A Californian man is suing American Airlines over claims that a flight attendant placed him on a ‘no-fly’ list for more than three years because of a minor interaction he had with the crew member over his seat being reclined.
David Klein from San Diego has filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles Superior Court against the airline alleging negligence because the Dallas Fort Worth-based failed to staff its flights with crew who are “properly trained in how to communicate with, and interact with, passengers”.
David launched legal action against American Airlines earlier this week after only recently learning that he had been placed on a ‘no-fly’ list. He claims the first time he found out he was banned from flying with American Airlines was when gate agents stopped him from boarding a plane at Los Angeles International Airport.
The root cause of the flying ban, David alleges, stems back to a flight he and his wife took with the airline back in March 2019.
The lawsuit explains that the couple were flying in Business Class from Los Angeles to Tokyo and had just taken their seats when one of the flight attendants approached David and asked him to adjust his seat to the upright position for takeoff.
David complied with the request and started to adjust his seat when the same flight attendant suddenly leaned across him and started to press the seat adjustment button herself.
The lawsuit claims David was “surprised at having a stranger make physical contact with him” and instinctively moved her arm away from him.
He then continued to adjust the seat for takeoff and claims a second flight attendant approached him and apologized for the behavior of the first crew member, telling him that she was “having a bad day”.
David says he thought no more of the incident and never heard anything from American Airlines to suggest there was a problem. It wasn’t until March 2022, however, that David learned that he had been banned from flying American Airlines after he tried to board his first flight with the airline since the pandemic.
He and his wife had booked tickets a month before on the AA website for a trip from Los Angeles to St Maarten for a friend’s 60th birthday. The American Airlines website allowed him to book the tickets, and there was no indication that he was supposedly on a ‘no-fly’ list.
The couple traveled from San Diego to Los Angeles in an Uber, but on arrival and to their “surprise and horror” they found out that David was banned from flying. The lawsuit alleges AA staffers at LAX failed to tell him the reason for the ban and all attempts to get more information from American Airlines have so far failed.
Unsurprisingly, David is demanding American Airlines drop the flight ban and is also asking the court to award him compensation.
There is more to the story here. Either he did/ said something to the FA…or his name is common and there is another David Klein on the no -fly list. I mean–three years ago….really?