AirTran, Now Owned By Southwest Airlines
PALM BEACH COUNTY, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — A spokesperson for AirTran Airways, owned by Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV), is refusing to release any information regarding the internal investigation or potential discipline into the actions taken by a flight attendent on AirTran flight 1451 from Palm Beach International Airport to White Plains on Monday.
According to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office — confirming a report first aired by WPTV NewsChannel 5 — a lawyer, a therapist, and a retired travel agent were all booted from the flight when they attempted to stop a flight attendant from aggressively crushing luggage in an overhead compartment. The flight attendent allegedly poked one of the women who also asked for assistance with a broken seat.
BocaNewsNow.com has identified the flight attendant as James Anderson who is 40 years old from Newman, Georgia. Southwest Airlines spokeswoman Brandy King this morning told BocaNewsNow.com that, “we will not be releasing any employee information. Any review of the situation will be internal and not for sharing externally.”
The women were escorted off the flight by a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s deputy, put on another flight and compensated by the airline. The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office did NOT charge the women, the TSA was not involved, and the flight was not delayed. In fact, the Deputy wrote in his report, obtained by BocaNewsNow.com, that “this concludes my involvement in this case. This case is for information purposes only.”
Assault charges have not been filed at this time against the flight attendant for poking the passenger.
BocaNewsNow.com is awaiting a response from the attorney removed from the plane to determine whether she intends to assert a claim against the airline.
