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KTLA TV in Los Angeles reports Video Shows American Airlines Flight Attendant Telling Passenger "Hit Me" After Taking Stroller From Mother

Video of an altercation on an American Airlines flight [April 21] shows an airline employee challenging a passenger to hit him after a flight attendant violently grabbed a woman's stroller [(pram)], according to eyewitnesses.

It's unclear what happened before passengers on flight 591 from San Francisco to Dallas/Ft. Worth started recording, but video shared on Facebook shows a sobbing mother clutching a young child toward the front of the plane, asking employees to give back her stroller.

According to multiple witnesses, the woman, who is from Argentina and was flying internationally, brought her stroller on the plane. When the flight attendant attempted to remove the stroller from the plane, there was an altercation which resulted in the stroller striking the woman and nearly hitting her child.

[...][Passenger and witness Olivia] Morgan said she talked to the woman about the incident. The woman said a female flight attendant told her she could look for space to store the stroller because it folds up very small, but if there was no available space, she would need to check it at the gate.

"She was looking for space when the male attendant tried to take it away from her... and she said she told him the other attendant had told her it was okay to look", [Morgan] said.

[...] In the video, a male passenger can be heard saying that he's "not going to sit here and watch this". The passenger stands up in the aisle and asks the flight crew, "What's the guy's name that did that with the stroller, I want to know the guy's name."

Moments later, a male flight attendant boards the plane, and the passenger who stood up says to him: "Hey bud, you do that to me and I'll knock you flat."

The flight attendant points his finger back at the passenger, moving toward him as he fires back, "You stay out of this!"

When the passenger jumps out of his seat, the flight attendant holds his hands out and says, "Try it. Hit me. You don't know what the story is."

[...] [After the woman refused to let the flight attendant take the stroller, he] then asked for security personnel, which "escalated" the situation, according to [passenger and witness Tom] Watson.

[...] The airline issued the following statement [1] regarding the incident:

We have seen the video and have already started an investigation to obtain the facts. What we see on this video does not reflect our values or how we care for our customers. We are deeply sorry for the pain we have caused this passenger and her family and to any other customers affected by the incident. We are making sure all of her family's needs are being met while she is in our care. After electing to take another flight, we are taking special care of her and her family and upgrading them to first class for the remainder of their international trip.

The actions of our team member captured here do not appear to reflect patience or empathy, two values necessary for customer care. In short, we are disappointed by these actions. The American team member has been removed from duty while we immediately investigate this incident.

[1] Content is behind scripts.

So, are there any airlines that fly where you want to go who have well-vetted, well-trained personnel? Extra points awarded if those have USAian employees/management.

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