Discrimination

[Laura_Javier]

Subject: Formal Discrimination Complaint Regarding Flight Attendant Conduct

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to file a formal discrimination complaint against one of your flight attendants who exhibited inappropriate and discriminatory behavior during my recent flight. I was a passenger on flight WN 2385 from Atlanta to Baltimore on June 24, 2023. The incident in question occurred during the safety briefing while I was seated in the exit row.

Upon entering the aircraft, I was already fatigued due to the significant delay (2.5 hours) in our flight. As the flight attendant approached to train us on emergency procedures, I briefly turned my face towards my friend, who was seated nearby, to seek assistance with fastening my seatbelt. However, the flight attendant abruptly interrupted her instructions and admonished me to pay attention.

Subsequently, I chose to remain silent but maintained my gaze elsewhere. However, the flight attendant once again interrupted and abruptly questioned me if I "even spoke English." I calmly affirmed that I did and clarified that I was not engaged in conversation or causing any disruption. Despite my response, she persisted in emphasizing the need for me to pay attention and establish eye contact with her. Feeling disheartened by her remarks, I interjected, politely requesting her to proceed with the safety briefing.

I felt deeply upset and mistreated throughout the incident. The flight attendant's mode of communication was highly inappropriate, and the passengers in the same row, who witnessed the incident, unanimously agreed with my sentiment. They encouraged me to bring this matter to your attention, urging me to seek resolution through this formal complaint.

For reference, the flight attendant in question was a white female, presumably in her late 20s. I regret that I did not acquire her name during the flight, but I believe it should be possible for your airline to identify her based on the flight details provided.

As an Southwest airline passenger, I firmly believe in the principles of equality, respect, and fair treatment. It is disheartening to encounter such discriminatory behavior from a representative of your esteemed airline, especially during a critical safety briefing. I trust that you will take this complaint seriously and conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.

I kindly request that you keep me informed about the progress of this complaint and the actions taken to address the situation. Additionally, I would appreciate receiving a formal apology from your airline for the distress caused by this incident.

I look forward to a prompt and satisfactory resolution to this matter. Thank you for your attention to this serious concern.

Sincerely,

Best,

Laura Javier

[SoCalFlyer97]

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@Laura_Javier wrote:

Subject: Formal Discrimination Complaint Regarding Flight Attendant Conduct

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to file a formal discrimination complaint against one of your flight attendants who exhibited inappropriate and discriminatory behavior during my recent flight. I was a passenger on flight WN 2385 from Atlanta to Baltimore on June 24, 2023. The incident in question occurred during the safety briefing while I was seated in the exit row.

Upon entering the aircraft, I was already fatigued due to the significant delay (2.5 hours) in our flight. As the flight attendant approached to train us on emergency procedures, I briefly turned my face towards my friend, who was seated nearby, to seek assistance with fastening my seatbelt. However, the flight attendant abruptly interrupted her instructions and admonished me to pay attention.

Subsequently, I chose to remain silent but maintained my gaze elsewhere. However, the flight attendant once again interrupted and abruptly questioned me if I "even spoke English." I calmly affirmed that I did and clarified that I was not engaged in conversation or causing any disruption. Despite my response, she persisted in emphasizing the need for me to pay attention and establish eye contact with her. Feeling disheartened by her remarks, I interjected, politely requesting her to proceed with the safety briefing.

I felt deeply upset and mistreated throughout the incident. The flight attendant's mode of communication was highly inappropriate, and the passengers in the same row, who witnessed the incident, unanimously agreed with my sentiment. They encouraged me to bring this matter to your attention, urging me to seek resolution through this formal complaint.

For reference, the flight attendant in question was a white female, presumably in her late 20s. I regret that I did not acquire her name during the flight, but I believe it should be possible for your airline to identify her based on the flight details provided.

As an Southwest airline passenger, I firmly believe in the principles of equality, respect, and fair treatment. It is disheartening to encounter such discriminatory behavior from a representative of your esteemed airline, especially during a critical safety briefing. I trust that you will take this complaint seriously and conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.

I kindly request that you keep me informed about the progress of this complaint and the actions taken to address the situation. Additionally, I would appreciate receiving a formal apology from your airline for the distress caused by this incident.

I look forward to a prompt and satisfactory resolution to this matter. Thank you for your attention to this serious concern.

Sincerely,

Best,

Laura Javier

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Hi Laura-

I would forward your letter in an email addressed directly to Southwest Customer Relations for review as this a customer-to-customer forum.

https://www.southwest.com/html/contact-us/

However, having taken several Southwest flights, I can provide input on sitting in the Emergency Exit Row. Going forward, I would wait on the seat belt assistance until the FA is done with the Exit Row Training Briefing; FA's need to brief and train the passengers seated in the Emergency Exit Row on the emergency exit procedure which requires passengers to be fully involved in case of an evacuation. This includes an acknowledgement that would require full attention of the training briefing. The training is typically done about 10-15 minutes before the flight staff close the front door and FA's commence the general safety information briefing and final checks on seatbelts. Thus, if such a situation arise again, I would hold on the seatbelt, focus on the briefing first and then assist.

Hope this helps!

However, I would forward your case to Customer Relations if you believe you were unfairly treated on the enforcement of this policy.

[DancingDavidE]

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@SoCalFlyer97 wrote:

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@Laura_Javier wrote:

Subject: Formal Discrimination Complaint Regarding Flight Attendant Conduct

Upon entering the aircraft, I was already fatigued due to the significant delay (2.5 hours) in our flight. As the flight attendant approached to train us on emergency procedures, I briefly turned my face towards my friend, who was seated nearby, to seek assistance with fastening my seatbelt. However, the flight attendant abruptly interrupted her instructions and admonished me to pay attention.

---

Hi Laura-

I would forward your letter in an email addressed directly to Southwest Customer Relations for review as this a customer-to-customer forum.

https://www.southwest.com/html/contact-us/

However, having taken several Southwest flights, I can provide input on sitting in the Emergency Exit Row. Going forward, I would wait on the seat belt assistance until the FA is done with the Exit Row Training Briefing; FA's need to brief and train the passengers seated in the Emergency Exit Row on the emergency exit procedure which requires passengers to be fully involved in case of an evacuation. This includes an acknowledgement that would require full attention of the training briefing. The training is typically done about 10-15 minutes before the flight staff close the front door and FA's commence the general safety information briefing and final checks on seatbelts. Thus, if such a situation arise again, I would hold on the seatbelt, focus on the briefing first and then assist.

Hope this helps!

However, I would forward your case to Customer Relations if you believe you were unfairly treated on the enforcement of this policy.

---

I would echo @SoCalFlyer97 here that the FA have been taking it very seriously on my recent flights and you do have to pay attention and verbally reply that you are willing and able to help in the event of an emergency. 

The last two flights I've been on they were very close to moving people out of the exit row for not paying attention to the briefing. One of these could have been a language barrier question about whether the person was understanding the duties, the other one was just a clueless person that hadn't been in the exit row before.

Here's an article on the topic as well, I think they could have gotten into deeper. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/travel/read-this-before-you-take-an-emergency-exit-row-seat...

If you do want to follow up with the airline though use the Contact Southwest Customer Service methods as this forum is passengers helping passengers and we can't take any official action.