This is a true story sent through flight attendant channels. While working on a turnaround to San Francisco an American Airlines flight attendant faced a problem as the gate agent was trying to close the aircraft door for departure. One of the flight attendants working the flight in the rear galley frantically tried to get in touch with the gate agent at the front of the plane. To no avail.
She took a picture of the problem with her iPhone and ran to the front of the door where the gate agent was getting ready to step off the plane and pull the jetway.
“Wait.” she called out to the gate agent, “We have a problem.”
The gate agent asked, “What kind of problem?”
The flight attendant showed the gate agent the photo on the iPhone.
“Whoops,” the agent said, “I gotta do something.”
Eventually the gate agent moved the poor passenger in the middle seat and seated the, ahem, oversized passenger.
You’ll have to admit, this is a picture that has to be seen to be believed.
(Photo: Unknown flight attendant)
Charlie Leocha is the President of Travelers United. He has been working in Washington, DC, for the past 14 years with Congress, the Department of Transportation, and industry stakeholders on travel issues. He was the first consumer representative to the Advisory Committee for Aviation Consumer Protections appointed by the Secretary of Transportation from 2012 through 2018.
