Not a good week for Continental Airlines
 

First they put 2 kids on wrong flights. (separate incidents)

Today a pilot dies mid-air. 2 co-pilots are at the controls of the B777. Expected to land anytime soon in Newark. The plane is coming in from Europe.

When it rains, it pours.....

What a sad story. It's apparently Continental 61, Brussels to Newark, scheduled to land at noon, Eastern time, about 10 minutes from when I type this.

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/contine...2.1049850.html

I think the headline of this story is unnecessarily sensationalist. It's a very sad incident.

I'm referring to the article I linked, not the thread title.

<i>I think the headline of this story is unnecessarily sensationalist.</i>,

HORROR???

The co-pilots will do fine. Both probably landed the 777 dozens of times. No horror, but our media loves sensationalism, don't they?

It is a sad story, but that's all it is.

"Not a good week for Continental Airlines"

Those were my exact words to come co-workers this morning.

Yes, the plane just landed safely.

We have neice visiting us in a couple weeks - an unaccompanied minor on CO. This hasn't helped her parents nerves any.

The kids stories have me puzzled.

The parent(s) or guardian(s) are allowed to escort the kids through security and to the gate.

I agree that CO messed up and they are paying for it with bad PR, but I blame the escorting adult(s) just as much if not more.

We don't know the whole story but I've seen many kids dropped off at the gate and only once the flight pre-boarding started and the destination was announced did the parent/guardian released the kid to the attending FA. If the parent(s) or guardian(s) took the time to be at the gate then perhaps none of this would have happened. OTOH, if the parent(s)/guardian(s) were in a hurry and just dumped the kids at the ticket counter then perhaps they should look at themselves in the "blame" mirror just as much as CO will. I believe at least one of the parents is already planning on suing based on the harsh words they used in press interviews. I also believe that any self respecting lawyer will tell them to forget about million$ and accept couple of free tickets because that's about as best it's going to get.

When my child was younger, I occasionally allowed her to fly unaccompanied (this was in the 90s and she was at least ten years old)- my recollection was that I, as the parent, was to stay with my child at the gate until she boarded, and then I was also required to remain in the airport until the flight was airborne.

Is it different now?

Having done this more times than I can remember, you can escort your kid past security and directly to the gate but not beyond. At that point they're put in the care of a FA who actually takes them down the jetway to board and seats them. Parents can't go that far.

The two incidents on CO both involved 2 flights leaving from 2 gates but which were at the end of the same jetway. So in the first case at BOS, the kids were taken down the one jetway by FAs and at the end on the left was plane to EWR (the wrong flight) and to the right was plane to CLE (the right flight). While I can see the confusion, it's still disconcerting because it certainly seems someone wasn't paying attention to the details. Under these circumstances, I don't think parents can be part of the blame.

okay, I can see the confusion with the jetway, BUT would it not be the FA flying to the chosen destination that would take "possession" of the kids?

By all accounts it should be. That's part of the "miscommunication" that hasn't been explained. I can see pax getting confused but FAs? Don't see it. It's almost as if someone didn't read the tag around the kid's neck.

"Not a good week for Continental Airlines"

This is so weird AAFF, I said those exact words to my co-workers today after hearing the morning news. Great minds.... :-)

<i>I can see pax getting confused but FAs? Don't see it. It's almost as if someone didn't read the tag around the kid's neck.</i>

but that was my original point. Sure, CO messed up, but if the parent/guardian went all the way to the gate and made sure the "correct" FA took "possession" then we would not be having this conversation... and that's why I blame them as much as I blame CO.

<b>P_M</b>

:-D

AA - what I was trying to suggest is that the FA could have made a wrong turn at the end of the jetway and the parent(s) wouldn't have been there to notice. The parents could have understood that it was correct FA which got them at the gate. As you said, we don't know all the circumstances yet. What also could have happened is that it was the gate agent which took them down the jetway (rather than the FA) and made the wrong turn. I have seen gate agents take kids on board just as often as the FAs.

I still have to disagree... :-)

If it was a FA then s/he would know immediately s/he is on the wrong plane just because the other FAs would be asking - "are you deadheading with us today?" It's not like s/he can sit down the kid, get back in the galley and start working. Wouldn't the other FAs be little puzzled?

The GA theory may be plausible but still questionable. If the GA is working the Newark flight, wouldn't s/he know which plane it is? The GA has to turn in the final report to the captain. Passenger list, total estimated weight, etc....

Not arguing, just questioning the parent/guardian angle?

It seems to me and I admit it's just a wild guess, but the parent/guardian just dropped off the kids at the ticket counter. A TA walked the kids to the gate and without double checking s/he got the kids on the wrong flights. As I said, CO is guilty as charged, a total f..k up, but the parent/guardian could have prevented this thing from happening if s/he just took the time to actually walk the kids to the gate. IMHO, they are just as guilty.

We might find out. One of them has already hired a lawyer (!).