Black Eyed Peas QF BNE to SYD incident

[DC3]

Melb, given the further witnesses, are you happy to now retract that?

Interesting, now that more is coming out about this incident.

 

[jb747]

Maybe AJ can show some leadership and publicly defend his staff.

Well, that's the best laugh I'm likely to get all day....

 

[Melburnian1]

Melb, given the further witnesses, are you happy to now retract that?

It was correct at the time I suggested it. Subsequently, I've seen IIRC one person claim it wasn't as the musician claimed. If there have been more, fair enough, but unlike the independent witnesses on the flight - at least two - who tweeted immediately, the 'defenders' were slower to emerge. I hope QF PR department hasn't contacted passengers and offered them an incentive such as FF points to claim it wasn't as the Black Eyed Peas gent suggested. Don't put it past them!

I don't know if others can read this article: I was able to, but you may come up against a paywall. In it, a Flight Attendants Association spokeswoman defends the QFd staff, but she doesn't address the allegation that the staff member concerned - a female CSM - was aggressive towards the gent who had his headphones on and who was working on his laptop:

NoCookies | The Australian

www.theaustralian.com.au

The headline is 'Qantas crew turns its attack on rapper will.i.am' if one needs to search for it.

Safety protocols are important, but the staff member's alleged aggressiveness typifies the impression that many online reviews of Qantas give that some - note, not all - QF staff lack an understanding as to how to pleasantly defuse a situation. There's no allegation that the musician gent was mentally ill or intoxicated/on illegal drugs. He appears to have subsequently been allowed to travel on another QFd flight, so cannot have been deemed a 'security risk', even by QFd's odd, draconian standards that as at least one other AFFer noted apparently include if one asks for a surname of a staff member at check in.

While I jest, maybe the answer is to send QFd staff who act in this way to be trained by Asian airline crew, as the latter across many airlines are always pleasant and never argue or act aggressively with passengers.

One can see why some suggest it's unfair to give out the staff member's name, but many others would say she ought be accountable and/or has brought this upon herself by her alleged extreme rudeness towards the passenger, confirmed by some independent witnesses who are most unlikely to be Afro-Americans.

As samh004 remarked, while only the flight crew can call the police, it's not a good look (for QF) if police are called in too quickly. Hardly a way of de-escalating a situation.

The whole incident is an international PR disaster for QF, an arrogant and declining airline. I'd never heard of the chap but if he's got 12 million plus social media followers, he's a bit more than a 'dime a dozen' celebrity as one post above claimed.

Above all else, this incident typifies a problem that USA airlines and QF have of not appropriately dealing with such situations. It's extremely rare to read about such occurrences in many other areas of the world, yet musicians must travel such routes. The heavy handed approach to passenger relations that we've all seen or heard of in the USA has arrived in Oz courtesy of some QF staff. Not good.

 

[DC3]

... There's no allegation that the musician gent was mentally ill or intoxicated/on illegal drugs ...

Just a goose with attitude ...

Edit: His disciples lap up this sort of thing and he knows it.

 

[milehighclub]

While I jest, maybe the answer is to send QFd staff who act in this way to be trained by Asian airline crew, as the latter across many airlines are always pleasant and never argue or act aggressively with passengers.

I'm sure Qantas crew look forward to their all expenses paid trip to Singapore, no doubt where you'd have them sent.

I hope QF PR department hasn't contacted passengers and offered them an incentive such as FF points to claim it wasn't as the Black Eyed Peas gent suggested. Don't put it past them!

The whole incident is a PR disaster for QF, an arrogant and declining airline.

And there it is.......

 

[zenyattamondatta]

I'm sure Qantas crew look forward to their all expenses paid trip to Singapore, no doubt where you'd have them sent.

Probably Manila...

 

[Melburnian1]

Probably Manila...

I jested, but anywhere in Asia would do. (I've not patronised the mainland Chinese airlines.) However, SQ, as the world's best airline, could probably teach them a thing or two. So could JL and NH.

Certainly not to the USA, from where this sort of (alleged) crew behaviour appears to have originated.

 

[juddles]

..... I hope QF PR department hasn't contacted passengers and offered them an incentive such as FF points to claim it wasn't as the Black Eyed Peas gent suggested. Don't put it past them!
......

OMG!!

You really really really want Qantas or their staff to be at fault, always, don't you?

Time for me to check out of this arrogant and declining thread....

 

[Saab34]

And they keep on coming

The issue for QF going forward, is these stories rate well for the news sites and bring in good $$. So outlets will be scraping the barrel for any pax story going forward.

Virgin meanwhile never hear a word. Although 90% of my travel is VA, I see drama play out across the airports just like into does at QF. Virgin had 2 777s down and caused mayhem across the pacific timetable, but didn’t even get a single mention across anywhere. Not even a tweet. QF has a A380 out of action it’s on all the news sites.

Another musician has come forward with a new claim

After Australian pop duo The Veronicas weighed in on the drama surrounding Black Eyed Peas star will.i.am, who accused a Qantas flight attendant of racism after a tense incident on a flight from Brisbane to Sydney on Saturday, another international star has slammed the airline over similar...

www.news.com.au

 

[KSC]

I have a similar scenario when I was using my noise cancelling headphones, whilst watching a movie, that I did not hear the flight attendant on QF.
I didn't realise he was there until it was too late and he walked off angrily. The FA have to understand some of the guests noise cancelling headphones work almost too well and find other means of communication.

Never had such issues with other airlines.

 

[Melburnian1]

...Time for me to check out...

It's never been compulsory to read it.

 

[DC3]

... Certainly not to the USA, from where this sort of (alleged) crew behaviour appears to have originated.

Picked up on your typo. ... (alleged) passenger behaviour ..., I believe.

 

[Melburnian1]

...Never had such issues with other airlines.

And that's it, in a nutshell.

 

[Melburnian1]

Picked up on your typo. ... (alleged) passenger behaviour ..., I believe.

No typo.

 

[DC3]

... The FA have to understand some of the guests noise cancelling headphones work almost too well ...

They understand. You weren’t disciplined or anything were you? You were probably well mannered, polite and did not try to up the ante. Yes?

 

[KSC]

They understand. You weren’t disciplined or anything were you? You were probably well mannered, polite and did not try to up the ante. Yes?

No upping the ante or getting told off. Just had to deal with been snubbed by that FA for the rest of the flight. If he had positioned himself nearer to me, waved or something, I would have noticed he was there, take off my headphones and listened to whatever he wanted to say.

Clearly just a misunderstanding.

 

[milehighclub]

The FA have to understand some of the guests noise cancelling headphones work almost too well and find other means of communication.

And most passengers understand that when an FA is in front of you, you take them off and show some respect when someone is trying to talk to you.

(And not implying that you don't show respect - just to be clear)

 

[milehighclub]

FWIW, on the various crew forums, there are dozens of stories coming forward of this behaviour from him and many instances of him not putting away his equipment for landing.

 

[DC3]

No upping the ante or getting told off. Just had to deal with been snubbed by that FA for the rest of the flight. If he had positioned himself nearer to me, waved or something, I would have noticed he was there, take off my headphones and listened to whatever he wanted to say.

Clearly just a misunderstanding.

Exactly. No harm done. We’ve all had those moments but we are able to move on.

It’s when pax, who are so full of themselves, decide that they want to “take-on” the crew. Most us wouldn’t even think of that as an option.

 

[KSC]

And most passengers understand that when an FA is in front of you, you take them off and show some respect when someone is trying to talk to you.

Of course, in my case I had tunnel vision watching a movie so I could not see nor heat the FA.