Delta Air Lines apologizes for forcing family off flight

A passengers waits for a Delta Airlines flight in Terminal 5 at Los Angeles International Airport, May 4, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (AFP)
Updated 05 May 2017
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Delta Air Lines apologizes for forcing family off flight

Delta Air Lines apologized on Thursday after a couple said they were kicked off an overbooked flight with their two toddlers so their seats could be given to waiting passengers, the latest US airline to apologize over incidents on board their flights.
Delta Air Lines Inc. said in a statement it was “sorry for the unfortunate experience,” a day after Brian and Brittany Schear posted a video online showing them being told to leave a flight or be arrested during a dispute over a seat they had bought for their teenage son.
“Delta’s goal is to always work with customers in an attempt to find solutions to their travel issues. That did not happen in this case and we apologize,” said the airline.
It said it had contacted the couple to refund their travel and provide additional compensation.

The apology came the same day members of a US Senate committee held a hearing on the industry’s customer service failures and issued harsh criticism of airline fees, disputes with passengers and the lack of competition in the heavily consolidated sector.
The video posted on YouTube by the California couple shows Brian Schear arguing with a police officer and a Delta employee as he sat on Flight 2222 waiting to depart from Maui to Los Angeles.
The dispute was about whether Shear was allowed to use a seat he had originally purchased for his teenage son for his toddler son and whether the toddler needed to be in a car seat or sit on the lap of an adult.
“You will hear them lie to me numerous times to get my son out of the seat. The end result was we were all kicked off the flight,” Shear wrote in the caption.
“They oversold the flight. When will this all stop?“
The Schears stayed at a hotel before flying home the next day.
The Delta incident came nearly a month after United Continental Holdings Inc. sparked outrage when a passenger was dragged off an overbooked flight by his hands. The airline reached a settlement with the passenger last month.
Southwest Airlines Co. said after that incident it would stop overbooking its flights.
American Airlines Group Inc. experienced another public relations fiasco last month when a video showing an onboard clash over a baby stroller went viral.


Pressure builds for answers over Swiss bar fire after victims identified

Updated 1 min 16 sec ago
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Pressure builds for answers over Swiss bar fire after victims identified

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All 40 victims of New Year fire now identified

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Prosecutors say ‘fountain candles’ likely cause of blaze

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Most of victims of bar fire were teenagers, youngest 14

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Couple who ran the bar under criminal investigation

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland: Pressure was building for answers on Monday from the investigation into a New Year bar fire in a Swiss ski resort that killed 40 people, after authorities said they had now identified all the victims, most of whom were teenagers.
The Alpine getaway of Crans-Montana in the canton of Valais united in mourning on Sunday with condolences coming in from leaders ranging from Pope Leo to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Prosecutors said the fire that spread rapidly in the ‌early hours of January ‌1 was likely caused by sparkling candles igniting the ‌ceiling ⁠of ​the ‌bar’s basement.

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
Authorities are investigating the two people who ran the bar on suspicion of crimes including homicide by negligence. On Sunday, police said circumstances did not currently merit them being put under arrest and they did not see a flight risk.
On Monday morning, Swiss newspaper Blick said anger over the case was growing.
“Why are the couple running the bar free?” the paper said on its front page, pasted over ⁠a photo of mourners and media gathered around the huge pile of flowers left in front of the “Le ‌Constellation” bar.
The youngest victims of the blaze, which ‍also injured well over 100 people, ‍were only 14 years old, and the dead were from all around Europe, ‍including several from France and Italy. Swiss authorities have not named the victims.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said in a social media post that “in civilized Switzerland, the prison gates will have to open for quite a few people.”
Salvini said there had been a ​failure to ensure the bar’s basement was safe, questioning the emergency systems and whether there had been enough inspections.

SILENT PROCESSION
Aika Chappaz, a local ⁠resident who took part in a silent procession through the town on Sunday, said justice must be done for the sake of future generations.
“It’s crucial that such a tragedy never happens again. And the investigation must be thorough, because it’s so unbelievable,” she said.
Tages-Anzeiger, another leading Swiss newspaper, said questions must be answered about the age checks at the bar, the soundproofing material used in the basement and the standards governing use of the so-called fountain candles.
One of the bar’s two operators, Jacques Moretti, told Swiss media that Le Constellation had been checked three times in 10 years and that everything was done according to the rules.
Valais authorities say investigators were checking ‌if the bar had undergone its annual building inspections, but that the town had not raised concerns or reported defects to the canton.