August 20, 2009
Mr. Glenn F. Tilton
Chairman, President and
Chief Executive Officer
United Airlines
77 Wacker Drive
Chicago, IL 60601
Re: Flight #105 Connecting in O’Hare to Las Vegas McCarran Airport
August 19, 2009
Assigned Seat Numbers: 22E, 22D, 23E and 23D
“In the air and on the ground, online and on the telephone, our customers have the right to expect - to demand- respect, courtesy, fairness and honesty from the airline they have selected for travel.”
Dear Mr. Tilton,
I am sending this letter to you directly via Federal Express as one of your employees, identified as a supervisor, named A.C. Jackson has intimated that she will ruin the remainder of my vacation if I do not comply with her whimsical request.
I was traveling from Newark to Las Vegas on Wednesday, August 19, 2009, with my family and my handicap son’s nanny. I stood up to let the nanny take the child to the bathroom; at the same time the gentlemen in seat 23F realized we were all together and offered to change seats with me. This took all of 90 seconds. My son at the same time began to repeat potty, potty, potty. The seat belt light was on but others were moving around the plan. We were only a couple of rows from the toilet. One of the flight attendants, who chose to remain nameless, began to yell at my son and pointed at him “GO BACK TO YOUR SEAT.”
Jahi is 5 years old and has autism so he did not respond. At this point she locked the bathroom and began to yell “GO BACK TO YOUR SEAT RIGHT NOW”. I explained to the Attendant that he was autistic and did not understand. She then began to yell at me and my husband; she was abusive and condescending - you are the parents sit him down. As she continued to rant and rave, I became defensive in disbelief. My son began to cry potty, potty, potty. Eventually she unlock the door, but not before he wet himself.
My husband asked her why she locked the bathroom; no response was given. I informed the other Flight Attendant, at the rear of the aircraft, that I would like to speak to the supervisor and asked for information so that I could make a complaint, information which I never received by the way.
It appeared to me that the Flight Attendant was attempting to initiate further confrontation with me as she brushed by me as I was standing in the back talking with the other Flight Attendant. I went back to my seat and began to document the course of events, while all the chaos was fresh in my head, on my laptop. I was humiliated, upset and eventually calmed myself down and did not say anything more to the Attendant for the remaining two hours of the ride, even though she continued ranting with various passengers in my earshot.
As my family and I deplaned the police detained us and a woman who was standing nearby with a tag , identifying her as Supervisor A.C. Jackson was present. She did not look in my direction, was not interested in my side of things; the only thing that she said to me was that she had called the police and that I would have to put my complaint in writing within 40 hours or I may not be allowed to travel home on United Airlines, despite the fact that I‘d paid.
In addition, to the United Airlines supervisor and the city police, a representative from homeland security was present. They asked for my ID, which I provided and my social security number which I did not. I was told by the Las Vegas Police that I was not under arrest but I could not leave until the FBI arrived. My family and I were detained for 2.5 hours waiting for the FBI, while the Flight Attendant left with a smile on her face for me; my autistic son was confined and traumatized by the entire experience.
FBI agent, Enrico Preston who may have arrived because we were taken to another room in another part of the airport; he read me my rights and I signed a piece of paper so that we could talk as I had nothing to hide. The agent took my story, my ID and my social security number, left the room for a few minutes returned and told me that I was free to go.
Mr. Tilton, your employees (Flight Attendant and AC Jackson, supervisor) have failed miserably to treat this passenger and family with respect, despite the fact that I demanded to be respected. The Flight Attendant was not courteous nor honest. She attempted to usurp my right to fairness by embellishing on the events that happened, override my intention of filing a complaint by calling the police, homeland security and the FBI, when I just asked to speak to the supervisor, who refused to communicate with me. Two hours passed and the situation was diffused, but the vindictive, retaliatory nature of your Flight Attendant lived on.
There were no charges filed. There were no crimes committed. There were no violations sited. Only an abuse of authority, by your personnel; overkill, I think so; voicing dissatisfaction, with the entire experience has essentially ruin my vacation.
Mr. Tilton, I’d like you to consider that I informed the crew that my son had autism. They remained totally insensitive to this information. Your stewardess expected me to make him overcome his disabilities and biological needs because I am his mother. She never asked how she could help as is implied in United Airlines policy for Americans with disabilities. Had she been professional enough I could have explained that behavior has to be redirected, yes, but using the bathroom had to come first. Her actions set off a series of events that I could not control. Detaining my son for 2.5 hours with full knowledge of his disability was cruel.
I would like to know how committed United Airlines policy is for people with disabilities. I believe that your airlines is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. What do you think?
Sincerely,
TS AGBAI
4 comments:
test- coment to follow
Part 1
I think your family’s experience was both unfortunate, and preventable. However, looking toward a higher good, can provides you with an opportunity to affect constructive change on many levels…change that can benefit your child, your family, and others as well. In essence, there are some decisions you must make. Do you want to win the battle, or the war. What is most important, being right and being acknowledged for that, or, being a change agent and known as a person instrumental in getting bills passed and laws enacted that protect families and children like yours. Think of Kendra’s Law, The Ryan White Act, the Amber Alert. They all resulted from some injustice done to a person who could not advocate effectively for him/herself. What about The Jahi Act, The Jahi Transportation Law, The Jahi Disabilities and Transportation Act For Persons With Hidden Disabilities. There is always more than one interpretation of situations and experiences. .What makes the stories different? PERCEPTION and INTENTION. However, I was most interested in what appears to be central to (probable) cause(s) and effect(s) in this situation..
Part 2
Your blog gives me your interpretation of the experience. Airlines and TSA staff, law enforcement, and the FBI (if that was who they really were), will give theirs as well. At the end of the day, I am of the opinion ( based on what I have read) neither United Airlines, TSA, the ADA, nor regulatory agencies :1) has/had an administrative policy, procedure, bill, nor law in place, to protect the rights of children with autism, 2) has trained, supervised, nor monitored the behavior of appropriate staff with respect to the type of situation you describe; 3)all appear to have limited their concern and focus re: “ persons with disabilities” to issues such as, assistive devices, equipment, companions (human and animal), search, luggage, and its contents. 4) There seems to be nothing in place to accommodate the bio-psychosocial needs and realities of passengers with disabilities. As a matter of fact, all those involved in your case (since law enforcement was brought into the picture-you do have a case now) failed miserably in this department. I must say, if I’m to stay truthful however , all this brings back memories of the 60s and 70s , the FBI, COINTELPRO, the local police and the systematic violation of individuals’ human rights, those of African-Americans in particular, and people of color in general. On a lighter note(no pun intended), could your problem have arisen out of your own audacity-flying while Black. How dare you MRS. Agbai. What do you mean you don’t fit the statistical profile. You are married ? Your Black male child’s Black, oh God, African no less, father, was present and accompanying you, and had the nerve to speak up without using profanity and speaking in Ebonics? What’s wrong with you woman! By the way, did I read you were traveling with a nanny? Wait a minute missy, just who do you think you are. Maybe if you had ridden the Grayhound bus, packed some chicken wings, potato salad , collard greens, some fresh slices of white bread and some Cool Aide, you’d had a better ride. By the way even though you were sitting in the back of the plane, the back of the bus would have been more historically familiar and significant - would have brought you better results perhaps. Next time, remember your place, travel alone, send your husband and the nanny on another bus. And for
God’s sake woman, what you be doin goin to Loss Vagus, why won’t chew goin down souf anyway, where you git money to be gamblin runnin roun in vagus. I bet cho husban is a Nigerin, everybody nos where da gits day money .
Part 3
Now back to English, do you actually think your child can have the same courtesies and privileges extended to him as do Caucasian and some other children when they fly kicking you in the back all the way to your destination, yelling and screaming, throwing things, refusing to listen to their parents if they happen to say something to them. When it happened to me, I spoke to the parent(s) the attendant, and the child. In some cases, the attendant offered me another seat, suggesting I make the change, not the child, nor parent. The implication could be interpreted to mean these children have some unspoken, yet, agreed- upon privileges some others do not have. Most interestingly, I have NEVER witnessed a flight attendant get into a discussion with a Caucasian parent or companion such as the one you describe. In fact, I have never witnessed them saying anything to the parent about a child’s behavior. Instead, they bring the child cookies, nuts, soda, to try and get the child to change behavior. They make comments to the parents such as “s/he must be sleepy. Where are you coming from/going, they get restless on these trips you know. Oh, s/he’s pretty active huh? Got a good pair of lungs huh?. I understand, I’ve got a couple of little ones myself” It’s almost as though disruptive and potentially dangerous behavior is okay in some cases. I would imagine United’s personnel would focus on the safety issue…being out of your seat when the light is on. However, forcing your child to urinate on himself, which in his case with his diagnosis, could only exacerbated the situation, does not indicate to me concern for his safety. In addition, you are threatened with reprisal for trying to protect your child. Black History has many examples such as this.. I hope you follow through with your complaint and don’t stop until satisfactory changes are made. Your ability to not completely “lose it” must be commended. I’m not sure I could have not become a “woman gone wild”
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