WestJet allows stranger to walk 5-year-old girl off flight

[BigB]

This sort of thing has happened to AC in the past:

http://www.cta-otc.gc.ca/rulings-decisi ... 997_e.html

That said, WJ did pull a Big boo-boo on this one. Thank god for the safe/happy ending!

[express]

So the guy sitting next to the girl decides to take the little girl off the plane himself without talking to the flight attendents. He should be the one getting sued. He had also mentioned that the reason he took her off the plane was because no one else was coming over to do it. Well in my past experience, the UMs are usually the very last to get off, after all of the other passengers have deplaned. If the dude on the plane would have let the airline do their job, this may have not happened.

Just my 2 cents

LIKE OH MY GOD...TOTALLY! I agree though.

[Azure]

Problem solved....for the time being:

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/071217/c ... a_west_jet

[bravo papa]

My spidey senses tell me the guy who walked the girl off the plane is 100% to blame for this incident. He had NO BUSINESS walking her off the plane. If he was concerned for her safety he would have approached a FA and let them deal with it. He is the one who should be investigated and or sued. We have used this service many times for our daughter and they hang a huge tag around her neck. A person who didn't notice this tag is either blind or has some perverted intentions. No doubt the little girl saw her Dad waiting for her and the perv switched to plan B!!! Thank God everything worked out OK. I hope WestJet reinstates this service as it is one of the things that makes them the best airline in North America if not the World!!!

[Valcore]

I totally agree with you. This "good samaritan" is the root of the problem and should be charged. I can't believe this idiot wouldn't bring up his concern with the crew as he walked out the door. Something is just not right. If I was that kids father I would be outraged at the guy sneaking my daughter off the plane without telling anyone. Absoulutely unbelievable!

[tonysoprano]

I can't believe the spin you guys are putting on here.
Not everyone knows that this service is offered. Not everyone is a seasoned traveller and expert on airline services. You guys are accusing an innocent man, with no record, of being a pedophile. The girl told him her dad was waiting at arrivals baggage area, right where he brought her. He made an honest mistake in doing that but without knowing better. He actually was on TV explaining this. Not what I think a real pedophile would do. One more time, here's the more important questions guys: where were the FAs when this little girl, with a big tag around her, was walking out the plane??? Where was the arrivals agent who is supposed to take over for the in-charge?? She could have walked out on her own and ended up in more trouble. The in-charge is responsible for this one. That's how it works where I work. I'm almost certain it's how it works at WJ too. Someone has to be constantly looking after that kid. That's why people pay extra money for this service. I've been on flights where there were multiple UMs. The system works boys, it works well.
You can spin it anyway you want, bottom line, someone is guilty of neglect. That's the real crime. This is not a reflection on WJ. This is one person's mistake on the job which hopefully the company will deal with apropriately.

[Biff]

Today the paper quoted the individual as saying none of the aircrew seemed to be paying any attention to the girl, so he gathered up her toys and put on her jacket. That would explain where the big UM tag was.....underneath her jacket. This supposed "good samaritan" did a very stupid thing, especially in this day and age. Who in their right mind could possibly think it would be a good idea to escort a young girl that you don't know off of an airplane???

[Valcore]

Exactly. That guy made a HUGE mistake. Its not spin. Like I said if that guy took my daughter off the plane without telling anybody at WestJet what he was doing, he would be lying on his back in the arrivals level. I don't give a shit what this guys says on the news.

[Rebel]

Wow I can’t believe the lack of accountability of some of the folks on this site. WJ acknowledged that they screwed up and are changing their procedures. End of story..

[tonysoprano]

Yeah, they're changing their procedures alright. They are dropping the service outright.

Valcore.
I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. Let's say this guy was up to no good. I don't know how many FAs and agents are involved in the deplaning process, but this little girl wasn't getting the attention her parents were promissed and paid for. Neglegence is at the heart of this incident. Like I said, I'm normally on the employee's side, but this time it's too obvious.

[Biff]

Sorry if my last post suggested there should be no accountability on behalf of Westjet, of course there should be. There should be an investigation and procedures should be either changed or reinforced. The fact of the matter is however, that as long as people are in the equation, mistakes will occur(and not just by westjet). My point was that someone outside of Westjet facilited this occurance by doing something incredibly stupid.

[Valcore]

I do agree with you Tony that negligence is at the heart of this but I still smell a rat here. Its sad they are ending the program but with 2 incidences within the last couple of months, something had to change.

I also believe that sending your 5 year old on a plane alone is just plain dumb.

Rum and Coke time yall. I have some rapping to do.

Cheers!

[tonysoprano]

2 incidences? 2 months? Ok. Time to call it a day. You just made my point.

[invertedattitude]

If you guys looked at how the procedure is supposed to work you'd understand the guy being there or not should have made no difference.

[tonysoprano]

If you guys looked at how the procedure is supposed to work you'd understand the guy being there or not should have made no difference.

That's the point. I'm sure the company has standard industry procedures. It's up to the employee to do the job right. Oops! Games' on tonight boys. Go Sens Go!! Later.

[bravo papa]

If you guys looked at how the procedure is supposed to work you'd understand the guy being there or not should have made no difference.

I know exactly how the "procedure" works as I have used it many times for our handicapped daughter over the past 5 or 6 years. WestJet has been fantastic and very responsible. Sure someone in the WJ crew screwed up but they are after all human like the rest of us!! The guy who took her off the flight is an idiot no matter what anyone says. He had no business "helping" her. Anyone who doesn't know better than that is very suspect. If the guy would have left the girl on the plane the crew would have done their job so I think his being there did make a difference.
What really pisses me off is the fact that WJ has discontinued the service and it is families like mine who will suffer. They might never reinstate it so our daughter who has so little to look forward to now has one more door slammed in her face.

[marquisman]

I get the feeling this guy had other ideas for this poor girl and was caught by the father. Anyone in there right mind would ask , no tell a crew member that the girl needed assistance. He should be charged in my mind. That being said, I have 2 small kids myself and it should never have happened. The lead flight attendant dropped the ball. Hopefully, it never happens again.

[cmadude]

We send our daughter to comox and back yearly for grandparents. Was ok, then prior to last year we paid the fee for unaccompanied minor years 2004 and 2005. Both times daughter came out alone. Even saw her through the top window overlooking the corridor in Calgary and she was left alone to walk and go down the escalators. Fortunately, she is old enough and now sending her either ac or wj depending on price.

Also, wonder why the window is covered up now. Hard to see down the gates...

[invertedattitude]

If you guys looked at how the procedure is supposed to work you'd understand the guy being there or not should have made no difference.

I know exactly how the "procedure" works as I have used it many times for our handicapped daughter over the past 5 or 6 years. WestJet has been fantastic and very responsible. Sure someone in the WJ crew screwed up but they are after all human like the rest of us!! The guy who took her off the flight is an idiot no matter what anyone says. He had no business "helping" her. Anyone who doesn't know better than that is very suspect. If the guy would have left the girl on the plane the crew would have done their job so I think his being there did make a difference.
What really pisses me off is the fact that WJ has discontinued the service and it is families like mine who will suffer. They might never reinstate it so our daughter who has so little to look forward to now has one more door slammed in her face.

I admit that what this guy should have done was approach the flight crew or gate agent, or any employee for that matter and say "Hey, is someone going to look after this girl?"

I wonder how many UM's were on that flight, there could have been multiple different ones which can make it tough on a busy gate agent. I think ceasing future UM travel bookings probably is a bit of a knee jerk reaction, but I doubt it will last for too long.

[Four1oh]

I have a tough time believing this guy's motives were completely pure. After all, how hard is it to find any crew member at the front of the plane? 2 pilots, and 2 FA's. WHY didn't this guy try to talk to a crew member before taking matters into his own hands? If he had spoken to someone to express his concern, he would have been informed that UMs get off the plane after everyone else has deplaned. Incidently, I think the procedure will be changed so that UMs will be escorted off before anyone else. Just another example of how proactive we're being in dealing with this situation. And I think it is prudent to suspend the service until it get's 'fixed'(more like 'improved'). While I won't defend the crew completely, as there has to be some blame here, but if that little girl's UM tag was hidden under her jacket, how is anyone supposed to spot it? Even our self-proclaimed hero, Rebel, wouldn't spot it.

[tonysoprano]

I hope the cops keep an eye on this guy just in case he really is sick. I think he's from the Gatineau PQ area.

[Rebel]

[quote="Four1oh"]. Incidently, I think the procedure will be changed so that UMs will be escorted off before anyone else. Just another example of how proactive we're being in dealing with this situation.

Hmm when was the last time you traveled as a passenger?

[tonysoprano]

There seems to be much emphasis on that big tag. I don't think it is a big deal. I have watched how it's done on my flights (sorry I don't have the FA manual) and at boarding the agent introduces the UM to the in-charge (these days known as the Service Director at AC, oooh!) and hands over the paperwork. The in-charge then delegates another FA(s) to keep an eye on the UM or does it herself. The kid is briefed on safety issues and is told to stay seated on arrival. The other FAs also are made aware of the situation. On deplaning, whether the kid is wearing the tag or not doesn't matter as all the FAs know the kid and have been communicating with him/her. I guess what I'm getting at is the responsability rests on the back-end crew collectively. Especially if the kid is very young. When deplaning, the FAs hand the UM over to an agent who then delivers the UM to the parent/guardian. I'm sure the procedure at WJ is very similar if not exactly the same so I find it disturbing that this kid was overlooked. Perhaps having been around a while and having made some errors in the past, my company has had time to improve on this service. None-the-less, sounds like the man who "sneaked" her out should be investigated.

[bravo papa]

There seems to be much emphasis on that big tag. I don't think it is a big deal. I have watched how it's done on my flights (sorry I don't have the FA manual) and at boarding the agent introduces the UM to the in-charge (these days known as the Service Director at AC, oooh!) and hands over the paperwork. The in-charge then delegates another FA(s) to keep an eye on the UM or does it herself. The kid is briefed on safety issues and is told to stay seated on arrival. The other FAs also are made aware of the situation. On deplaning, whether the kid is wearing the tag or not doesn't matter as all the FAs know the kid and have been communicating with him/her. I guess what I'm getting at is the responsability rests on the back-end crew collectively. Especially if the kid is very young. When deplaning, the FAs hand the UM over to an agent who then delivers the UM to the parent/guardian. I'm sure the procedure at WJ is very similar if not exactly the same so I find it disturbing that this kid was overlooked. Perhaps having been around a while and having made some errors in the past, my company has had time to improve on this service. None-the-less, sounds like the man who "sneaked" her out should be investigated.

Having used this service for our daughter numerous times with WJ this is pretty much exactly how it works. If the perv who "helped" the girl off the plane would have walked off the plane by himself the WJ crew could have and would have done their job. WJ is taking lots of bad press for an idiot who God only knows what might have happened if the Dad would have been delayed getting to the airport and was not there to get his little girl.

[tonysoprano]

BP.

The "pervert" didn't hide the little girl under his coat. I'm willing to bet she walked right by the FA(s) and agent(s) and they may have even looked at her but were not thinking or too "busy" with whatever. How many FAs are carried on a typical 737? Probably enough to keep their eye on the kid through such a critical time like that. The crew was the last line of defence in this case. Not one person upheld their responsability. Sounds like you are a loyal guest and are very happy with the service. It also sounds like you're just willing to accept that a simple human error was made and the "pervert" was the only problem. But sometimes a wake up call is required to improve things. I'm sure the lesson has been learned. Someone else has stated that the company has admitted they are at fault. I suggest you accept the situation and look forward to a resumption of this great service asap. Cheers.