花費近一千美元給孩子買機票,登機後竟沒有座位:可以,這很美聯航
暴力趕客、放跑湯姆丁的美聯航,又雙叒叕鬧出醜聞了... 而這一次的主角,又是亞裔。
Photo: Twitter
美聯航這家航空公司,如今很多人即使沒有乘坐過他們的航班,也能記住這個名字 -- 畢竟,近幾個月來,已經曝出好幾次大規模的負面新聞了。
Photo: Graphic Designer @perfume_chick on Twitter
雖然已經擁有了較高的“知名度”,但是近日,美聯航由於工作人員失誤,一名兩歲多的小乘客只能與母親擠在同一個座位上度過了三個半小時的航程。此舉在網絡上被曝光後,再次引發了新一輪的“抵制美聯航” (#BoycottUnitedAirlines) 網絡抗議活動。
據《華盛頓郵報》(The Washington Post)當地時間7月5日報道:
Screenshot: KITV
United Airlines has apologized to a passenger who was forced to give up her 2-year-old son’s seat and hold the child on a flight — until her leg and arm went numb.
一位乘客在乘坐美聯航航班時,被迫放棄了自己兩歲兒子的座位,全程抱着孩子,直至手臂和腿都麻木了。美聯航為此向這名乘客道歉。
Shirley Yamauchi, a middle school teacher from Hawaii, was bound for a teacher’s conference in Boston last week, she told Hawaii News Now. Her traveling companion was 27-month-old Taizo, whose ticket she said cost as much as hers — nearly $1,000.
據《夏威夷實時新聞》報道,內山雪莉(Shirley Yamauchi)是一位來自夏威夷的中學老師,上週她前往波士頓參加一次教師會議。與她一同出行的是兩歲零三個月(27個月)大的兒子Taizo,據雪莉稱,兒子的機票價格與她相同,均為近一千美元。
The first leg of Thursday’s trip — Hawaii to Houston — went fine.
週四的前半段旅程,從夏威夷到休斯頓,比較順利。
So did the layover.
中途停留期間也比較順利。
But as Yamauchi and her son sat waiting for takeoff to Boston, a man walked up with the same seat number as Taizo, the mother told ABC affiliate KITV.
但是,雪莉向ABC新聞旗下的KITV電視台表示,當她們母子坐在飛機上等待前往波士頓時,一名男子走了過來,而這名男子持有與雪莉的兒子Taizo座位號相同的登機牌。
“I told him, I bought both of these seats,” she told the station. “The flight attendant came by, shrugs and says, ‘flight’s full.’”
雪莉告訴電視台,“我告訴那名男子,我買了這兩個座位的機票。空乘人員來了,聳聳肩説‘飛機滿員了’。”
Photo: Shirley Yamauchi on Facebook
(▲Via The Washington Post 《華盛頓郵報》)
花費將近一千美元買機票的人沒有位置坐,原因是航空公司又把這個座位以75美元的價格賣給了另一位候補乘客。這種“操作”已經很令人費解了,然而更加不靠譜的是,空乘人員得知此事後竟沒有幫忙解決,於是飛機就這麼起飛了。
A United spokesman told The Washington Post that Taizo’s boarding pass had been improperly scanned and that because the toddler wasn’t logged in to the system, his seat was released to a standby passenger.
一名美聯航發言人向《華盛頓郵報》表示,由於Taizo的登機牌沒有被正確掃描,所以孩子的信息沒有被錄入系統,於是,他的座位就開放給候補乘客了。
The airline said it is trying to compensate the family for its mistake.
航空公司稱,正在嘗試通過為這家人提供賠償的方式彌補過失。
But at the time, Yamauchi said, she had only bad options.
但是雪莉表示,當時她只有一些很糟糕的選擇。
Screenshot: KITV
“I was told if we refund you anything right now, we’re going to have to cancel the rest of your flight arrangements to Hawaii,” she told KITV.
雪莉告訴KITV,“當時他們(美聯航)告訴我,可以現在給我全額退款,但是我去夏威夷的所有航班安排也會被取消。”
She told Hawaii News Now that she considered protesting, but was scared to make a scene. “I started remembering all those incidents with United on the news. The violence. Teeth being knocked out,” she said.
她還對《夏威夷實時新聞》表示,她曾經考慮過抗議,但是聯想到一個場景,就感到害怕了。“我開始回想起新聞報道過的美聯航“事蹟”。暴力、牙齒都打掉了什麼的…”
(▲Via The Washington Post 《華盛頓郵報》)
一位母親獨自帶着年幼的孩子出行,遇事選擇息事寧人的做法,也是人之常情。不過,報道中的這位母親似乎考慮的更多的是她們母子的亞裔面孔。
這時就凸顯出美聯航的“聲名遠揚”了:
In April, a passenger named David Dao refused to give up his seat on a United flight. He was dragged, battered and bloody, down the plane aisle by police — an incident that scandalized the airline for weeks, until it settled the passenger’s lawsuit.
4月時,一位名叫陶大衞的乘客在乘坐美聯航航班時不願放棄自己的座位,於是他被警察毆打、拖下飛機,場面血腥可怕。這次事件使得航空公司在長達幾周的時間裏名譽掃地,直到那位乘客的訴訟得到妥善處理。
Photo: Twitter
Dao’s experience was among the worst in a long string of passenger horror stories on multiple airlines.
陶大衞的經歷可以説是多家航空公司的乘客遭受的恐怖乘機體驗中最糟糕的一次了。
In the last few months alone, a pilot’s rant before takeoff caused her passengers to flee the plane; a man in a wheelchair was forced to crawl up a staircase using his hands; and a beloved giant rabbit apparently died in midair.
在過去的幾個月裏,(美聯航)飛行員在航班起飛前的“咆哮”嚇得乘客們紛紛逃離;一名需要乘坐輪椅的男性乘客被迫用雙手爬上樓梯;一隻主人心愛的巨兔在飛行過程中死亡。
Simon the giant rabbit. File photo: Daily Mail
(▲Via The Washington Post 《華盛頓郵報》)
腦海中浮現出種種可怕的場景之後... 這位母親選擇了放棄抵抗,讓出了孩子的座位,儘管這種做法存在極大的安全隱患。
“I didn’t want those things to happen to me,” Yamauchi told Hawaii News Now, referring to Dao’s dragging.
雪莉告訴《夏威夷實時新聞》,一想起陶大衞被拖下飛機那件事,“我不希望這些事情發生在我身上。”
So the man with a standby ticket sat down in Taizo’s seat, and the child crammed in with his mom.
所以後來的那名男子坐在了雪莉兒子Taizo的座位上,而孩子只能跟媽媽擠一個座位。
That was against the safety advice of the Federal Aviation Administration, which strongly urges a separate seat for children; but Yamauchi said she had no better options.
這樣做並不符合美國聯邦航空管理局強烈要求小孩應該有單獨座位的安全建議,但是雪莉表示她沒有其他更好的選擇了。
Photo: Shirley Yamauchi on Facebook
“He’s 25 pounds; he’s half my height,” she told Hawaii News Now. She sent the station pictures of her son wedged in various positions on her lap, a container of milk balanced on the arm rest above him, somehow managing to sleep.
雪莉告訴《夏威夷實時新聞》,“他已經有25磅(約合11.34千克)重了,身高也有我的一半了。”她拿出了一些照片,照片中她兒子在她的腿上擺出各種姿勢,上方的扶手上放着裝牛奶的容器,孩子好像在想辦法睡覺。
Meanwhile, Yamauchi said, her arm was smashed between the plane wall and her son for most of the three-and-a-half hour flight to Boston.
而且,雪莉還稱,她的手臂在飛往波士頓的三個半小時航程中,一直夾在機艙牆面和她的兒子之間。
Photo: Shirley Yamauchi on Facebook
“At the every end, he was standing up between my knees,” she told KITV.
雪莉向KITV表示, “到最後,他都站在我膝蓋之間了。”
(▲Via The Washington Post 《華盛頓郵報》)
從雪莉上傳的照片來看,她和她兒子乘坐的這趟航班的座位並不是很寬敞,而孩子雖然才兩歲多,實際上看起來也不小了。
拋開這樣擠在同一個座位上給兩個人帶來的不適感,讓孩子就這樣在沒有辦法固定、系不了安全帶的情況下飛完全程,作為一個旁觀者都覺得太不安全。三個半小時的飛行時間不算很短了,途中如果遇到氣流發生顛簸一類的情況,開始播放“請大家坐穩扶好、保持安全帶繫緊”的機艙廣播時,孩子該怎麼辦?然而,不管是當時負責的空乘人員,還是事後出面的美聯航發言人,都沒有給出答案。
A United spokesman told The Post that the airline would compensate Yamauchi “as a goodwill gesture” and will work with employees to avoid a repeat of the mistake.
一名美聯航發言人向《華盛頓郵報》表示,公司會“以善意的姿態”對雪莉女士進行賠償,並且會與員工共同努力,防止再次發生這種失誤。
“We deeply apologize to Ms. Yamauchi and her son for this experience,” the spokesman wrote in a statement, although he did not answer questions about why the child was allowed to fly without a seat, and whether it was safe.
美聯航發言人在一份聲明中表示,“我們為這段經歷向雪莉女士以及她的兒子道歉。”不過,他並沒有回答關於為什麼可以在孩子沒有座位的情況下起飛、這樣做是否安全等問題。
(▲Via The Washington Post 《華盛頓郵報》)
可以説雪莉母子和美聯航都算是非常幸運了,一路上除了過於擁擠以外,沒有發生什麼意外情況,否則,又是“後果不堪設想”類反面教材。可能也正是因為沒有發生意外,這一次美聯航並沒有被推到輿論的風口浪尖。
這兩位“亞裔面孔”乘客即使自己是受害者,也不敢當場維護自己的權益,只能選擇事後在網絡上曝光。是什麼讓他們如此害怕?比起事後的聲明、道歉、賠償等,我們更希望的是,下次不要出現“選擇性”失誤,不要對乘客提出的正當要求“選擇性”處理。
來源:《華盛頓郵報》,中國新聞網 / 圖片除標註外均來自網絡
以下為網友評論:
網友“小呆戇戇”:
這位媽媽,你曾經手握一張鉅額中獎彩票,可你棄獎了!你本可得到數百萬美元,如今只能拿到幾張優惠券!你辜負了幸運女神的好意!
網友“Shenghy”:
發生一次告一次新聞一次,不怕麻煩,告多了就有效了
網友“絲滑縱享”:
居然怕被打?!?!被打一頓有幾億美金拿啊
網友“Keanu35”:
這是美國人的內部實務,我們管不着
網友“尤昂達爾”:
這麼好的賺錢機會就這樣放棄了,不過就算不為錢也挺好為自己的權益啊,自己花了錢買的票為啥就不能坐,如果換作是我我絕對不會讓的!
網友“瀟灑xiao哥”:
沒捱打就不錯了 偷笑去吧 這個女的也是識時務 要不然早就捱打了
網友“java哥”:
自己犯賤!!!
網友“局雪”:
你以為這麼多年來,美聯航就打過一次人??你信嗎??別傻了連自己也騙!!只是那次賠太多了才上新聞才讓你看到的。。。
網友“cccccl”:
怕被打還要坐?這是犯賤呢?
網友“老公不姓公老王不姓王”:
美國社會種族歧視引發的仇恨還是相當厲害的。