Pax kicked off Air NZ flight for ignoring safety briefing

[blaz]

I don't care whether they sell the seat or not. It is up to the steward in charge of briefing the exit row people as to whether they are incapable of being able or responsible for vacating the plane in an emergency. Intoxication, physical issues or the ability to understand their task are assessed and like any umpire, they make the judgement. I have actually met people like the woman who placed their fingers in their ears...arrogant and narcissistic .

 

[Max Samuels]

Seems a little over the top to me. Maybe make them move seats, but to throw them off?

To me, this is just another example of how crazy NZ has become.
My brother lives in NZ, and I have visited literally dozens of times. Maybe as many as 50, over the years.
I was always amused by some of their quirks, but the latest moves by the Government to send people to jail for looking at the Christchurch killer's manifesto online, banning certain books from bookshops.... to me I find this rather chilling. I think Air NZ's "bold" move to throw these people off, and then the Government giving them an infringement, is just another step in this crazy direction.

I find it difficult to believe that "failing to comply with crew instructions" includes not removing one's fingers from one's own ears! I am not a lawyer, but i am pretty sure the scope of crew instructions is not endless - I would be interested to see what a court thinks of this. Being able to "hear" is not a requirement to be on a plane. It might be a requirement to sit an exit, but should not end up with a Government issued fine.

What a joke.

 

[angella44]

People should attend to the safety briefings out of politeness, even if they know them.

 

[Kiwi in Sandgropia]

Some religions, especially some brands of Sunni, are forbidden to listen to musical instruments and will plug their ears if they hear any. A possible cause?

In any event the clip is truly awful! They used to have quite good ones, but this?! !

The only time I rode in an exit row (Jetstar?) The crew neglected to mention what seemed to be an airbag integrated into the seatbelt. No other rows had them.

 

[Max Samuels]

"In the unlikely event that we crash into the side of a mountain at 800kph, there is a life jacket under your seat, or in your armrest, if you're in business"

 

[rmcclymo]

I frequently fly on regional flights with just one cabin crew. If they are injured or incapacitated in an accident, the exit row passengers who get additional instructions and have to indicate both their willingness and ability to do these tasks if needed, would become the ones that would save the day.

Anyone who’s in a exit row who isn’t ready to engage fully in the briefing needs to be seated elsewhere or put off the flight. ANZ crew did the only sensible thing.

 

[rovingrabbit]

Appropriate response by airline for inappropriate behaviour in these important seats

 

[sabre1]

I haven't seen this discussed here elsewhere yet.

A couple has apparently been kicked off an Air New Zealand flight from Wellington to Auckland after refusing to listen to the safety briefing. They were seated in the exit row.

Good on the cabin crew, I say!

Passenger thrown off Air New Zealand plane for refusing to read safety instructions card

Police called after flight delayed following refusal of woman to watch safety video and read card in exit row seat

www.theguardian.com

I agree that they should pay attention especially as they have to accept responsibility for assisting with an emergency evacuation (if it occurs). Preferably the cabin crew should have briefed them and confirmed that they would accept the responsibility of seating in an emergency exit row. If they did not accept then they should have been moved to a different seat (not 'kicked off').

 

[Warks]

Were they drunk? I wonder if that state should get you removed from the exit row. But how is that assessed without a breathalyser?

 

[dmgale1960]

I haven't seen this discussed here elsewhere yet.

A couple has apparently been kicked off an Air New Zealand flight from Wellington to Auckland after refusing to listen to the safety briefing. They were seated in the exit row.

Good on the cabin crew, I say!

Passenger thrown off Air New Zealand plane for refusing to read safety instructions card

Police called after flight delayed following refusal of woman to watch safety video and read card in exit row seat

www.theguardian.com

Fair enough!

 

[lacuska1]

that is a bit much-they could have told them that they would be re-seated to a non emergency seat if they not comply with the regulations

 

[Quickstatus]

They didn’t comply with crew directions - whatever the reason That’s an eviction IMO.

 

[Quickstatus]

Were they drunk? I wonder if that state should get you removed from the exit row. But how is that assessed without a breathalyser?

They don’t have to assess level. Prima Facie they didn’t follow crew direction. That’s an eviction IMO

 

[Max Samuels]

Were they drunk? I wonder if that state should get you removed from the exit row. But how is that assessed without a breathalyser?

And that of course is the million dollar question, and furthers my point that the whole thing is silly and probably just a couple of SJWs feeling "good" about wielding power over others.

I often wonder, when seated at the exit row on a long haul flight, drink after drink after drink after drink.... I wonder how serious they are about the whole emergency thing. Exit row seats are the most prized seats on the aircraft - even in business class on the upper deck of a 747, for example. They never would restrict alcohol to those seats, and if they did, no one would sit there. If being sober was actually a "real" thing to operate an exit, it would be enforced and enshrined in law. The fact that it isn't speaks volumes. As most of us know, all this safety stuff is mainly theatre, as the chances of surviving a real crash are so slim.

Plus, as someone else already pointed out, most deaths associated with air travel have been caused by sober pilots, not "non-complying" or drunk exit row passengers.

The whole thing is just laughable and I am surprised that so many people seem to think it was an actual thing. As Trump would say..... its a "nothing burger".

 

[Quickstatus]

Does not matter howdrunk or not. No follow crew directions especially when it comes to safety matters = eviction

 

[DC3]

How stupid were they? And dumb. Dumb. Dumb. Dumb.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Seems a little over the top to me. Maybe make them move seats, but to throw them off?

To me, this is just another example of how crazy NZ has become.
My brother lives in NZ, and I have visited literally dozens of times. Maybe as many as 50, over the years.
I was always amused by some of their quirks, but the latest moves by the Government to send people to jail for looking at the Christchurch killer's manifesto online, banning certain books from bookshops.... to me I find this rather chilling. I think Air NZ's "bold" move to throw these people off, and then the Government giving them an infringement, is just another step in this crazy direction.

I find it difficult to believe that "failing to comply with crew instructions" includes not removing one's fingers from one's own ears! I am not a lawyer, but i am pretty sure the scope of crew instructions is not endless - I would be interested to see what a court thinks of this. Being able to "hear" is not a requirement to be on a plane. It might be a requirement to sit an exit, but should not end up with a Government issued fine.

What a joke.

Passengers are required to comply with lawful crew instructions. Lawful instructions relate to the safe operation of the aircraft. This would include ensuring passengers listen to the safety demonstration, particularly at an exit row.

Failure to comply with a (lawful) crew instruction is grounds for a penalty as it’s potentially quite a serious issue.

 

[lastrow]

If I was bombarded with this type of video I would put my fingers in my ears as well as closing my eyes. Noise cancelling headphones? no good as the sound trash would be sent all over the plane. In all seriousness I am surprised that ANZ treats such a very important safety briefing in such a flippant manner. Surely there must be standards of presentation that must be met. In the early days of Virgin the cabin crew used to ham up the safety demo but they soon stopped.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

If I was bombarded with this type of video I would put my fingers in my ears as well as closing my eyes. Noise cancelling headphones? no good as the sound trash would be sent all over the plane. In all seriousness I am surprised that ANZ treats such a very important safety briefing in such a flippant manner. Surely there must be standards of presentation that must be met. In the early days of Virgin the cabin crew used to ham up the safety demo but they soon stopped.

There's a balancing act here. Varying the presentation and making it engaging (or trying to) may encourage more poeple to watch it. But go too far and it may have the opposite effect. I think there are some words from one of the regulators regarding 'movie-like' presentations. If I come across it again I'll post the link (it's either CASA, FAA or CAA)

 

[Quickstatus]

Casa has done some interesting safety videos themselves/