Here’s the video that got grandma detained on JetBlue flight
Remember Marilyn Parver, the grandmother who was detained after she refused to delete a video she had lawfully taped on a JetBlue flight? Well, after weeks of back-and-forth with the airline, she’s released the incriminating tape.
Here it is:
On second thought, it’s not that incriminating. It’s a passenger arguing with another one about a child that is apparently misbehaving.
Passenger 1: Get the hell out of here.
Passenger 2: Excuse me!
Passenger 1: Stop!
Passenger 2: Can’t you control him?
Passenger 1: I don’t wanna control him.
I’ve seen this before. It’s nothing.
But what JetBlue sent to Parver … that’s something.
In a rambling letter to her, the airline disclosed that it does indeed have a rule against people taking photographs on planes.
JetBlue’s policy above 10,000 feet is to request passengers to discontinue videotaping or photographing, particularly the cockpit area or inflight procedures.
In light of this, our crew decided to identify the passenger who had been taking photographs and request that he/she delete the photographs.
(Curiously, JetBlue doesn’t feel bound by its own policy. It videotapes the interior of its cabins — below and above 10,000 feet.)
The letter also accused Parver of being “argumentative, condescending and belligerent” and refusing to obey the instructions of crewmembers.
Parver sent me the letter on Monday evening and denied she had acted inappropriately. She also questioned JetBlue’s “policy” on photographs, noting that passengers were not informed of this rule when they boarded.
I suggested that Parver publish the videotape online. By Tuesday morning, she had.
I was at an all-day meeting yesterday, but I noticed that my friends over at Photography is Not a Crime had an insightful post on this, which included some valid points about JetBlue’s flight attendants disregarding their own policy.
I think JetBlue could have handled this differently. Rather than sending a lengthy, defensive letter to the customer, the airline could have tried to patch things up. It’s obvious that she wasn’t taping the flight deck for nefarious purposes. Arguments between passengers such as the one she taped are pretty common these days.
The crew overreacted and the company overreacted. Its letter to Parver has just reopened old wounds.
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Comments
26 Responses to “Here’s the video that got grandma detained on JetBlue flight”
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Chris,
This for sure needs to move up on Digg :). I’ll help!
Tim
Checked out that link to Photography Is Not A Crime, the fact that JetBlue sponsered its own photography contest awhile back is just plain HILARIOUS.
JetBlue used to be my favorite airline, but the way they are handling this situation with Ms. Parver is appaling. They are either lying out of their teeth to avoid a simple apology or they are in constant violation of their own policies and possibly some Federal ones as well (ie their assertion that they attempted to showe the Flight Attendent Manual to non-secure personel as detailed on PINAC).
Let’s see…
If I am on a flight and there is an opportunity for a great photo of a beautiful sunset out of the airplane window, JebBlue has a policy that prohibits me from taking such photos?
Now I know why, no matter what the ticket price, I’ll continue to avoid their company.
No bargain is worth doing business with such an organization [using the word very loosely].
So why didn’t JETBLUE do something about the bad kid???
There are all too many parents who think their demonspawn needn’t be controlled and that they should be allowed to do anything in a public place.
JetBlue should be focusing on the source of the problem, not the reaction to it.
I was actually thinking of flying JefBlue next month, but I’m having serious second thoughts about getting onboard with them.
The customers who were inconvenienced by the kid’s poor behavior should be compenstated and the woman who doesn’t “wanna” control her kid should not be allowed to fly until the gets her head around the fact that she does not have the inalienable right to have her kid disturb other passengers.
It is not that unusual for airlines to have restrictions on photography inflight. I know that there is something in Qantas inflight magazine about it, it is mostly related to photography for commercial purposes, but it is pretty broad. So broad in fact that when I was flying from Sydney to Buenos Aires years ago (when they still flew that route) I made a point of asking permission to shoot video as we flew over the Andes. Having said that though, JetBlue did overreact, if they had said nothing, this whole thing would have blown over in a day or two, instead, here we are months later blogging about it. Talk about a public relations gaffe.
Dude, I totally agree with Bill on this. The KID is what started the whole fight in the first place, why didn’t they take care of THE KID first?
Jet Blue needs to learn a few lessons in PR.
Their behavior was shameful!!!
Jet Blue just lost my business. These people are nuts.
Not sure why JetBlue even made a stink, as this was a situation between two of their customers and had no real negative implications on the airline or its staff. The attendants seem to handle the altercation pretty well too. Maybe the airline could embrace this and offer traveling parents with a list of tips to help keep your children entertained while flying the friendly skies.
Boy…the JetBlue issues keep mounting up. See Chris’ other recent post about their promise to delayed passengers…
It has long bothered me that they are one of the only airlines that won’t let you see the available seats until AFTER you have purchased your ticket!
What, exactly, do you expect JetBlue to do to control the kid?
Talk about a great way to escalate the situation.
@Bob - yep - especially when you know that if they DID try to do something about the kid kicking the back of the seat they’d be dealing with Jesse Jackson screaming how they discipline the rainbow among us but not the unified light source from which the rainbow is refracted.
Obtuse, yes, but the video speaks for itself.
Don’t mess with their pilots either:
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/broward/story/708280.html
———
2 JetBlue pilots charged in attack on cabbie
BY KIRSTIN MAGUIRE
kmaguire@MiamiHerald.com
Two JetBlue pilots have been charged with two counts of theft and one of felony battery after allegedly attacking a Miami cab driver over a $9 fare after a ride from a Fort Lauderdale strip club to a Subway restaurant, police said.
Anyone have an on-board video of the JetBlue flight that made an emergency landing a couple of years back? The unique thing was that the passengers could watch on their seat-back TVs the live news coverage with video of their plane’s approach and possible impending deaths. It made a good SNL sketch.
(What button do you push to see this video on this page–I can’t see it?)
Guess its not a good day for jet blue…CBS TV
Passenger: JetBlue Attendant Sexually Harassed Me
Tells CBS 2 HD Employee Showed Naked Pictures Of Himself, Made Lewd Comments, Grabbed Victim’s Buttocks
http://wcbstv.com/seenat11/jetblue.flight.attendant.2.830613.html
Companies like JetBlue are indicative of the political split in this country. The airline was set up by strongly partisan Democrats (note the “Blue” in the name that came out of the “Red vs. Blue States” in the 2000 election). JetBlue was known at one point for good customer service. Everything gets old after being in business a few years including customer service.
Support businesses that provide good customer service. Doesn’t sound like JetBlue falls into that category any longer.
“Companies like JetBlue are indicative of the political split in this country. The airline was set up by strongly partisan Democrats (note the “Blue” in the name that came out of the “Red vs. Blue States” in the 2000 election)”
First, your argument is completely ridiculous. JetBlue is somehow a Democratic airline and ergo, all Democrats provide poor customer service? Are you completely insane? Second, you just pulled this garbage out of your rear end. JetBlue was named well before the 2000 election. The airline was in existence under a different name and in a different form even before then.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9401E3D9163FF936A25754C0A96F958260
There was no political slant to this blog entry whatsoever. Go away.
Bob….
What did I expect Jetblue to do about the kid? Tell the mother to control her kid - or boot the both of ‘em off.
I’ve been observiing with interest the “bad kid” thing lately. Although sometimes it is to do with illness, or some deficiency in enzymes (ADD for example), theres a lot that is due to just poor parenting. Kid goes nuts over wanting something, parent hangs in there, eventually relents, kid learns to be more stubborn, etc.
Another thing that happens is the parent develops a blindness where they don’t see how bad their own kid is.
Kicking the kid and the parent off the aircraft will either encourage the parent to be a better parent, or encourage others to fly the airline because they do what’s right.
so what’s happening to Jet Blue? They used to be such a good airline! Now every time I turn around, I read yet another negative occurance that involves Jet Blue pushing their weight around.
When Jet Blue first came onto the scene, I commended them for being the “Maverick” and bucking the system to offer passengers an alternative to cattle-call that other airlines offer. In fact, I gave them preferential status and flew them even if it was more expensive…and I didn’t even bat an eye-lash when they asked that we help them “clean the plane” by removing our trash from our seats…
Now, I am hearing that Jet Blue is charging for blankets and pillows, detaining passengers on their airlines for hours on the runways, mistreating passengers…You know what? Jet Blue is just like every other money-grubbing business out there…and I don’t think I will fly them any longer…Sorry Jet Blue…they only way I’ll fly you is if you offer the cheapest ticket to my destination…no longer are you my preferred airline
Ed
web/gadget guru
A little FYI for all of you clueless people….it is against FAA regulation for ANY customer to video tape flight attendants regardless if they are doing the safety demo, going through the aisles passing out drinks, or trying to calm down psgrs during a disagreement. This woman was not obeying orders from the inflight crew who was just doing their job & this old bag was lucky their wasn’t any FAA person on board because she would have gotten a hefty fine instead of being taken off the flight to be questioned.
I was just on a Virgin America flight, and there was a guy who kept getting up and videotaping what looked like the back of his seat (where the entertainment system is located). He kept walked back in the aisle and stopping right by my seat, and it was damn annoying. Anyway, one of the flight attendants stopped in the aisle as the guy was filming to make sure he didn’t interrupt the shot. When the guy lowered his camera, the attendant asked him what he why he was filming. I couldn’t hear all of it, but it sounded like it had something to do with the touch-screen system. I don’t really know for sure, but the attendant seemed to accept the guy’s reason and said he just had to ask any time someone did something like that.
I see people take pictures on airplanes, as well as video, all the time– especially if they have young children with them (”I NEED TO DOCUMENT BILLY’S FIRST FLIGHT!!!” *Gag*), so I’ve never been aware of any policy against video or photography on an aircraft. I can perhaps understand the policy against filming a crew member, though, so that may be why this woman got into trouble.
Just felt like sharing my recent little on-board filming experience with you. :P
This is straight from the FAA website:
“In general, you may not use any electronic device on any aircraft that is being operated under instrument flight rules (IFR), or on any commercial flight. However, the following are permitted:
Portable voice recorders
Hearing aids
Heart pacemakers
Electronic shavers
Radios and other portable electronic devices, such as computers and headphones (regular or noise cancelling), may be permitted if the operator of the aircraft determines they will not cause interference with the navigation or communication system. Please check with the crew if your device (i.e., handheld GPS unit) is not covered in the passenger briefing. Note that each airline and pilot-in-command has final authority on the operation of electronic devices onboard any aircraft at any time. ”
The last line of this rule states that the airline/pilot has final authority. Also it is a federal offense to not comply with Flight Attendant instructions. Regardless of the situation that was happening on the aircraft Ms. Parver should have complied when the Flight Attendant requested her to turn it off. As far as the letter she later received-I do believe Jetblue missed their chance to gain Ms. Parver’s loyalty back as a customer. As far as the situation with the misbehaving child-The customer should have gone straight to the flight attendant to voice her complaint-not to the Parent of the child. All that happened was an escalation in which Ms. Parver became a rubbernecking bystander. This is not meant to insult Ms. Parver as I am sure that everyone else was thinking the same things she was. Also, the Flight attendant, seeing the situation, went to deal with what they saw as an argument between 2 adults. When an argument breaks out on an airplane I would hope that the agressive situations would be dealt with asap-as some people are already nervous flyers and contention just adds to their anxiety.
>>The last line of this rule states that the airline/pilot has final authority. Also it is a federal offense to not comply with Flight Attendant instructions. Regardless of the situation that was happening on the aircraft Ms. Parver should have complied when the Flight Attendant requested her to turn it off. <<
Please correct if wrong, but it my understanding that Ms. Parver turned off the recorder when asked. What she did not comply with was the unlawful request of the flight attendant to delete the recording. In a very basic nutshell, once the recording is made it becomes Ms. Parver’s property and the flight attendant has no standing to insist on the destruction of that property.
ONCE AGAIN…. psgrs are NOT allowed to video tape flight attendants on the plane & this is an FAA regulation, it is listed in the flight attendants manual which is made up by the FAA!! In the video you can cleary see a flight attendant trying to calm the situation so regardless if this lady was video taping the argument between the two people over the child or not, since the flight attendant was also in the shot she should have not been video taping & once she was informed to turn off the camera she could have complied. Just another example why most people are just clueless a**holes…
Mo,
You’re the only clueless a$$hole.
There is no evidence that it is against FAA rules to videotape while in flight. And she had long turned off her camera when she was approached by the flight attendant, so it’s not like she refused to turn the camera off.
The issue is whether or not the flight attendant had authority to make her delete the video.
But the fact is, a police officer does not have the authority to make you delete a video without a court order.
So why would a flight attendant?
Perhaps JetBlue should spend less on marketing and more on PR or customer service training