American Airlines Passenger Says Crew Dismissed Seatmate’s Hour-Long Lewd Act, Says “Men Just Do Stuff Like That”

An American Airlines passenger says the man beside her pleasured himself for an hour on a flight to Milan, and the flight attendant dismissed her complaint: “men just do stuff like that.” She was moved out of premium economy down to coach to separate the two. He was allowed to continue his business at his seat. A federal judge has allowed her injury lawsuit to proceed while throwing out her claim for the downgrade. The September 29 ruling turns on whether the incident caused physical injury to her brain. It also shows how the international treaty governing airline liability can let a passenger pursue an injury claim while shutting down a straightforward demand for the difference between the seat she bought and the one she was able to use. The Flight Attendant Wouldn’t Move The Man According to the court’s account of her amended complaint, the woman paid more than $3,000 for premium economy because she wanted to sleep before a business meeting she’d be going directly to on arrival. A flight attendant on May 27, 2024’s American Airlines flight 198 from New York JFK to Milan reportedly served the man beside her multiple glasses of champagne before and during dinner. Often it’s tough to get extra drinks in premium economy! Once the cabin lights dimmed, she noticed him rubbing himself over his pants. Things escalated from there for approximately 60 minutes. She was at the window seat and felt trapped. She says she froze, struggled to breathe and became nauseous. She feared he would touch her if she tried to get out or closed her eyes. She says no flight attendant came through the cabin during that hour (but she didn’t ring her call button, either). After he stopped, she got up and reported what had happened. She alleges the flight attendant told her: “men just do stuff like that” The attendant allegedly added that her own husband did “stuff like that,” and said there was “nothing really that [she] can do” except move the horrified seatmate to coach. The woman says the flight attendant refused to move the man, didn’t investigate, and didn’t report him to American or law enforcement. She moved to coach, remained frightened and unable to sleep, and missed her business meeting. American subsequently refused to refund the difference in fare. The man, originally identified in the lawsuit as John Doe, has since been named as a defendant alongside American. American Says There Was No Qualifying Injury Because this was an international flight, the Montreal Convention governs the claim against American. To recover for personal injury, a passenger generally needs an “accident” that caused “bodily injury” onboard or during boarding or disembarking. American argued that the allegations didn’t establish either an accident or a qualifying injury. The judge called American’s position “plainly meritless.” An accident under the treaty doesn’t have to be an aircraft accident. Under legal precedent another passenger’s intentional conduct can qualify. But there’s no injury. Nausea, hyperventilation, heart palpitations and breathing difficulty were physical manifestations of emotional distress not an injury as such unless she can show post-traumatic stress disorder causing a brain injury. “It is therefore plausible that Plaintiff could put forth evidence, in the form of expert testimony or otherwise, showing that the incident here caused physical injuries to her brain.” So American didn’t get the claim dismissed… yet. I’d judge it low likelihood that she’ll be able to establish a qualifying injury to get her claim in under the Montreal Convention. And since the passenger’s conduct was reported after it had stopped, American likely has a solid position that they had no advance warning about this passenger. Crew separated the two once notified. She’ll argue that his visible intoxication should have been enough, and that American failed to properly monitor behavior in the cabin. She Gets Nothing For The Downgrade The judge dismissed the claim for downgrade compensation. The Montreal Convention doesn’t offer a remedy. I’ve written about this problem with a Muslim family removed from a Delta flight and United passengers who alleged antisemitic mistreatment. The treaty has gaps! This Isn’t The First Complaint About The Response To A Lewd Act In 2023, I covered an American passenger who said a man fondled himself while looking at her on an Orlando–Dallas flight. She said she reported it, was moved to the back, and the man left without being questioned. American offered her 5,000 miles. Last month, a woman said United flight attendants sent her back to sit beside a man she’d reported for masturbating because they needed her seated for landing. She received a $100 credit. And there are crews who respond differently. When an American passenger reportedly stripped and touched herself on a Baltimore–Miami flight last month, the crew contacted the ground and requested law enforcement. American asked the judge to strike Elsherif’s allegations about similar incidents on other flights they’ve operated. The judge refused, explaining that those allegations could be relevant to whether the airline knew about the risk and took reasonable precautions. The male passenger failed to get claims against him dismissed. He’s facing civil assault and emotional distress even though he didn’t touch her. He was close enough to her to put her in fear of imminent physical contact. (HT: Paddle Your Own Kanoo) Topics on this page