What a mess. This boils down to a simple question. How many toddlers should one couple be allowed to bring on a plane?
A Davidson family with four kids is claiming they were kicked off a plane for having too many young children.
“I felt we were discriminated against because we had too many children in their eyes,” mother Kathy Fickes told ABC 7.
Maybe. But they were taking advantage of a loophole in airline policy at the time and they weren’t using much common sense. Given those two factors, the couple had to expect at least some turbulance.
This isn’t a 19 Kids and Counting, Duggar type family, with plenty of teenagers to help take care of the younger children. The couple’s children are all three and under, including a three-year old, twin 20-month-olds and an eight-month-old baby. Their genuis plan? They buy three tickets and one adult holds the baby, one holds one 20-month-old and the three-year-old holds the other other 20-month-old.
As the mom of a three-year-old and a 24-month-old I can assure you that last combination is virtually impossible — and an unfair request of the kids involved and the other passengers. Come on. A well-disciplined three-year-old can barely stay still for a whole flight to Chicago. A 20 month old? Impossible. When you have very small children close together, there are things you simply accept that you can’t do for a few years out of respect for the realities of the ages your children are at — and the comfort level of other members of the public around you. What they tried to do is simply inconsiderate.
Which is why it is unlikely that the airline had encountered it before. Most people have enough sense not to try something like this. Unfortunately, the airline and the FAA didn’t appear to have a clear protocol for dealing with it. Staff, who clearly hadn’t seen anyone try something like this either, apparently weren’t clear on what to do, either. To top it off, the parents missed relevant information on the U.S. Airways website.
Parents Jason and Kathy tell ABC that they followed the directions when buying three tickets on the U.S. Airways website, entering two adults and one child above 2 years old. The option for infants or kids under 2 is not included unless you look at a different part of the website and click again for a further explanation. The Fickes say they did not see that.
From there, U.S. Airways handled this terribly.
According to U.S. Airways policy posted on its web site, an infant does not need a ticket for a seat, as it can sit in an adult’s lap. However, that policy does specify one ticket-less infant per traveling adult. The Fickes said no one in security or at the gate said anything to them about needing to purchase another ticket.The Fickes made their ticket purchase at the U.S. Airways desk in Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
The real problem here may be too much reality show viewing, as in Extreme Couponing + Kate Plus Eight = total crackup. The family was clearly trying to take advantage of ambiguities in the airline’s policy to stuff two toddlers in a seat. Even so, the way they were treated by confused US Airways staff caused the situation to spiral out of control.
Kathy told NewsChannel 36 the first time she was made aware there was a problem was when a flight attendant said either she or her husband needed to move to a different seat. After complying with the request, Fickes said the attendant returned with a new issue. This time, Fickes claimed the woman told them another adult needed to hold one of their children. A stranger, sitting one row behind the family, offered to hold the child. The couple said this briefly satisfied the attendant, but then the crew decided that would not work either.
“We kept on trying to comply,” said Jason Fickes. “I don’t think they ever really gave us a clear reason.”
“I feel like we were discriminated against because we had too many young children, in their eyes,” explained Kathy Fickes. “We already held up the plane 40 or 50 minutes and we didn’t know why because we kept doing what they asked us to do.”
Fickes said they were then asked to leave.
As the family exited the plane, a first class passenger offered to purchase an extra ticket for them. The flight crew initially agreed, according to the Fickes, but then the family was told the other passenger was not allowed to do that. Kathy Fickes said she didn’t understand why, if they were in violation of rules, the children were all allowed to board without question in the first place.
“From the gates to checking in, nobody said anything. Then on the plane, 40 minutes later, being asked to leave, now not able to fly home for the holidays,” said Fickes.
She claimed a supervisor followed them off the plane to tell them they could return to their seats if they wished, but the family declined. The Fickes also said that supervisor told them a refund would be available, but said at this point, no one from U.S. Airways has returned their messages.
U.S. Airways says it wasn’t discrimination, but a matter of safety because there are only four oxygen masks per row, not enough to accomodate the family, which was trying to stuff six people in three seats.
Am I being too tough on this couple? Is it discrimination if you aren’t allowed to pack a couple of toddlers in the same seat? Or should US Airways get more “with it” and realize that large families are back in vogue and bend over backwards to accomodate them?
Whatever the case, US Airways needs to clarify its policy. I am sure the lawyers for both sides will see to that.
