“A businessman is suing British Airways over a policy that bans male passengers from sitting next to children they don’t know - even if the child’s parents are on the same flight”
So this man was seated next to an unaccompanied minor and was forced to change seats before the plane would take off because of this stupid policy. Because we all know any man seated next to a child will just automatically start molesting them.
I normally hate lawsuits, but in this case I hope he sues their pants off and makes them change this stupid, sexist policy!
The policy is stupid and worse. I hope they lose big and I would hope, but unfortunately don’t have much hope for, the British public and lawmakers to step in and force a change.
The real stupid on the individual decision making level was that they moved the man away from his pregnant wife and didn’t just move the unrelated kid sitting on the other side of him.
The person who made that decision and made the scene deserves to be fired.
I don’t think they made him move away from his wife, they just made him and his wife switch seats, so she was next to the kid and the man wasn’t. It’s still stupid.
I flew home from Europe this summer with my 4 children. We couldn’t all get seats together, so my 7 year old daughter was seated in the row in from of me. A wonderful man sat next to her and was so sweet and helpful to her the whole long way. He helped her get her headphones to work and unpack those plastic utensils.
That policy would not make sense. I completely doubt that there has been a rash on men molesting children on planes. Just let the unaccompanied children sit where there is an empty seat.
I’m sure this policy came about after some hysterical mother had her kid sat next to some strange man and although nothing happened, she went ballistic on BA till they coughed up this little policy to make her shut up.
But aren’t the crew supposed to be looking after the passengers? Or having a break? Why should they have to run a child minding service as well?
If there really is a need to address this risk, and I doubt there is, BA ought to require those travelling with children, or children travelling on their own, to buy a whole row of seats in order to provide a “buffer zone”.
Traditionally, mass transit has always gave special attention to children traveling alone. They usually assign someone to help them check in, get seated etc. I traveled quite a lot to see my grandparents after I turned 10.
Normally the flight attendant would try and look after the child. Reassure them and so on. I never had any problems during my travels 40 years ago.
It’s pretty sad we’ve reached a point where every adult male is viewed with suspicion and distrust. Not just on airplanes. The days of innocently offering aid to a child that wants to cross the street, find a bathroom or whatever are long gone.
Too true, and very sad. I have no kids of my own, but I do enjoy playing with my friends’ children. (Some of them, anyway). I’ll read to them or play hangman, or (in two cases, anyway) have very exciting and painful lightsaber battles. I am indulging my own desires for fatherhood, but I always hear a little voice that says “Be careful, don’t show too much interest.” It’s a little better now that I’m married, but still…
I agree it’s a stupid policy, but the lawsuit is even stupider. What’s the grounds? What tort was committed? What harm did he suffer? Merely feeling humiliated is not sufficient grounds.
Sexual discrimination. “Gender discrimination, or sex discrimination, may be characterized as the unequal treatment of a person based solely on that person’s sex.” “The essence (of sexual discrimination) is that it is an adverse action taken by one person against another person that would not have occurred had the person been of another sex.”
No. UK Tort law almost always requires some damage done to the plaintiff, with exceptions in only a few very specialized circumstances. Claiming sexual discrimination is not one of them. You have to show some actual damage as a result. Being paid less, or denied a promotion due to discrimination is valid grounds for a suit. Being asked to change your seat not so much.
Then assuming this policy of BA’s is illegal, how would one sue in order to have the policy changed? I can’t imagine how that could work. If a restaurant had a policy that only allowed Pakistanis to sit in the back of the restaurant, are you saying a Pakistani man who was asked to leave his seat at the front and move to the back could not sue the restaurant? After all, he’s just being asked to move his seat and has suffered no ‘damage’ more than the man on the plane.
In that case, the restaurant owners or staff would probably be prosecuted under criminal law. I’m not sure if the customer has grounds for a civil suit.