Family Threatened With Jail Time and Removal of Children After Refusing to Give Up Toddler’s Seat on Overbooked Delta Flight
A family from Huntington Beach, California had a traumatizing experience during a Delta flight when they were forced off the plane and threatened with jail time and the removal of their children from their custody. Brian and Brittany Schear were traveling back home from Maui, Hawaii with their two toddlers in April 2017 when the incident occurred.
The trouble began when the Schear family decided to send their 18-year-old son home early so that their 2-year-old could have a seat on the plane. Brian explained the situation to the ticket agent before boarding the flight. However, once they were on the plane, a Delta employee told them that the 2-year-old had to give up his seat for passengers on the standby list. When the family refused, they were threatened with jail time.
Brittany filmed the entire incident, capturing Delta workers telling Brian that they would all be kicked off the plane if they did not comply. In the video, Brian can be heard telling the airline employee that they can “remove me from the plane.” Shockingly, the airline employee responded by saying, “So this is a federal offense. You and your wife could be in jail and your kids will be in foster care.”
Despite offering a solution where Brittany could hold one of the toddlers during takeoff and then put the 1-year-old in the car seat, Brian was told that federal rules required children under 2 to stay in a parent’s lap throughout the flight. This contradicts the advice from the Federal Aviation Administration, which strongly recommends that infants be in car seats on flights.
Eventually, the Schear family was kicked off the flight and not given a refund for their tickets. When Brian asked what they should do once off the flight, the Delta crew member responded, “That’s not up to me.” The lack of assistance and support from Delta left the family feeling abandoned. “We never thought it was going to get to the point where they were actually getting us all off the flight. The bottom line is, they oversold the flight,” Brian said.
The most distressing part for Brittany was the threat of jail time and having her children taken away. “I’m not a confrontational person… and when you’re a mother and you have your 1-year-old and your 2-year-old and they threaten to take your kids away from you, I mean whether that’s possible or whether that’s, you know, against the law, it just, it made my heart drop,” she expressed.
After the incident received media attention, Delta Airlines issued a public apology to the family. They promised to refund their travel and provide additional compensation, stating that they aim to work with customers to find solutions to travel issues. The family was able to stay in a hotel and board a different flight the following day.
This incident sheds light on the behavior of big corporations, such as Delta, and the disregard they sometimes show for their customers’ well-being. Unfortunately, situations like these raise concerns about customer care and prioritizing profit over customer satisfaction.