American Airlines kicked a travel blogger off a transatlantic flight in one of the most ridiculous crew power trips we’ve seen in years.

Kicked Off A Flight For Moving A Bag: The Ridiculous Removal Of A Travel Blogger From AA106

Let me first disclose that JT is a friend…and while that automatically makes me not exactly a neutral observer, he’s a man of tremendous integrity as a blogger and digital nomad…I trust him 100% and that is based on a multi-year relationship.

In what can only be described as an embarrassing overreaction, American Airlines removed AwardWallet writer JT Genter from flight AA106 from New York (JFK) to London Heathrow (LHR) after he moved an unclaimed bag, which turned out to belong to a flight attendant, to make space in the overhead bin for his own. Here’s what happened:

• JT and his wife Katie boarded AA106 and found the overhead bins above their Premium Economy seats full.
• He opened a bin containing two large roller bags lying flat. He turned them upright to make room, but one bag still wouldn’t fit.
• No flight attendants were in the area at the time. Genter asked passengers seated nearby if the bag belonged to them. No one claimed it.
• He took the unclaimed bag a few rows back into economy and placed it in a bin that had room.
• As flight attendants closed up overhead bins before takeoff, the bag Genter had placed in economy class stuck out, making it impossible to close the bin. A non-rev passenger pointed out that it had been moved by Genter.
• A flight attendnat approached Genter and asked him if he had moved the back. He said yes…this was his first indication it was a flight attendant’s bag.
• Genter exaplined he “assumed” it was a coach passenger’s bag because no one had claimed it and there were no markings suggesting it was a crewmemeber’s bag.
• The flight attendnat admnoished him, “It’s first come, first served. We don’t have a specific place. We can put it anywhere we want to.”
• She then told him to move his bag to business class. He pushed back, saying the bag contained electronics and medication and the crew bag should be moved instead.
• She disappeared to business class and returned with a male colleague; the owner of the bag.
• The male flight attendant confronted Genter and demanded to know why he touched the bag. Genter explained what happened (just before this interaction he had turned on his audio recorder).

Female FA: “Is this your bag? Is this suitcase yours?”
Male FA: “Did somebody move my suitcase?”
Me: “I asked if anyone here had this bag… This is for premium economy only, is that correct?”
Male FA: “You moved my suitcase. You touched my suitcase and you moved it.”

• The male flight attendant leaned in and said, “You moved my suitcase. You touched my suitcase and you moved it.”
• Per Genter, he flight attendant then “leaned and wagged a finger inches from my face as he barked at me: ‘You’re outta here.’”
• The purser then approached and a discussion ensued.
• Genter attempted to clarify that he didn’t know it was a crewmember’s bag. The purser dismissed his explanation and walked off:

Male FA: “No, you know what, Tim. I’ll take it up front.”
Purser: “Put it in my closet.”
Male FA: “But I want you to go to bat for me.”
Purser: “You never… you never… you never move anybody’s bag. Ever.”
Male FA: “You touched my bag!”
Purser: “You moved a bag. You did something wrong. You know what? I’m going to go tell the captain.”
Male FA: “I want him outta here.”

• Around 20 minutes later, a gate supervisor boarded and said she didn’t think Genter should be removed, noting it appeared to be an honest mistake.
• The crew insisted they would not fly with Genter onboard. The supervisor said the captain deferred to the crew.
• Genter was asked to deplane and did so without protest. His carry-on was still onboard and he was not allowed to retrieve it (a member of ground staff did).
• His checked bag flew without him to London, a likely violation of international baggage regulations.
• He was rebooked on the next flight to London. The same supervisor apologized and offered to upgrade him to Flagship First (in a seat that did not recline), but Genter remained in Premium Economy.
• The supervisor listened to JT’s recording of the confrontation and confirmed it matched his account.
• American Airlines customer relations later reached out and offered 5,000 AAdvantage miles and a vague apology for the crew’s behavior.

Please accept our sincerest apologies for the experience you had when you were removed from the flight due to a minor misunderstanding. Given that we have standards regarding the customer service our team provides, I can understand your disappointment. That’s never the kind of experience we want you to have when traveling with us, and I am very sorry that we didn’t provide you with a better customer service experience this time around. Please know that we take your feedback very seriously, and we appreciate the time you’ve taken to share your comments with us.

5,000 miles is laughably paltry…

My Thoughts

There are legitimate reasons to remove passengers. This wasn’t a legitimate reason.

Yes, Genter should not have touched the bag. I would never touch someone else’s bag and I agree with the female flight attendant that the overhead bin space is shared and no one has claim to specific space. I cannot defend Genter there. If you think a bag is out of place, ask a flight attendant…don’t move it yourself.

And if you’re asked to move your bag to business class, even if you think it’s stupid, you do it.

But I cannot help to think about my recent AA flight from JFK (maybe the same nasty male FA!) and what an overreaction this was. His removal was not justified! The lack of de-escalation is pathetic. I find it shameful that a flight attendant would hold the flight hostage by declaring he would not travel if Genter was allowed back onboard. This should not have been allowed, even if it was the pragmatic solution (removing Genter instead of removing the flight attendant and then delaying or cancelling the flight).

It reminds me of when I was thrown off a United flight from Newark for taking a picture of my seat...a ridiculous overreaction in which the feeble-minded captain was unwilling to question the stupidity of his flight attendants.

> Read More: Thrown Off a United Airlines Flight for Taking Pictures!

I’d like to hear the FA’s side of the story, but this sounds like a flight attendant who does not belong in a customer-facing role. And Genter has this all recorded…it’s just amazing to me that a flight attendant would be so vindictive over a passenger who would dare to push back on what appears to be an honest mistake.

CONCLUSION

A travel blogger was kicked off an American Airlines flight in a dispute over touching (as if he touched the private parts of the flight attendant). This was a dramatic overreaction and I’d hate to fly with that flight attendant.

What do you think about this matter?

image: JT Genter / used by permission