NARRATOR: Check in
at Chicago Midway. And Supervisor Anita
Herbert is facing a problem that's common for parents. I'm going to
have to buy a deal. Yeah, I'm not paying
$270 for a ticket for him, when he's
18 months old. You need to have proof
of age for your baby. If your baby is close-- NARRATOR: Southwest has
a rule that children under the age of two fly
for free, but proof of age is required. Without proof for baby Ryan,
the Hoashield family will have to buy a seat for him. You need to have proof of age. You represent this company. So, why does your company
not say when you're flying or return--
No. Sir. Sir. No, I'm asking you a question. Why does-- are you back
to my question or not? I can't answer what they
did for you some place else. It is documented in here
that you need to present proof of age for the baby. That's my third. That's my third time. You can give me all the
double speak you want. I'm not double-speaking. But that's just basically
poor customer service. NARRATOR: Back at
check-in, Anita is still dealing
with the increasingly angry Hoanshield family. And she tells me she's
got to get a verification from the hospital where I had
my child to verify that he is under the age of two. And now, she just
told me I had to buy a ticket, which that's going
to send me right over the edge. We did call the hospital,
and they're saying they have no record of the birth. You need to present
proof of age. If your child is
under 18 months, please make sure you
have a birth certificate, or you will you have
to buy a ticket. Ma'am, our flight leaves
at 4:50, so I'd like for you to tell them to wait. OK. We're not going to haul
the aircraft, ma'am. With just 10
minutes to take off, it looks like they've
reached deadlock. You can give us three
tickets on the next flight. [MUSIC PLAYING] NARRATOR: In Chicago,
Supervisor Anita is still waiting for proof
that baby Ryan is under two and should travel for free. The hospital seems to have
no record of the birth. I don't know what
else you need from me. I was in delivery room #13. Well, you're wrong. I don't know what to tell you. OK. Well, my flight
leaves in 10 minutes. NARRATOR: Anita offers up
the only solution left. Are you not able to find
the baby's date of birth. The baby infor-- Thank you, Lisa. She said she's not
able to find the baby. So, I mean, we're
limited on time. What you need to do is
present the birth certificate to customer relations. They will refund your money. Am I going to
get this credited back once I can prove-- Once you present
the birth certificate. And if you had told
me that to begin with, we should have done that. I tried to tell tell
your husband, but-- Impossible. How is any of this possible? OK. OK. Ready. I got a family coming down. I was at the counter. NARRATOR: With
five minutes to go, they have no hope of
making the flight, unless Anita escorts them
through security personally. A family of four. H-O-- NARRATOR: Back in the
terminal, Anita is racing the Hoanshield's to their gate. Board, anyway, Lisa. Holding. I'm at 11. That's up to you, Margarita. Make them work. NARRATOR: Anita persuades
the crew to hold the plane. Come on. Just come through. We'll do it at the top. Are we gonna make it? NARRATOR: In the end, they
are the last to board. Our final for Southwest ever. She was crazy,
man, at the counter. And her husband, he wouldn't
let me say anything. Sometimes we can tell
the baby is under two, but with that baby it
was kind of borderline. So. And then, she wasn't real nice. We have two kids
traveling by themselves. They will not let us walk
our kids out together. You know what? Southwest. Don't fly Southwest. It's not about Southwest. Yes, it is. NARRATOR: Security
rules at Midway are making Debbie
Prisbilow angry. She's got two kids. And only she or her
husband, not both, can accompany them to the gate. They're going to
see their father for the Christmas holidays. And both me and
their stepdad wants to walk them down
because we're not going to have them for the holidays. So, both of us want to
say goodbye to them, and they won't let us. We have to limit the people
that go through security. And that's what I'm
trying to get to you. It's a security reason. I cannot handle watching
two kids by myself. I can give you a pass
for one person to go down. Anybody could grab
them and kidnap them. So, what's your answer to that? You rather get the kids
kidnapped during the holidays? Ma'am. Ma'am, what? NARRATOR: Debbie's
standing her ground. Time to bring in reinforcements. Right now, we're
blocking off this. So, I'm going to
get you checked in. I'm already checked it. But I want to know
about my kids, though. Why can't we walk them down? NARRATOR: In Chicago
Jenny Boehner has been called to deal
with disgruntled mom Debbie Prisbilow. We just don't give out
passenger information on your children to anybody. So, if anything--
- To anybody? I'm their mother. So, that's not anybody. We had to buy two tickets. I want to walk her down. He wants to walk him down. What is the difference? Right now, we have
the holiday traffic. Everything's congested. And we do have to
follow security rule. We're only allowed
to let one parent go. Know what? I think your security
reason is wrong. And I think you're
just making this up because any other
airline would do it. You should have both
adults bring your children, you know, to the gates to board. It's ridiculous. It's the holidays. I want to say goodbye. Both of us want to say
goodbye to our kids. Right. I mean, this is our first
Christmas without them. We both want to say
goodbye to them. Is that so difficult to ask? NARRATOR: Debbie is a
force to be reckoned with. And she's not taking
no for an answer. Debbie's determined to
stay with her daughter until her plane leaves. Her husband and son are
already through security. But she's confident she
can blag another security pass from baggage services. You didn't get a pass at the-- No. They did not give me a pass
for her to walk her down. As she's traveling
with someone else? Her 12-year-old brother. Who's already down there. Who did he go down there with? His stepfather. NARRATOR: Little
does Debbie know, but Sharia is double
checking with the folks at the ticket counter. Hello. Hey, who is this? Hey, so this is Sharia. Everything gets done upstairs. The only reason they
do come down here is when they have more than
one person walking them through and they denied her the pass. Hopefully, they could get
this resolved, or one of them will walk her down and stay
with her until the plane leaves. NARRATOR: But Jenny's
caught on to Debbie's game. I was shocked when Deborah
made her way through bags. I was shocked that
she left her husband and separated the children. She had our back
against the wall. There is nothing more
I can do, you know, than make a bigger scene
out of that situation. NARRATOR: But Debbie
does seem determined to make the most of the
situation, making up rules as she goes along. There was no legal
guardian down there of her. - He's my stepdad.
- That's a stepdad. That is not a legal guardian. By the state of
Illinois, or any place, any federal government, a
stepfather or a stepparent is not a legal
guardian of anybody. So, you know what? You messed up. So, you will stay with
her until she leaves. Otherwise, I will sue you for
leaving a child by herself without a legal guardian. NARRATOR: Debbie has
put Jenny between a rock and a hard place. There was no option except to
issue a second security pass. I saw her heart was
breaking because her kids are going away for the holidays. So. This is my first
Christmas without my kids. You feel better now that
I could walk you down? NARRATOR: Over at the ticket
desk, a mother and her two sons have arrived late and missed
their flight to San Diego. I want to be-- I want to have an
assigned seat on a flight. I was supposed to be
at work this morning. NARRATOR: Sharon
McEnery and her sons could be in for a long
wait for the next flight. If there's only
at 9:15, we have to standby the whole damn day? Check another airline for me. American West, anything. Just check another
airline for me. I want to get out
of Chicago today. OK.
Let me check. Our flight was supposed
to leave in 10 minutes. And we missed our flight. And they got nothing available. All day, you know. I'm going to miss a whole
day at work for this. Just got here late
and didn't expect the line to be like this. I thought there was a
problem with the credit card, I guess or something. Ma'am, they advise
you to be here two hours before departure. You showed up 20 minutes
before departure. Because the line. The line takes
about 40 minutes. 40 to 50 minutes. Well, we've never been here
before, so I didn't know this. OK? Everything's sold out. It's Monday. It's a busy day, so. Everything is overbooked. That's ridiculous. It's absolutely insane. It's not like this in San Diego. NARRATOR: Sharon and
her sons have no choice, but to go on standby. Justin, get over
here and take this! And then, she tries
to blame it on me for not being here on time. I don't think so. NARRATOR: Sharon
McEnery and her sons are now on standby for
a flight to San Diego. Will there be three seats left? I only have two seats left. Well, [INAUDIBLE]. Let's go. Let's go to American West. Screw this. Do you want to spend all
damn day in the airport? [INAUDIBLE] this? The flight out. The last flight is booked. [MUSIC PLAYING] I'm just trying
to get out of here. Thank you. They want 3,000 some odd dollars
to get us the hell out of here. Ugh. And nobody else
has got anything. We're stuck. I mean, Southwest
really screwed me. NARRATOR: It looks like Sharon's
finally run out of options. There's no way out of here. Yeah, I'm trying to get out
of Chicago to go to San Diego. Do you have anything available? NARRATOR: Sharon McEnery has
tried every which way to escape Chicago without success. Right. We can't get out of here. I want to go home to San Diego. I want to sue Southwest, man. We can't get out of here. I don't believe this. I don't believe this. We're stuck in damn Chicago. NARRATOR: She ends up
asking Anita if she can get her on a flight today. Let me see. Just to make sure I
don't have a better way for you to get to San Diego. Just double checking, OK? I mean, if the
girl hadn't screwed around with my credit card so
long, we could have made it. And then, she tells these guys,
"Oh well, she came up here 20 minutes before boarding." That's [INAUDIBLE] right. OK. So let's prepare you
that you're going to go through Kansas City. So again, a double connection. So, it changes planes
again in Albuquerque to get you to San Diego. If this is the only
way we can do it, it's the only way we can do it. Oh my God! I've never gone through so much
hassle in all my life flying. NARRATOR: It's a roundabout
way back to San Diego, but it's their only option. Are you available now? Let me see if I
can find Sharon. NARRATOR: Back in
Chicago, Anita is absolutely determined to make
sure Sharon gets on a flight today. Standby passengers, Sharon
McEnery to the podium, please. Stand by passengers, Sharon
McEnery to the podium. Come on Sharon. Think you made it, honey. Oh! Come on guys! You didn't trust
me, did you Sharon? You didn't trust me, did you? Oh God. NARRATOR: Back at BWI,
Gina gives some bad news to some Buffalo passengers. All right, all passengers,
your estimated time of departure is 9:16. An estimated time of arrival
into Buffalo is 10:20. We do apologize about
the inconvenience, but it is due to weather, and
we cannot control the weather, unfortunately. Thank you. NARRATOR: Mr Singh is on his
way to a friend's wedding and isn't taking the news well. Unfortunately sir,
like I was telling you before, when
it's due to weather, it's out of our control. I'm the highest
that you get, sir. And I'm not going to compensate
you when it's a weather delay. There is a manager, but he is
tied up at the moment, sir. He's tied up at
the moment, sir. OK, they're going to tell you
the same thing I'm telling you, that's why. That's what I'm trying to say. You want me to be comp-- you
want me to compensate you, because the flight's
delayed due to weather, and I'm not going to do that. We don't fly in
unsafe conditions He is tied at the moment, sir. OK, that's fine. I'll call him and tell him that
you're going to wait for him. Hey, Craig. Craig, I know you're busy, but
can you call me at Charlie 13 when you get a chance. [MUSIC PLAYING] He's upset, because it's
delayed due to weather and he wants to be compensated. He didn't want to
listen to me, because he said I'm not compensating him. So he said he was done with
me, that he wanted a manager. [MUSIC PLAYING] Now, what you're
saying is that you're going up there for a wedding. When is the wedding? 9 o'clock tonight? OK, so what you're
trying to decide is if you really want to
go up to Buffalo or not? Is that what your--
the question is? Mm-hmm. Well sir, because this was
related to the weather delay, we don't provide any
type of compensation here in the airport. Well, if you'd
like to cancel, we can give you your money back
if you'd like to, you know, do that. I understand since you're
missing the wedding. There's not anything we can
provide you because this type of a delay, no sir. I'm sorry you
feel that way and if you decide if we can help
you something else, let us know. All right. Mr Singh is
obviously very upset. He's got an important
meeting to go to. He's got a wedding
going on in Buffalo, and he's looking for some kind
of a gratification for this, and unfortunately, at this
point, we can't offer him that. NARRATOR: At Chicago
Midway, the last Baltimore flight is about to
depart and Tim Broussard can't find his ticket. What flight are
you getting on? I'm trying to get
on this 8:15 flight. OK, who never handed
you anything back? She told me-- I was on a standby flight. I went over to her, she
called my name on a standby. I went there, I gave her
the ticket for a standby, and she said she gave it
back to me and told me I needed to be screened, but-- OK, who's she?
Pinky? Yes. OK. She didn't give me anything. Did you see-- did you see the? I saw the actual paper ticket. Did he go through the
screening at checkpoint? No, we were
waiting on security, and I knew that she asked for
109, so I know it was him. So I looked around for-- So is security coming down? Yeah, security is coming. Margarita said she's
calling them again. Have you been walking
around just in this gate area? No, right here and right here. That's it. They called my name on the PTA. I was on standby, and they
told me I was on the flight, and I came over, I
gave her my license. She checked me in,
she took my ticket. Hi it's Colleen in Chicago. Hang on. I have to get
additional screening. This is-- this is nutty. I don't understand this. NARRATOR: Tim's flight is
about to leave without him. The hunt is on for
the missing ticket. We are looking for
a security document that possibly was
stamped through TSA for additional screening. He's claiming he was screened,
but unfortunately we don't-- [INTERPOSING VOICES] --doesn't have one
of these on there. He wasn't screened. Should be one more
if he was screened. Tim, are you going
through all your stuff? I don't have any ticket. I handed it to her. He's a full fair ticket. And he was a standby? Yeah, which I know. I mean, I saw the ticket
and I stamped it in. That's how I know that
everything was um-- Is it in your last? Were you doing another
flight at the time, Pink? You know, I just
think this kid-- this kid, he
probably dropped it. Isn't he the one
that dropped his food? Yeah, he is. Where'd he throw it away? Where's the garbage bag? Where'd the cleaning lady
go with the garbage bag? Honey, you're the one who
dropped your food over here. Did you leave your boarding-- I walked down, I came
down, I dropped some fries. I picked up the
fries and I threw them right here in the garbage. What'd you do with
the garbage bag? I just told her not to take it. I just told her not
to take the garbage. All it was was french fries. Attention in the
airport, Southwest Airlines is paging one source cleaner. Return to Bravo 8. One source cleaner,
return to Bravo 8. Please bring your
garbage bag back. Tim, you need to come over here. I need to talk to you if you
want to get on this flight. I'm helping you out. Yeah. OK, you're not helping me,
because you lost your ticket, and you need a ticket
to get on this aircraft. OK?
- I understand that. So you need to pay
attention to what I'm saying, because I know you keep
saying she lost it, but she didn't lose it. First off, you're
putting the blame on me, right off the get go. Tim, I don't need to let
you go on this aircraft. I'm telling you-- I understand that. You lost your ticket. OK? You're telling me
that I lost my ticket. OK.
- OK. I'll go with that as long
as I could get on this flight. OK. NARRATOR: With only minutes
to go before takeoff, Colleen decides to get
Tim cleared by security and allows him to travel. Nick. Pinky, pull a boarding card. Please. Sorry. How you doing? How's it going? Is that all the
luggage you got? Yep. OK. [BEEPING] Thank you. They're waiting for you. Juanita, wait. Juanita, wait. Wait. The flight is about to depart,
but not without a final word from Colleen. Hi, sorry. Where's Mr Bouchard? Where'd he go? He's-- Mr Bouchard, I just
want to let you know, your ticket was laying on
the floor in the hallway. We were able to find it. Thanks. Thank you. Hey. Thank you. Thank you. Turns out Mr
Bouchard had actually lost his ticket in the
concourse, like we told him. He just didn't want
to listen to us and I don't think he
understood how much we were trying to help him. He didn't want to listen. So the TSA screener
was walking away and found his ticket laying
on the floor in the hallway, like we tried to tell him. So, anyway. NARRATOR: At LAX, Connie McFall
has arrived late for his flight to Las Vegas. You might get on the next one. NARRATOR: Having been in the
hospital all day for tests, he's not feeling too well. If I pass out, what I do? Just-- I'm very, very serious. I'm not feeling well. Do you want a wheelchair? I could call for a wheelchair. No, I just wanted to let you
know that I may have a little, you know, medical emergency
here, because I haven't eaten anything, because I
thought I was going to be able to catch the flight. So-- Right, well
actually our next is a little bit delayed,
if you want to go grab and get something to eat. Do you want me to walk
with you to gate 2 and show you where it is? Well, I mean, I'm a college
graduate, I can find gate 2. Where is it, down
here or something? Yeah, you're going to
go straight down here and you're going to see the
food court on your right. Like the security area,
and you take a right. It's a hallway going up. Thank you very much. OK, I'll see you up there. He just had to go get
some medical treatment. And he said that he's been here
for like hours waiting to get out and that he
wasn't feeling well, so that's why I was
offering him a wheelchair. NARRATOR: On standby
for the next flight, Connie makes his way to
gate 2, but he's not happy. I have not flown a [BLEEP]
airline for at least since 18-- you know, since 1991,
and I'm really [BLEEP] pissed off about this
[BLEEP] You know, I'm not a [BLEEP] terrorist. You know, I don't have-- I don't have any
[BLEEP] socks on dude. I'm not going to blow
up a [BLEEP] damn plane, I'm a veteran. You know, it's overbooked
or whatever the case may be, you would think
going to Las Vegas, they would have a big
damn jumbo [BLEEP] jet, you know, going here. A 747, a 787, or
whatever the hell they can have, to go to Las Vegas,
the entertainment Mecca of the damn [BLEEP]
universe, and they have these little damn
little-- little damn Volkswagen Jetta aircraft. You know, I mean,
this is stupid. This is LA-damn-X, man. And you know, you're going into
Las Vegas, the entertainment capital, the Mecca of the
world, and you got a damn, you know, little small ass plane. Let's have some big damn
planes around this place. Big [BLEEP] planes. Big. Not tall, not small. Big. If you're going to Las Vegas. Big planes. Big planes are a good thing. I was over here, man, getting
ready to freaking pass out, because I'm
lightheaded and woozy, because of all the medication
stuff I've had to take today. So between that and then
come up here and say, well, I'm sorry sir we can't
get you on the plane to go to Las Vegas, give me a break. NARRATOR: Connie has
made it to gate 2. He's still on
standby and Liz has decided to make sure he's OK. Excuse me, Mr McFall. I wanted to see if you're
feeling better, from when I spoke with you over at gate 7. I'm just-- I'm sitting here. As you see, there's currently
no place to sit, so. You sure you don't
want a wheelchair? Nope. What time is the
plane gonna leave? It's supposed to
leave around 6:20. Yeah.
So that means-- [INTERPOSING VOICES] --you would clear
standbys at like 6:10. OK? I'm just not really, you
know, feeling too hot right now. Yeah, I understand. That's why I wanted to know
if you wanted a wheelchair. Just for your comfort. Really I needed something
to drink, because, I mean, I didn't even get any
water or anything. I was about to pass out in here. So, that was my main concern. So-- All right, well we also have
the first aid phone number, if you feel you need any
of that type of assistance that I can call. If I pass out, I think I'm
going to need a little bit more than first aid. OK, well, paramedics. I could call the
paramedics for you. OK, all right, I just
wanted to check in on you. All right. Thank you very much, though. Seriously, I appreciate it. Thank you. You're welcome. I would have thought
they would have offered me a glass of water. A glass of friggin water, man. I mean, is that too much to ask? If you know that I have
a pending serious medical condition, where I may
friggin pass the hell out, you can't even show
some type of compassion by offering a glass-- a bottle of water, or
some juice, or something? NARRATOR: It looks like Connie
may not be well enough to fly. So, it sounds like you think
that he's too sick to go. I don't know what you-- I thought he was just
tired and wanted to go home, and he had had
medical treatment. First of all, did she
offer you a wheelchair? Do you want to
conserve your energy? Just preserve your
energy, instead of just standing on the wall like this? So you can-- How much longer
is it going to be? It's already been a while. You've been standing
for a while. The wheelchair's easy. Please, if you can
take a wheelchair just to relax for a
few minutes, maybe it'll make you feel better. Are you sure? OK. NARRATOR: Carolyn gives Connie
the all clear and preboards him. After spending nearly
12 hours in LA, Connie is finally
on his way home.
