming her son as he waited in the departure lounge showing him sitting silently waiting to board the flight at Newark, New Jersey.
In the video, she can be heard sobbing and her husband expressing disbelief.
'He's behaving,' Mr Vanderhorst says. 'He's demonstrating he's not a problem.'
'Of course he's behaving. He's never not behaved,' his wife added.
Mrs Vanderhorst told KLTA: 'I kept saying, "Is this only because he has Down's Syndrome?"'
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Comments
However....
Bullshit! I have a son with Down Syndrome and he has misbehaved....much like any child really!
Americans are so god damned hyper-litigious. I don't even see why that's news.
Nope. Even in the DM story, these essential nuggets of info are included:
The parents are to be blamed they certainly would have known the child would have aincident while on board or boarding the aircraft and the airline should have notice this before they boarded.
If they had spoken to mediclal services before boarding its likely they would have given the child an injection to keep him from distrupting the passengers. there is no doubt the airline would have allowed them on the plane under medical supervision (with luck the child would have been asleep all through the journey and no one the wiser and it would have been better for the child too.
sounds to me the child didnot want to fly anyway and extremley frightened ..
The parents are to be blmaed for the incident
Well, it sounds like AA were within their rights to refuse travel. I also wonder if they flew first class on their outward journey without being "discriminated" against.
Indeed.
For some reason, this post disturbs me. Why should a child with Down syndrome be "injected" before they fly?
Oooh - chemical coshes for children on flights. Controversial but I like it!
So should you, it seems.
The quote provided by Hugh Jboobs does suggest that AA tried to calm the boy down, with the pilot even attempting to help. Offering them another flight doesn't sound like discrimination to me.
Pity they couldn't do that to every child on every flight !
Pfft, my son is normally one of the best behaved people onboard. He loves the whole experience and I would hate for him to be given the "BA" treatment (as in The A-Team).
A doting self-righteous couple who take the view that any inconvenience to them simply MUST be prejudice and is worthy of litigation?
I find it a little odd that the mother who saw fit to video her child sitting quietly while the parents argue with airline staff never saw fit to also video any of the situation that led to this.
Did you read more than the title:
from the article
Yes. See post #5.
And also #15. The relevant bit is repeated there.
Or it could be that the kid was simply more excited than usual after being told they were flying first class for the first time.
On balance, I think that's probably a more likely explanation than an airline enacting some policy of deliberate bigotry in order to protect the delicate sensibilities of their first class passengers.
presumably had the lad injured himself they would have also sued.
see the post
So the answer is no as they had upgraded for this flight. Funny how they were refused when they upgraded to 1st class
maybe he wasn't doing whatever it was that they felt endangered his safety on the outbound flight.
Don't you think it's likely that if AA were deliberately banning disabled people from 1st class (in order to avoid putting the fat-cats off their champagne) it might have been noticed before now?
Or are we to assume this is the first time in 80 years that such a person has had the audacity to attempt to fly 1st class?
Like flying 1st class;)