This Family Was Kicked Off a Delta Flight After Refusing to Give Up Their Toddler's Seat
Brian and Brittany Schear were traveling home from a family vacation in Hawaii when an official told them they had to give up their 2-year-old son's paid-for seat-or risk jail time. ABC 7 reports that they were on a midnight Delta flight from Hawaii when the incident occurred, and it forced them to spend $2,000 on a hotel room and new plane tickets.
When they traveled to Hawaii, they were on the flight with Brian's 18-year-old son, Mason, along with their two small children, ages 1 and 2. Little Grayson, 2, did not have his own seat, and the family struggled to keep him quiet and calm during the 5+ hour flight. Luckily, a seat was open on that flight, so they put Grayson there in his car seat so he could sleep.
On the way back, the family paid to send Mason on an earlier flight so they could use his seat on the later flight for Grayson. But the flight was apparently overbooked, and officials told the family they had to give up Grayson's seat and put him on a parent's lap, because Mason-the original passenger whose name was on the seat-was not on board.
Brian told ABC 7 that he was told, "You have to give up the seat or you're going to jail, your wife is going to jail, and they'll take your kids from you." An official told them it was against federal regulations to even have Grayson in a car seat at all, because he was too young. But this may not be true, as the FAA and Delta both have policies on their websites urging parents to buy separate seats for young children in safety seats, according to ABC 7.
"We want you and your children to have the safest, most comfortable flight possible, for kids under the age of two, we recommend you purchase a seat on the aircraft and use an approved child safety seat," Delta's website reads.
The Schear family started filming their encounter and posted it on YouTube. "We never thought it was going to get to the point where they were actually getting us all off the flight," Brian told CBS Los Angeles. "As we were leaving the plane, there's four or five passengers waiting for our seat. The bottom line is, they oversold the flight."
Eventually, Brian relented and said they would put Grayson on their lap, but it was too late, and officials kicked them off the plane. They told ABC 7 they had to pay for a hotel room and buy entirely new plane tickets, this time on United, setting them back $2,000.
Delta has not yet responded to a request for comment, but released the following statement to local news outlets: "We're sorry for what this family experienced. Our team has reached out and will be talking with them to better understand what happened and come to a resolution."
Brian told CBS Los Angeles that he doesn't want a refund from the airline-he just wants an apology.
Update, 5/4, 2:15 p.m: The Federal Aviation Administration has issued the following statement in response to the incident. The agency noted the official was wrong to claim the 2-year-old should not be seated in a carrier, but added they do not control what airlines do in cases of overbooking.
"The safest place for a young child under the age of two on an airplane is in a child restraint, not on a parent's lap. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) strongly encourages parents to secure children in a separate seat in an appropriate restraint based on weight and size. If a seat is purchased for a child, an airline must allow that child to use the restraint as long as the child meets the restraint manufacturer's height and weight criteria, it is properly labeled and says that it is approved for use on aircraft, is not in an exit row, can be properly installed in the aircraft seat, and the child holds a ticket for the seat. FAA safety regulations do not address airline policies for overbooking or boarding procedures. For information on flying safely with children go to http://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/"
Update, 5/4, 5:25 p.m: Delta has responded with the following statement:
"We are sorry for the unfortunate experience our customers had with Delta, and we've reached out to them to refund their travel and provide additional compensation. Delta's goal is to always work with customers in an attempt to find solutions to their travel issues. That did not happen in this case and we apologize."
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