# United flight diverted after family complains about movie



## amtrakwolverine (Apr 8, 2013)

> A violent in-flight movie apparently proved to be too much for a family traveling with kids, setting off a chain of events that led to the pilot diverting the flight and an airline taking a second look at its entertainment offerings.


http://www.nbcnews.com/travel/united-flight-diverted-after-family-complains-about-movie-1C9254726


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## The Davy Crockett (Apr 8, 2013)

For me, it raises the question of why our society presently feels the need to be constantly entertained, and worse, that this is now considered the new 'normal.' hboy:

Reminds me of the LAX - IAD flight I took several years back, where we were very strongly 'encouraged' to shut our window blinds so that the zombies cabin could watch "City Slickers" while we were flying over some of the most scenic and amazing scenery the southwestern U.S. has to offer. I refused, because I had gotten a 'window' seat for a reason. That is, just as on Amtrak, I like looking out the window and taking in the scenery.  Nothing like feeling peer pressured into watching Hollywood's 'reels' on 'the real thing' one can actually experience. :wacko:

To quote U2 in Sunday, Bloody Sunday:



> And it's true we are immune
> When fact is fiction and TV reality


h34r:

But... As also sung by U2:



> There ain't nothing
> Like the real thing, baby
> There ain't nothing
> Like the real thing
> ...


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## AmtrakBlue (Apr 8, 2013)

TDC, I agree. I probably should take some wipes with me on planes to wash away my nose prints when we land.  .

Last year I had a middle seat from DCA to DEN & hated not being able to look out the window. Luckily on my flight back from SLC I was able to get a window seat after asking at the gate to let me know if one became available due to no show or upgrade. It was the last row with the bulkhead, which I was told, & I said that didn't matter because I'd have my nose glued to the window.


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## Bob Dylan (Apr 8, 2013)

:blink: Why on Earth was the Flight "Diverted" for a Crummy Movie???? (one of our Members, saxman, is an Airline Pilot, perhaps he has some info on SOPs in situations like this??? )And speaking of Airline Movies, I've never seen one that wasnt formated to Generic/Bland Airline Approved Tripe so sounds like these Parents might be a tad Overeactive eh!  I'm also Amazed  that People have to be provided "Entertainment " when they Travel when all they have to do, as was said, is look out the Window or heavens forbid talk with other Travelers! I've been on the Zephyr and Starlight when people had their eyes Glued to Tablets, Phones, Laptops, Games etc. while going through some of the Best Scenery in North America!  :help:


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## SarahZ (Apr 8, 2013)

How did those little kids even see the screens? I can just see over the backs of the seats, and I'm 5'6".

Anyway, some reports (and I can't find the links) provided the missing part of the story. The man and his wife got belligerent with the crew, demanding to speak to the captain, and when that didn't work, they tried to force/push the drop-down screen back up into the ceiling. Given their behavior, the captain worried they might try to cause more harm to the plane or cause even more incidents with the crew. The flight wasn't diverted simply because they asked the crew to stop the movie, which is what's being reported. As if a pilot would cause that kind of air traffic control nonsense because two people asked the crew to change movies. 

When they were told "no", they could have given their kids something to keep them occupied (you can't hear the movie without headphones) and then written to every media outlet in the world. But, they decided to take it a step further and act like fools, which caused everyone on that flight to suffer a delay and/or missed connection. :angry:


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## Someone (Apr 9, 2013)

The most surprising part of this news for me is that *United had a movie screen inside one of its domestic flights! *Lucky passengers!


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## jis (Apr 9, 2013)

Someone said:


> The most surprising part of this news for me is that *United had a movie screen inside one of its domestic flights! *Lucky passengers!


Surely you jest?  While there are some United planes that do not have any entertainment system, most new ones and all ex-Continental ones do, either at seat or communal. Actually I am trying to think of one that I have flow recently that did not. They were some old ex-United planes, but can't think of a single ex-Continental plane. Of course no Regional Jets or other Regional planes have any.


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## trainman74 (Apr 9, 2013)

jis said:


> Surely you jest?  While there are some United planes that do not have any entertainment system, most new ones and all ex-Continental ones do, either at seat or communal. Actually I am trying to think of one that I have flow recently that did not. They were some old ex-United planes, but can't think of a single ex-Continental plane. Of course no Regional Jets or other Regional planes have any.


Other way around -- all "United" aircraft have some sort of movie screens (whether ceiling-mounted or in the seats), but there are some "Continental" aircraft (737-500s and some of the 737-900s) that have no screens.

There's more info on this unofficial site.


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## jis (Apr 9, 2013)

trainman74 said:


> jis said:
> 
> 
> > Surely you jest?  While there are some United planes that do not have any entertainment system, most new ones and all ex-Continental ones do, either at seat or communal. Actually I am trying to think of one that I have flow recently that did not. They were some old ex-United planes, but can't think of a single ex-Continental plane. Of course no Regional Jets or other Regional planes have any.
> ...


The ex-Con 500s yeah I forgot about those. I think around 9 or fewer are left and all are on their way out since they are leased. So none will get entertainment system. And as you said there are some 8s and 9s that are progressively getting DTV.
The point being there are very few United aircrafts that do not have some sort of entertainment system. Of course I prefer the AVOD/DTV to the communal ones. They are better for me since I don't have to deal with requiring to pull down the shades so others can see the communal screens.


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## AmtrakBlue (Apr 9, 2013)

jis said:


> trainman74 said:
> 
> 
> > jis said:
> ...


Maybe they need to put in privacy curtains for each seat so we can just close the curtain around us and look out the window while the others watch their movies or work on their tablets, etc. without complainiing that our window is creating a glare. Luckily I have not run into that problem but then I don't fly often.


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## saxman (Apr 17, 2013)

As Sorcha said, there is way more to the story than what is being reported. A pilot would never ever divert because someone didn't like the movie. But I can see they were being unruly, and in that case, the plane might be diverted. It has to be somewhat extreme though, but it is really up to the pilots' judgement and each would probably do something different.

That said though, I aside from time and convenience, I'll choose a flight based on it's entertainment system.  If I'm going to the west coast, I'll always look at Virgin America's flights first. That and JetBlue if going east.


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## SarahZ (Apr 18, 2013)

We're using Virgin for our flight to SFO because we were so impressed with their entertainment system and "Star Trek lighting", as my boyfriend calls it. We also like that the coach seats are 19.7" instead of 17". 

I was surprised to see that some planes still have drop-down screens. All of the planes I've been on either have the screen in the head rest or no screens at all. Granted, I've never been on a flight that lasted longer than 4.5 hours.


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## GG-1 (Apr 18, 2013)

Sorcha said:


> Granted, I've never been on a flight that lasted longer than 4.5 hours.


Guess you have never visited Hawaii or had heck of a tail wind.


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## SarahZ (Apr 18, 2013)

GG-1 said:


> Sorcha said:
> 
> 
> > Granted, I've never been on a flight that lasted longer than 4.5 hours.
> ...


I'd looooove to visit Hawaii someday.

I've always flown from Detroit or Chicago, so everything is within 4-ish hours if I'm on a nonstop.

The one "long" flight I had was London, ON to Victoria, BC, but it was broken up into three flights on the way there and two on the way back. Most people would hate making two connections, but I loved it. Take-off and landing are my favorite part of the flight.


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