XPost: rec.travel.air, alt.travel   
   From: dlombard@base-ix.com   
      
   None wrote:   
      
   > Yes, rumor has it (and it's a damn good rumor) that AA Flight Attendants   
   > routinely use the "appears to be intoxicated" FAA rule to deplane passengers   
   > they don't like.  The passenger doesn't actually have to be intoxicated, the   
   > flight attendant only has to say that the passenger "appears to be   
   > intoxicated" and that's all it takes, the passenger gets tossed off the   
   > plane, and the flight attendant doesn't have to deal with a passenger they   
   > don't like.   
      
   I think it would take being a serious asshole before an FA would even care to   
   notice a passenger enough to resort to such an extreme measure, sir.  If FAs   
   were booting pax off flights at the drop of a hat, for any reason at all (ie.,   
   an _actual_ power trip), then there'd really be a problem.  And, management   
   will have done something about it.  The AA FAs I've talked to have made it   
   perfectly clear that management will not tolerate any inappropriate action   
   towards paying customers when they have clear evidence of it being the case.   
      
   But this is what you do:  You take names, you take numbers (dates, times,   
   flight numbers, willing witnesses phone numbers) and when it's over, you make   
   phone calls and send letters/email to the appropriate people, not just at AA   
   but if it's a real abuse of power, to the FAA, NTSB, the airport, etc.  Not   
   bitch, whine and moan, carrying on about never flying that airline again.  As a   
   business, they will bend-over backwards to do everything to make it up to a   
   customer to retain their business.  But by the same token, they also have no   
   interest in attempting to keep around a sniveling, whining cry-baby who's using   
   a situation where they were justifiably removed from the flight to try and goat   
   sympathy points out of bystanders.   
      
   "Damn good" is hardly an empiracle basis on which to support a rumor, sir.  I   
   suggest you back up these outlandish claims with something real, such as   
   evidence there has been an investigation into such rampid abuse of power.   
      
      
   --   
   Dairenn Lombard    
   Los Angeles, CA - http://www.base-ix.com/~dlombard/   
   Base-IX Communications, coming 2004   
      
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