100 high school kids kicked off flight

[Hvr]

NEW YORK (AP) -- A group of about 100 high school students travelling from New York to Atlanta were thrown off an AirTran flight, along with their chaperones, after the pilot and crew lost patience with some kids who wouldn't sit down and put away their cellphones.


Seniors from the Yeshiva of Flatbush in Brooklyn were on the flight about 6 a.m. Monday at LaGuardia Airport. AirTran's parent company, Southwest Airlines, said in a statement that flight attendants asked passengers several times to take their seats and put their mobile devices away.


The airline said that when some didn't comply, the captain repeated the request. When that didn't work either, the whole group of students was ordered to disembark for safety reasons, the airline said. The flight was delayed for about 45 minutes while the students filed out of the Boeing 737, which seats about 137 people, leaving the plane mostly empty.

Good to see proactive action being taken and lots of publicity. A few more cases like this and maybe people will start to get the message.

 

[Ausbt]

Good to see proactive action being taken and lots of publicity. A few more cases like this and maybe people will start to get the message.

I didn't realise that school groups in Oz misbehaving on flights was such an epidemic?!

 

[Hvr]

I didn't realise that school groups in Oz misbehaving on flights was such an epidemic?!

Some of us travel to other countries where the refusal to turn off electrical appliances can cause delays.

My comment was in relation to all people who refuse to turn off electrical appliances, not just school groups.

 

[markis10]

I didn't realise that school groups in Oz misbehaving on flights was such an epidemic?!

Some of us have a global view on such matters brought on by the experiences of travel!

 

[Ausbt]

My comment was in relation to all people who refuse to turn off electrical appliances, not just school groups.

My observations from the SYD-MEL & SYD-BNE 'school' runs weekly are that many fail to turn off their 'appliances'. I suspect that planes here would never get off the ground if they really enforced this.

 

[RooFlyer]

My observations from the SYD-MEL & SYD-BNE 'school' runs weekly are that many fail to turn off their 'appliances'. I suspect that planes here would never get off the ground if they really enforced this.

Good. I reckon that might get the message home.

 

[samh004]

My observations from the SYD-MEL & SYD-BNE 'school' runs weekly are that many fail to turn off their 'appliances'. I suspect that planes here would never get off the ground if they really enforced this.

That's exactly the message that needs to get through. A few delays down the track and missed appointments will get their attention and sort the issue out quickly

 

[VHOEJ]

Good on the airline for what they did - I wish more airlines would take a stand too.

 

[Anna]

Last year I was on a QF flight to OOL when the gen Y in the window seat turned on his phone as we sped down the runway in order to film the tarmac disappearing under the plane as we took off. I didn't say anything. He then did the same thing on landing. Both times the announcements to turn off electronic devices had been clear and both times he had turned his phone off but then apparently couldn't bear to miss the chance to film the ground under the plane so turned it back on again. I have no idea if it was in flight mode or not.

Am interested whether others would have said anything, either to him or the flight crew.

 

[Deleted member]

I didn't realise that school groups in Oz misbehaving on flights was such an epidemic?!

I don't think that's the point

 

[samh004]

Last year I was on a QF flight to OOL when the gen Y in the window seat turned on his phone as we sped down the runway in order to film the tarmac disappearing under the plane as we took off. I didn't say anything. He then did the same thing on landing. Both times the announcements to turn off electronic devices had been clear and both times he had turned his phone off but then apparently couldn't bear to miss the chance to film the ground under the plane so turned it back on again. I have no idea if it was in flight mode or not.

Am interested whether others would have said anything, either to him or the flight crew.

I may have suggested he buy a point and shoot camera for future recordings, as is allowed per the safety card, but probably would have avoided the conversation. Considering the amount of videos on Youtube showing landings (I know, that doesn't make it safe) that are clearly taken from a phone I'd see it as a low risk.

If he made a phone call, would probably press the call button

 

[lovestotravel]

Few months ago on a JQi (domestic F run) the passenger next to me had his phone on and was sending/receiving sms well after the door had closed and the safety demonstration had finished.

I caught the attention of an FA and told her that his phone was on, she attempted to tell him to switch it off, but all he did was turn the phone over so the screen was not visible.

Very poor by the FA's but I generally expect that from JQi crew

 

[Mrmaxwell]

I may have suggested he buy a point and shoot camera for future recordings, as is allowed per the safety card, but probably would have avoided the conversation. Considering the amount of videos on Youtube showing landings (I know, that doesn't make it safe) that are clearly taken from a phone I'd see it as a low risk.

Herein lies the issue.

People are told to put their phones/tablets into flight mode AND power off, yet electronic cameras are OK to be left on. Most people make the conclusion that since a digital camera is the same device as a smartphone in flight mode both devices are ok to be left on. I happily switch off when told as a regular flyer but it really annoys me that more and more people flout this rule and it seems more and more FAs just could not be bothered anymore enforcing.

It is a stupid rule and needs to be changed because plane usage will only get worse.

 

[samh004]

Few months ago on a JQi (domestic F run) the passenger next to me had his phone on and was sending/receiving sms well after the door had closed and the safety demonstration had finished.

I caught the attention of an FA and told her that his phone was on, she attempted to tell him to switch it off, but all he did was turn the phone over so the screen was not visible.

Very poor by the FA's but I generally expect that from JQi crew

I'm sure that would have been awkward for the rest of the flight... while safety is clearly important, having a hostile seat mate for the next hour or more isn't that good

Herein lies the issue.

People are told to put their phones/tablets into flight mode AND power off, yet electronic cameras are OK to be left on. Most people make the conclusion that since a digital camera is the same device as a smartphone in flight mode both devices are ok to be left on. I happily switch off when told as a regular flyer but it really annoys me that more and more people flout this rule and it seems more and more FAs just could not be bothered anymore enforcing.

It is a stupid rule and needs to be changed because plane usage will only get worse.

I agree, some people are naive that they don't see the difference between a camera and a smartphone, despite the safety card clearly showing the difference. It could be confusing, but if you really want to take a video/photo of the landing, it'll likely look much better on your proper camera... though they're becoming less and less I suppose.

 

[doctau]

I agree, some people are naive that they don't see the difference between a camera and a smartphone, despite the safety card clearly showing the difference.

I abide by the rules[1], but I really don't see a difference - the rules should either be "all electronic devices" or "everything with a radio transmitter enabled".

Anything more nuanced is asking for trouble because people won't understand the rules, or don't understand enough about their devices to make the correct decision. If you're allowed to have cameras on, I would assume there is an unwritten exception for cameras with WiFi support which should be off.

I've also had a debate on a plane before about my Kindle, which you can't really turn off - I can make the screen go blank, but it's not "off". Many people think GPS receivers have transmitters in them when they don't.



[1] At least I try to, there have been occasions where I turned off my phone but forgot I had my ipad (with radio still enabled) sitting in my cabin luggage. I think it's statistically likely that there will be several people per flight who have devices on whether deliberately or accidentally.

 

[codash1099]

I abide by the rules[1], ......



[1] At least I try to, there have been occasions where I turned off my phone but forgot I had my ipad (with radio still enabled) sitting in my cabin luggage. I think it's statistically likely that there will be several people per flight who have devices on whether deliberately or accidentally.

One or two on may be OK but 100 or more would not. And who would decide who is entitled to have theirs on?

With the growth in wifi cameras and other electronics, the rule needs to be "everything off" so that there are no decisions to be made. And greater efforts should be made to upgrade aircraft so that this ceases to be a problem. I have no desire to be force to carry a Box Brownie (*) to take photos during takeoff.

(*) it's a camera popular in the dim dark past of my youth. Some of you may remember it.

 

[doctau]

One or two on may be OK but 100 or more would not. And who would decide who is entitled to have theirs on?

With the growth in wifi cameras and other electronics, the rule needs to be "everything off" so that there are no decisions to be made.

Exactly. Aircraft definitely need to be able to handle it, since even if everyone is trying to disable devices people may forget. Have a Nike+iPod? I hope you remember to turn off your shoes!

Although some people may not like it, and want to argue that their devices can't affect the plane, everything-off is good because it is simple and unambiguous. If you can turn it off, do so

 

[samh004]

If you're allowed to have cameras on, I would assume there is an unwritten exception for cameras with WiFi support which should be off.

Yes, there's that Samsung camera that basically runs Android, so I'm sure that's not allowed to be used at any time, which is muddying the waters now. The simple answer would be to turn everything off, but then we're actually losing rights, because things have got complicated, instead of educating people (which is much harder) about what is and isn't OK and expecting them to do the right thing.

Exactly. Aircraft definitely need to be able to handle it, since even if everyone is trying to disable devices people may forget. Have a Nike+iPod? I hope you remember to turn off your shoes!

Although some people may not like it, and want to argue that their devices can't affect the plane, everything-off is good because it is simple and unambiguous. If you can turn it off, do so

I'll be receiving my Pebble smart watch soon... I don't think it can be turned off, and if my phone is off it'll be looking for a Bluetooth connection...

 

[codash1099]

Yes, there's that Samsung camera that basically runs Android, so I'm sure that's not allowed to be used at any time, which is muddying the waters now. The simple answer would be to turn everything off, but then we're actually losing rights, because things have got complicated, instead of educating people (which is much harder) about what is and isn't OK and expecting them to do the right thing.



I'll be receiving my Pebble smart watch soon... I don't think it can be turned off, and if my phone is off it'll be looking for a Bluetooth connection...

That could get you banned from all flights

 

[defurax]

The article says that some of the kids would not sit down, if true I think this might have been a BIG factor in the offloading of the PAX...

I have to say that more than once flying in Y on CXI have witnessed passengers getting off their seats in the initial phase of climbing just after take off, which I guess is a bit too late be kicked off the plane!