A mom traveling with her family on a JetBlue flight to Newark tried to turn an inconvenient re-routing into a “gotcha” moment on social media, only to discover that most commenters are siding with the airline.
The parents were flying with their two small children, who were both fast asleep when their plane landed at JFK International in Queens, New York, instead of its original destination, Newark Airport in New Jersey. The two airports are about an hour’s drive from each other, and both serve the New York metropolitan area.
Instead of lugging their car seats into the airport and checking them into baggage, the mom had arranged for a rental car outfitted with car seats to be picked up at Newark.
With that plan thwarted, the mom turned to Plan B, which was whipping out her phone to record herself confronting a flight attendant and a gate agent. She posted the clips to social media with the caption: “POV: It’s 2 am at JFK, and JetBlue just left you stranded with no car seat, no plan, and no ride home.”
However, the videos didn’t land the way she had probably hoped they would.
“How is this the airline’s or flight attendant’s fault if they didn’t bring car seats with them??? Girl, if you don’t take your goofy azz on somewhere…” read one of many comments on Threads.
While any parent can sympathize with the mother’s plight — traveling with small children is difficult even under normal circumstances — observers found the filming and subsequent posting to be uncalled for.
View on Threads
In the two-part series, the frazzled mother confronted an equally tired Black flight attendant after most of the passengers had deplaned. “So, I’ve got two sleeping kids and no car seat. What are we supposed to do about that? How do I get home in the middle of the night?” she demanded.
“I don’t have any answers for you. You have to ask the gate agent,” the flight attendant replied, before suddenly realizing she was being filmed. “Are you recording me? Please get out of my face!” she said as she tried to get away. The upset mom continued to film, and the flight attendant retreated into the cockpit, swinging open a bathroom door to block her.
The second video picked up at the arrival gate, where a gate agent informed the mom that there were plenty of taxis and Ubers available. JFK is the largest airport in the state, after all, and ranks in the top ten busiest airports in the country.
“No, no, no, we have two kids with no car seats,” she protested, adding that they arranged for car seats at Newark airport. “Then you’ll have to find your way to Newark,” the agent replied.
If only the mother could have read the advice shared on Threads. “Literally one person watches the (sleeping!) kids and the other parent Ubers to Newark to get the car,” said one. Another person recommended a combination of trains and subways to travel between the airports. “It’s actually pretty easy. No need to harass the workers to get views.”
“Instead of recording, go actually solve your problem. It’s not the employee’s fault the plane was diverted. Go be an adult,” said another, followed by, “I’m glad the attendant had the presence of mind to quickly shut the door in her face. Cause, she was just looking to get a reaction.”
Some, however, felt that JetBlue dropped the ball and should have arranged transportation for all passengers to reach the destination listed on their tickets. “This is 100% on the airline,” wrote one.
According to the JetBlue Customer Service Plan, however, an arrival delay must last three or more hours and be caused by a “controllable irregularity” (such as a mechanical issue) for the company to provide hotel and transportation.
“She acted like they landed in Florida…they are 1 hour from Newark, girl,” wrote one. “DoorDash you some car seats and leave these people alone lol.”
