In Defense of Spirit Airlines Putting a 6-Year Old Child on the Wrong Plane

NY Post - Spirit Airlines mistakenly flew a 6-year-old first-time flyer to the wrong airport hundreds of miles away from his initial destination during the holiday travel rush.

Maria Ramos said that her grandson Casper was set to arrive at Southwest Florida Airport in Fort Myers from Philadelphia on Thursday when he flew by himself, according to WINK News.

Ramos, however, became horrified when she was told that Casper never got on the plane bound for Fort Myers — only the boy’s bag made it.

“They told me, ‘No, he’s not on this flight. He missed his flight.’ I said, ‘No, he could not miss his flight because I have the check-in tag,” Ramos told the outlet.

“I ran inside the plane to the flight attendant and I asked her, ‘Where’s my grandson? He was handed over to you at Philadelphia?’ She said, ‘No, I had no kids with me.’”

Casper was sent to Orlando International Airport, located more than 200 miles north of the Fort Myers Airport, where the two family members were to meet, the grandmother recalled.

I've been beating the drum for Spirit Airlines on the internet for over a year now. I'm a big fan of Spirit. I'm there #1 customer. They've never once done me wrong & I've not once had a catastrophic experience flying their airline. I think the hate they get online is bullshit, and is a result of hive-minded people who probably saw one video of a man taking a shit on the snack cart while shouting the Pledge of Allegiance, and used that single incident to cast aspersions on all of Spirit. Spirit gets my plane from Point A to Point B on time. As a passenger, it's my responsibility to deal with any shenanigans that happen between there. So when Spirit Airlines is in the news, I'll be there to defend their honor. I wouldn't have to do it. Nobody is asking me or wants me to. But I've made it my own personal mission.

P.S. If you don't believe me, just take a look at Forbes most recent airlines rankings. 

And we all agree that Forbes is never wrong.

Now that's been established, allow me to indulge in some victim blaming. What in tarnation is this family doing sending their 6-year old child alone on Spirit? The thing about Spirit Airlines is that you have to meet them halfway. Spirit is perfectly fine for well-functioning adults in good enough physical & mental shape to handle a slightly uncomfortable seat, and the occasional woman vs woman fist fight in the terminal. But if you're asking a minimum wage Spirit Airlines flight attendant to get your solo child from Philadelphia to to Fort Meyers… that's on you. You put your child in that situation. You deserve at least 50% of the blame and a lengthy visit from Child Protective Services.

On top of that, how about you fucking relax lady. Spirit Airlines got your kid safely to Orlando. That wasn't his intended destination of Fort Meyers, but hey… that's pretty close!  It's not like they sent him to Los Angeles. They didn't cross any oceans. If Spirit Airlines gets your unsupervised child to the correct state, you have to consider that a win. It's nothing that can't be fixed with a rental car and 8 hours of driving. 

But now the family is considering legal action. They want answers as to what happened. They want Spirit to check the tapes. But c'mon people. Spirit doesn't know what happened. You're not flying Delta. If this ends up going to court, it should be an open and shut case.

Defense Attorney: "In defense of my client, they are Spirit Airlines"

Judge: "Good point. Spirit Airlines is innocent, and your child is now custody of the state. It's for his own good."

I'll defend Spirit Airlines until the day I die. Which will likely be when my Spirit flight from New York to Ohio crash lands into Lake Erie. But until that happens, whenever the New York Post publishes any Spirit Airlines slander, I'll be there to set the record straight in the form of a half-ass blog. Long live Spirit.