Family of four kicked off Delta Air Lines flight for refusing to give up two-year-old son's seat

Brian Schear argues with staff on the Delta Air Lines flight
Brian S/YouTube

A family claim they were removed from an overbooked Delta Air Lines flight and threatened with prison after refusing to give up their two-year-old son’s seat.

Brian Schear and his wife Brittany had boarded the flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles with their one and two year old sons when they were asked by staff to get off.

An eight-minute video posted on YouTube by Mr Schear shows him arguing with crew members as they try to convince him to give up the seat being used by his son Grayson.

The crew member asks Mr Schear, from Southern California, to carry Grayson on his lap so someone else can have the seat.

Mr Schear argues that he has paid for the seat, initially reserved for his 18-year-son Mason, who had travelled on an earlier flight.

He tells the staff: “You’re saying you’re gonna give that away to someone else when I paid for that seat? That’s not right.”

An airline official then replies: “With him being two, he cannot sit in the car seat. He has to sit in your arms the whole time.”

Crew members said Mr Schear's son could not sit on his own in a plane seat
Brian S/YouTube

Crew members claimed this is banned under Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, however this is at odds with Delta's published advice, which says that for children under two years "we recommend you purchase a seat on the aircraft and use an approved child safety seat".

The FAA's website also "strongly urges" parents to put young children in a safety device in their own seat during flights.

Mr Schear has since told news station KABC that the staff threatened that he and his wife would be sent to prison if they didn’t give up the seat.

He said: “You have to give up the seat or you’re going to jail, your wife is going to jail and they’ll take your kids from you.”

Mr Schear later claimed he and his wife were threatened with prison
Brian S/YouTube

His wife Brittany told ABC although the family believed they were in the right there was little they could do.

"As a mother, you have a one-year-old and two-year-old - it doesn't matter whether that's true or false. It put fear in me," she said.

The incident, which happened on April 23, came to light when the video was posted online.

Delta apologised in a statement on Thursday evening.

The company said: "We are sorry for the unfortunate experience our customers had with Delta, and we've reached out to them to refund their travel and provide additional compensation."

"Delta's goal is to always work with customers in an attempt to find solutions to their travel issues. That did not happen in this case and we apologise."

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