Peace on Earth, Not Necessarily Aboard Aircraft

By Keith L. Alexander
Tuesday, December 27, 2005

It's holiday time and that means -- theoretically at least -- peace on Earth and good will toward men (and women).

But two recent airline incidents raise the question: Does good will apply to the skies?

One episode involved the wife of a world-renowned televangelist who was removed from her Continental Airlines flight after what witnesses said was an altercation with a flight attendant.

The other involved a 90-year-old passenger who was removed from his assigned seat on Delta Air Lines to accommodate a Saint Bernard.

The incidents occurred within weeks of each other at a time when airlines were at their busiest and airline employees -- suffering from understaffing because of recent layoffs -- were overworked.

Last week, Victoria Osteen, wife of the televangelist Joel Osteen, pastor of the Houston-based Lakewood Church, was removed from Continental flight 1602 to Vail, Colo., after she "failed to comply" with a flight attendant's request, according to a report filed by the airline to the FBI.

The Osteens, like many of the passengers on the flight, were headed to Vail for a family ski vacation. Donald Iloff, spokesman for the couple, called the episode a "90-second misunderstanding."

The misunderstanding occurred when the Osteens boarded the first-class cabin and Victoria Osteen noticed a liquid spill on her seat. She asked one flight attendant to clean it, but the attendant was unable to do so at the time because passengers were boarding. Osteen then asked another flight attendant. That attendant was also busy and instead gave Osteen napkins to clean it herself.

What happened next differs depending on who's telling the tale. According to two written complaints filed by the attendants to union officials, Osteen became angry and barged toward the cockpit saying that she "wanted to speak to someone in charge." One attendant tried to stop her and she pushed the attendant aside, according to the reports. A second attendant stepped forward and Osteen grabbed that attendant by the wrist and engaged in an argument outside of the cockpit.

Touching a flight attendant is a federal offense, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Iloff said that he didn't know if Osteen had touched the attendant.

Osteen was removed from the aircraft and her husband and two children accompanied her. For nearly two hours, the flight waited at the gate as the Osteens' bags were removed. The family later took a chartered Continental flight to Vail, according to a source within the flight attendants union.

Continental spokeswoman Julie King refused to elaborate, saying only: "The matter has been resolved."

But according to sources within the airline's flight attendants union, the matter is far from resolved; two of the attendants are considering filing assault charges against Osteen.

Joel Osteen, who in recent years rose to prominence as the "smiling preacher," thanks in large part to his best-selling, inspirational book, "Your Best Life Now," which has sold 3.5 million copies. The book is a collection of stories aimed at changing readers' attitudes, to attain a successful life.

On the Lakewood Web site, Victoria wrote a letter to members calling the incident a "minor misunderstanding" and saying that it was her choice to deplane. "It was a most unfortunate event and I truly regret that it happened," she wrote.

Although the incident was reported to the FBI, the agency said it was not investigating because the altercation was not deemed a security threat, said FBI special agent Luz Garcia.

Houston-based cargo ship operator Jim McGregor, who was on the Osteens' flight, said he was outraged that the airline delayed the flight over the incident. McGregor was unhappy that the aircraft had to remain on the tarmac until the Osteens and their bags were removed from the flight. "This was really inconsiderate to the rest of the passengers," he said.

Continental wasn't the only airline to act without consideration for certain passengers. Deborah Childs-Bowen watched as a Delta gate agent boarded her Dec. 7 Delta Air Lines flight 1279 from Philadelphia to Atlanta and asked her elderly father, Ishmael Childs, 90, to give up his seat so a disabled passenger and her special assistance dog could sit together.

Childs, a retired civil rights attorney, uses a wheelchair to board his flights, and his daughter arranges for him to sit in the more roomy bulkhead section of the aircraft so his legs don't cramp. Childs took his assigned seat and his daughter took her seat a few rows behind him. Childs-Bowen then saw a gate agent escort her father from his seat to another seat further back that had less leg room.

"What is the ranking of disability? I made arrangements ahead of time for a wheelchair and so that my father could sit in the bulkhead. This person should have made special arrangements ahead of time as well," said Childs-Bowen, a top-level member of Delta's frequent-flier program.

Childs himself said he was surprised he was asked to move. "I thought they were going to move me to first class, which would have been more comfortable, but instead they moved me further in the back. For a Saint Bernard," he said.

Delta spokeswoman Gina Laughlin said passengers with service animals are often seated together in the bulkhead to provide a little extra room. But she said Childs did not have to move if he did not wish. "If a passenger is already booked in those seats, a flight attendant will ask the passenger, would they mind switching? But the passenger does not have to move," she said.

But as any frequent flier knows, rebuffing a flight attendant, even over a simple request, could get the passenger ejected from the flight or worse -- fined or thrown in jail if it's seen as an FAA violation.