Woman accused of having flu is forced off UAL Hawaii flight - H...

A 50-year-old Hawaii Kai woman and her 12-year-old daughter returned home yesterday -- a day late -- after they were forced off a flight leaving Tampa, Fla., on Monday morning because she was suspected of having the flu after asking for an airsickness bag.

[glenn paul]

Tough..too bad you were forced off your flight in the interest of protecting others.

[glenn paul]

Its about TIME people started focusing on the public at large. Not just one person who could endanger a segment of the population. Rember back in early 1980 when the gevernment had the chance to stop aids and deceided not to do so as it was an infringnment on individual rights. NOW, LOOK WHAT HAS HAPPENED. BECAUSE OF LACK OF DOING THE RIGHT THING TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC AT LARGE..AIDS IS WORLD WIDE. nO ALOHA FROM ME.

[Aunty Auwe]

glenn paul wrote:

Its about TIME people started focusing on the public at large. Not just one person who could endanger a segment of the population. Rember back in early 1980 when the gevernment had the chance to stop aids and deceided not to do so as it was an infringnment on individual rights. NOW, LOOK WHAT HAS HAPPENED. BECAUSE OF LACK OF DOING THE RIGHT THING TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC AT LARGE..AIDS IS WORLD WIDE. nO ALOHA FROM ME.

Correction:The govt. didn't do anything about the spread of HIV initially because it was mostly gay men who were dying. It had NOTHING to do w/infringing on anyone's rights.
RE:Swine Flu...Way too many people are in a panic over it. Where are you most likely to get germs?
Around a crowd. And what's the FIRST thing some of you are doing?RUNNING to a crowded vaccination center to get a shot.

[glenn paul]

Aunty Auwe wrote:

<quoted text>
Correction:The govt. didn't do anything about the spread of HIV initially because it was mostly gay men who were dying. It had NOTHING to do w/infringing on anyone's rights.
RE:Swine Flu...Way too many people are in a panic over it. Where are you most likely to get germs?
Around a crowd. And what's the FIRST thing some of you are doing?RUNNING to a crowded vaccination center to get a shot.

"Aunty Auwe" You just made my point. It was gay men and BLOOD which, go and give blood, see how many tests you take to make sure you don't have the HIV virus. No aloha from me.

[Uncle b]

Having flown last week from Hawaii to the mainland, I wished they had done something about the passenger across the aisle from me who was definitely coughing and definitely was sick. I had to put up with the passenger's coughing on the entire flight and wondered if I was going to catch what the passenger had. I felt sorry for the passenger sitting in the ajacent seat.

Then at the airport where we had to change planes, what does this passenger do? Sit in the same bench that I'm on in an empty gate area. Like couldn't that person find a seat that was away from the other passengers so they wouldn't spread their germs? Of course they were on the same connecting flight but thankfully sat away from me.

No, I didn't get sick thankfully.

[Go Figga]

Sorry but it appears that this is a two-edged situation, First, there should have been more coroborating symptoms other than someone throwing up. Did they check for a fever? A simple check with a thermometer could have answered this question. If she had a fever, and was throwing up, I'd say that the airlines had sufficient reason to deny this woman and her child on their plane. Send her instead to an infirmary or medical clinic. I realize that airline personel are not medical but at the same time, if they are going to make this kind of decision shouldn't their decision be basd on sound measures? Secondly, the woman said that she took the wrong medication and that was why she was sick. I'm sorry but if you were going to get on a plane and begin a 10 hour journey back home wouldn't you be more careful about what pills you were taking? Do you take have to take so many that you get them mixed up? A simple pill organizer would have solved this whole problem. People just have to "cool" head and concentrate a little more on what they are doing. The only part of this article that I really objected to was UAL offering to book her on a flight on American after "diagnosing" her with the flu.If this is true, that would be the "smoking gun" for her lawsuit.

[realmerv]

This article just tells fliers that they shouldn't ever ask for an air sickness bag and go to the airplane restroom prior to departure.

I don't fly United Airlines so I'm wondering if they have assigned seating. The article mentions that the passenger in question said that 2 passengers waiting nearby to take their seats were laughing at the situation. If United Airlines does have assigned seating, it questions the affected passenger's creditability.

I read the article and took it that the United Agent tried to rebook the passenger and her daughter on the next American Airline flight after they determined that the passenger didn't have the flu.

The flight attendant had a checklist of questions to ask the passenger on the airplane before determining to take her off the plane so she must have failed at least 2 of them. Not all people with swine flu have fevers so a thermometer doesn't always work to detect someone with swine flu.

[Go Figga]

realmerv wrote:

This article just tells fliers that they shouldn't ever ask for an air sickness bag and go to the airplane restroom prior to departure.
I don't fly United Airlines so I'm wondering if they have assigned seating. The article mentions that the passenger in question said that 2 passengers waiting nearby to take their seats were laughing at the situation. If United Airlines does have assigned seating, it questions the affected passenger's creditability.
I read the article and took it that the United Agent tried to rebook the passenger and her daughter on the next American Airline flight after they determined that the passenger didn't have the flu.
The flight attendant had a checklist of questions to ask the passenger on the airplane before determining to take her off the plane so she must have failed at least 2 of them. Not all people with swine flu have fevers so a thermometer doesn't always work to detect someone with swine flu.

Two things stand out about this comment. First, how did they determine that she did not have the flu. One of the primary indicators of a person with flulike symptoms is a fever. By the time that you are exhibiting symptoms of the flu, the virus is attacking your body causing infection which is registered by your body showing a fever. Secondly the people waiting appear to be standbys or overbooked. But would you want to sit in a seat just vecated by a person who possibly had the flu?

[Big John-Hawaii Kai]

I believe that the flight attendant did the right thing, however, if it's true what was said to the passenger, then it was handled inappropriately. I can recall when airline travel was "top drawer." Unfortunately now, it more like a "cattle car" environment. "Pack 'em in and move 'em out!"

[Maui Mike]

Come on... has anyone really been on a plane post 9-11... the airline industry as a whole is in the toliet... those overworked, inexperienced cabin crews are not brain surgeons... they could care less... I suspect this made their day... getting on a plane in today's world is akin to riding in a cattle car from the wild west... really what traveling as become... nothing that happens should surprise anyone, anymore.

[Timmiteo]

Same thing happened to me and I am not of Asian Pacific descent.......I sometimes 'dry sneeze' when I enter extremely air conditioned rooms, thats what happened to me, someone noticed I sneezed about 6 times in rapid succession and reported it. I was taken off the flight (AA) and subjected to a physical right in the airport, no fever, no cough, no vomitting, just a bout of sneezing. At least she got a quick flight out - I had to wait all night until a flt to Honolulu......and they gave me a $450 voucher for my next flight to Honolulu.......it still infuriated me that no one believed me when I kept telling them I was not sick, but the voucher will help ease the pain.

[Furtada]

Most airline staff are little immature power mongers, now that they are protected and can have people arrested for not following their "orders" their abuse of power has become commonplace.

[realmerv]

Go Figga wrote:

<quoted text>
Two things stand out about this comment. First, how did they determine that she did not have the flu. One of the primary indicators of a person with flulike symptoms is a fever. By the time that you are exhibiting symptoms of the flu, the virus is attacking your body causing infection which is registered by your body showing a fever. Secondly the people waiting appear to be standbys or overbooked. But would you want to sit in a seat just vecated by a person who possibly had the flu?

You don't always have to have a fever with the swine flu.

Your point about the two passengers being standbys makes sense. I guess if this was true, they may have been happy and smiling and not aware that the seats they would be occupying were for people who supposedly have the flu. I wouldn't be smiling if I were one of those two people. I'd rather catch another flight.

But is United Airlines that efficient where they could be putting two standby passengers onto the plane before kicking the two passengers off the plane? I don't think an airline would delay departure by putting the replacement passengers onto the plane before evicting the two passengers first. What if that lady pulled out a thermometer from her purse and showed that she didn't have a temperature (most people apparently didn't know that you could have swine flu without a fever and the flight attendant probably wouldn't know either)? Then the two standby passengers would have to disembark the plane causing further delay in the takeoff.

[BozoNemesis]

United Airlines personnel did the right thing and the affected passenger obviously pumped her story up to make them look bad ("two passengers waiting for my seat and they laughed at me...yeah right, they saw the future and were waiting right there!!!!). Next time she should take the proper meds like a good little libbie and wise up to the fact that there's a barf bag in the seat pocket right in front of her nose.'Nuff said...

[Peter]

And this is news because?

[Mahalo]

realmerv wrote:

This article just tells fliers that they shouldn't ever ask for an air sickness bag and go to the airplane restroom prior to departure.
I don't fly United Airlines so I'm wondering if they have assigned seating. The article mentions that the passenger in question said that 2 passengers waiting nearby to take their seats were laughing at the situation. If United Airlines does have assigned seating, it questions the affected passenger's creditability.
I read the article and took it that the United Agent tried to rebook the passenger and her daughter on the next American Airline flight after they determined that the passenger didn't have the flu.
The flight attendant had a checklist of questions to ask the passenger on the airplane before determining to take her off the plane so she must have failed at least 2 of them. Not all people with swine flu have fevers so a thermometer doesn't always work to detect someone with swine flu.

Mahalo for your post, realmerv.

It is almost always a blessing to read something from a retired State of Hawaii union member.

Pay attention to the word "almost."

I like your "more paperwork" pencil pushing approach that will consume more time and result in the killing of more trees for the making and cutting of large reams and piles such paper, so that bureacratic government unionized hacks can stack them away for another day.

The 10,000 questions approach also insures government employee "something to do" tactic also deployed by your union cohorts in the City road department, particularly the hole spotter, hole digger, shovel leaner and the team of cheerleaders standing around looking like "Men at Work."

If they look sick and act sick....they probably had something to do with a union, or the adverse health effects associated with tax payers being sick of, and with, unions.

[Felix the Leerkat]

Top Ten Other Reasons For Getting Kicked Off A Flight

10. You make $1,000,000 a year coaching football and your team just got blown out of another road game
9. You are a former Bishop Estate trustee and you walk down the aisle asking all the ladies "who wants to go to the men's room with me?"
8. You and your co-pilot got caught napping in the cockpit again
7. You are the former chairman of Hawaiian Airlines and you raked in millions for yourself while everyone else was being forced to take pay cuts
6. You stand up from your seat and proclaim "I am Spartacus!"
5. Your buddies somehow replace the inflight movie with footage of your Las Vegas bachelor party
4. While flying over Colorado you look out the window and say "hey, there's the balloon with my kid in it!"
3. The contraband snake you stuck down your pants wakes up and bites the first thing it sees
2. You get on the PA system and announce "welcome to Oceanic Flight 815 from Sydney to Los Angeles"
1. You spill "orange juice" on your pants and climb into the back seat to change

[Ric]

Protection of the general population seems right to me over the right of an individual to infect all those around her. Thanks for the consideration of the other passengers. It was the right call by the airline.

[Poi]

Flight Attendants need to have and be empowered to utilize minimal contact thermometers.

Fever, you are off the plane.

If you refuse, then the flight attendants will use the veterinarian's large animal anal thermometer.

Wonder if this lady will sue like the flying Imams did. And they won.

[haha]

Uncle b wrote:

Having flown last week from Hawaii to the mainland, I wished they had done something about the passenger across the aisle from me who was definitely coughing and definitely was sick. I had to put up with the passenger's coughing on the entire flight and wondered if I was going to catch what the passenger had. I felt sorry for the passenger sitting in the ajacent seat.
Then at the airport where we had to change planes, what does this passenger do? Sit in the same bench that I'm on in an empty gate area. Like couldn't that person find a seat that was away from the other passengers so they wouldn't spread their germs? Of course they were on the same connecting flight but thankfully sat away from me.
No, I didn't get sick thankfully.

If you weren't so damn good looking and intelligent, he wouldn't have sat so close to you.