Found this on reddit re American Airlines

[trof]

Not my post. Just copy and paste.

I was on this flight directly across the isle from the woman filming the video. This is what I observed:
woman gets on the plane pushing a car seat type stroller with one child in it, carrying a second child on her hip and dragging behind a very large folded stroller that was too big for the overhead bin or to go under a seat.

the flight attendant shown in the video approached from the back of the plane and informed her in a calm manner that there was nowhere to store the stroller. The woman immediately escalated the situation and within about 30 seconds was screaming at him at the top of her lungs.

the flight attendant evidently decided she was not fit to be on the flight (in my opinion the correct decision) and started to move her and her children towards the front of the plane.

when they got to the from of the plane the woman decided she was not going any further. The flight attendant picked up the stroller and lifted it over his head to try and move past the woman. As he was doing this she pushed him and the stroller fell a bit and struck her in the face. She began crying loudly and dramatically. Shortly after this is where the video begins.

The first class passenger then inserts himself into the drama with his faux chivalry but clearly has no idea what has transpired in the back of the plane since he was in a window seat in the first class section of the plane and could not have viewed the incident from his seat.

after another 10 minutes or so the woman exits the plane only to be returned about 5 minutes later and taken to her seat. We wait another 30-40 minutes while various flight and ground crew come and go speaking to the woman. After about 40 minutes she deplanes again this time telling all of the passengers, who are now becoming vocal in support of the flight crew, that all she wanted was an apology from the flight attendant.

Evidently that's what the 40 minute delay was all about. Then we waited another 10
minutes for the ground crew to find and remove her luggage from the belly of the plane.
the flight finally leaves and arrives in Dallas an hour or so late. American representatives are waiting at the gate to speak with the first class passenger who made the threats. What I heard was a very apologetic tone coming from two American employees, as if the airline had done something to upset the first class passenger.

when I entered the bag claim area the first class passenger was right in front of me and as soon as he made it through the revolving door there was a camera crew waiting for him on the other side to interview him.

That's about as factual of an account as I can provide and I realize there may be other parts of this story that I do not know about or did not witness. From what I saw:
if anyone from American should have been punished it should be the ground crew who somehow letting this woman on board with a full size stroller. The flight attendant was put in a horrible situation by a passenger that most passengers in my immediate area thought seemed unstable. She escalated the situation, not him.

in my opinion, the first class passenger should have been removed. Had the flight been in progress he might very well have been arrested upon landing for threatening a crew member. Additionally, he could not have seen any of the back of the plane antics of the woman based on where he was seated.

I agree the flight attendant may have reacted too harshly in responding to the threatening customer in first class, but his actions with the woman in question were professional throughout the ordeal. I am disappointed American has chosen to punish him.
https://www.reddit.com/r/OutOfTheLoop/comments/678kbu/why_is_everyone_upset_about_american_airlines_and/

[pnwmom]

1. So this passenger, all the way in the BACK of the plane, could see everything that happened

in the first class section.

I call BS.

[trof]

2. Read it carefully.

They said it started in coach near the back.

[trof]

3. Woops, my mistake.

They say they were across the aisle from the person recording the video.

[Cattledog]

4. It's Reddit...companies, candidates, etc. use it to promote an agenda.

So take it with a grain of salt.

[Demsrule86]

7. And mostly anti-woman.

[obamanut2012]

10. Biiiingo

[alwaysinflux]

6. I read that the stroller

Was already tagged to be put in checked baggage, and she was supposed to leave it outside the plane in that little area just before you board the plane. I'm guessing she had an entitled attitude and wanted to bring that double-wide stroller on board no matter what anybody told her. Perhaps it was an expensive stroller and she was afraid it would get damaged and she was just not gonna take no for an answer. The first-class passenger also should've stayed out of it, but maybe he wanted to be the hero after what happened on United.

[obamanut2012]

11. you would be wrong about her attitude -- she also is a native Spanish speaker

People keep leaving that out.

And, no, the passenger was right to step in after selling teh FA strike teh woman and then continue to bully here.

Good for him, and AA.

[missingthebigdog]

8. I was on an AA flight Saturday.

I was flying home from Colorado Springs.

We backed away from the jetway, and there was a commotion in the rear of the plane. Flight attendants went to and fro, trying to work out whatever it was, and finally one of them picked up the phone and called the cockpit.

The passenger was traveling with a small dog. She was refusing to put the dog in the kennel, and refusing to stow her carry on bags.

Since the dog was in the cabin, it is possible that it was a service or therapy animal. I am not sure what the rules are, but I imagine that even a service dog would need to be contained during takeoff and landing; it's a safety issue. I can think of no reason for refusing to stow carry ons.


We pulled back into the gate, and were boarded by an AA gate agent and two police officers. The gate agent told her that she had to kennel the dog to fly- exactly as the flight attendant had. She agreed to do that, but still took issue with stowing the carry ons. After a few more minutes of negotiation, she relented, and the officers and gate agent deplaned.

We were delayed almost 40 minutes. I am usually pretty accommodating. I raised three autistic children, and understand the need to make adjustments for people and their circumstances. Even so, I believe she should have been removed from the plane. Refusing to comply until law enforcement is involved is taking things too far. Leaving her on the flight undermined the authority of the flight crew, and, speaking for myself, made other passengers uneasy.

[obamanut2012]

9. Love all the victim blaming all over social media, esp since

This contradicts what everyone else saw and heard.

The passengers have been quite vocal in support of the woman, and AA's actions are very, very telling.