Last weekend I was returning to Seattle from a business trip when someone on my American Airlines (NYSE:AAL) flight needed medical attention. The cabin crew made an announcement and asked that "if there are medical personnel on board, please ring your call button."
Several people stepped forward to help the woman who needed assistance.
When we landed at SEA the afflicted passenger, who had pulled her hoodie over her head and face, was taken off by EMTs, after which the rest of us deplaned. However, NOTHING ELSE was said about the issue to the rest of us about the nature of the emergency/illness.
When I raised that point in an email to American's customer service department and later to CEO Robert Isom, I received generic responses that "we have a strict privacy policy regarding the dissemination of customer information." All well and good, but the entire plane knew there was a medical emergency and then saw the passenger taken off. So much for privacy.
Such an announcement could have been, "The doctor(s) who attended our ill passenger said they are NOT suffering from anything that is contagious." That would be appropriate for anything ranging from appendicitis to food poisoning, etc.
In the case of potentially communicable issues, the announcement could be "The doctor(s) who attended them said their issue is something that is potentially contagious, so if you start feeling ill in the next few days, please see your doctor as soon as possible."
Neither of these discloses anything specific - and in no way violates the passenger's privacy any more than it had already been violated - but each provides valuable information. The first reassures passengers while the second advises a heightened level of awareness about one's own health would be appropriate.
Several people stepped forward to help the woman who needed assistance.
When we landed at SEA the afflicted passenger, who had pulled her hoodie over her head and face, was taken off by EMTs, after which the rest of us deplaned. However, NOTHING ELSE was said about the issue to the rest of us about the nature of the emergency/illness.
When I raised that point in an email to American's customer service department and later to CEO Robert Isom, I received generic responses that "we have a strict privacy policy regarding the dissemination of customer information." All well and good, but the entire plane knew there was a medical emergency and then saw the passenger taken off. So much for privacy.
With the resurgence of communicable diseases like measles, pneumococcal disease and even COVID variants, I believe it was American's responsibility to make an announcement with some very high-level information about the situation, which could easily be done without violating whatever privacy the ill passenger still had left.
Such an announcement could have been, "The doctor(s) who attended our ill passenger said they are NOT suffering from anything that is contagious." That would be appropriate for anything ranging from appendicitis to food poisoning, etc.
In the case of potentially communicable issues, the announcement could be "The doctor(s) who attended them said their issue is something that is potentially contagious, so if you start feeling ill in the next few days, please see your doctor as soon as possible."
Neither of these discloses anything specific - and in no way violates the passenger's privacy any more than it had already been violated - but each provides valuable information. The first reassures passengers while the second advises a heightened level of awareness about one's own health would be appropriate.
MY TAKE
American clearly shirked its responsibility to the other passengers on that flight.
American clearly shirked its responsibility to the other passengers on that flight.
Our aircraft, an Airbus A321neo, can hold 20 passengers in first class, 47 in main cabin extra and another 126 in the main cabin. That means up to 192 other passengers could have been exposed to an illness but the carrier refused to say anything, purportedly out of concern for the ill passenger's privacy.
Importantly, I am NOT suggesting that the cabin crew announce that, "The passenger in Seat 34-D appears to have contracted the plague." I am suggesting brief announcements that would offer either reassurance or actionable information.
The idea that American was somehow protecting the ill passenger's privacy is simply an excuse. And a lame one at that.
Upon reflection, perhaps American's stance is for CYA reasons. If they announced that a passenger had a communicable disease, then any other passenger who came down with a communicable ailment could seek remuneration from the airline. Yeah! That's the ticket!
Sorry, American. Whatever the reason, you left nearly 200 of us hanging. And that is bad form.
Visit my main page at TheTravelPro.us for more news, reviews, and personal observations on the world of upmarket travel.
Visit my main page at TheTravelPro.us for more news, reviews, and personal observations on the world of upmarket travel.
Photo by Carl Dombek
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