01-26-2008, 09:00 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->DELAWARE: Couple sue over airline food dispute
Promised Hindu meal not provided -- amid threats -- suit says
By ESTEBAN PARRA
The News Journal
DOVER â A Hindu couple from Smyrna has sued United Airlines, claiming they were denied food for 12 hours and threatened with arrest after telling a flight attendant they were unable to eat their airplane meal for religious reasons.
The lawsuit, filed in Kent County Superior Court, also claims the head flight attendant threatened to have Amrutbhai Patel investigated by the FBI once the mid-July flight from Shanghai, China, arrived in Chicago. Because Patel's wife, Nilaben Patel, was unable to eat, the suit alleges, she couldn't take her antibiotics.
"The conduct of the flight attendants toward [the Patels] was readily apparent to all members of the flight in the immediate vicinity and was highly embarrassing and distressing to [the Patels] and all members of the group," said the suit, filed by Dover attorney Nicholas H. Rodriguez.
According to the suit, the head attendant referred to the Patels and their group as "these people" and threatened to have anyone who said anything about the situation arrested.
Rodriguez would not discuss the suit without talking with his clients. The Patels, who allege a breach of contract, could not be reached Monday. They are seeking unspecified damages.
Megan McCarthy, a United Airlines Inc. spokeswoman, said she was unaware of the lawsuit and could not comment.
"In general, any situation involving complaints from our customers we take seriously and we will address," she said.
Anita Feld, of Bedford, Mass., was a passenger on the flight and witnessed the incident. She sent a letter to United Airlines protesting the treatment of the group.
"It used to be 'The customer was always right,' " Feld wrote. "It appears now the flight attendants do not have to try to keep their customers content concerning food issues."
In her letter to the airline, which was filed with the lawsuit, Feld said an attendant called "one of the Indian travelers 'obnoxious' and insisted that he stop talking about the incident."
"I felt this was outrageous as this was definitely a food issue not a terrorist issue," she wrote.
It is uncommon for airlines to have Hindu meals, and is something Hindus deal with, said Patibanda Sarma, president of the Hindu Temple of Delaware. Hindus will go without eating or make do with fresh fruit, he said.
But no one should be subjected to the treatment the Patels say they received, Sarma said.
"People cannot be threatened," Sarma said. "It's just a meal."
According to court documents, the Patels boarded United Airlines Flight 836 from Shanghai to Chicago on July 17. The tickets came with an airline pledge to furnish the Patels and other members of their group with Hindu meals.
United Airlines' Hindu meals are designed for vegans and do not include meat, fish, eggs or dairy products. The diet is part of the religion, which the airline acknowledges under its list of religious diets.
According to the lawsuit, when attendants began serving non-Hindu meals to the group, the Patels informed them of the problem.
Attendants then told the Patels that "they could not have any meals or food of any nature whatsoever other than what had been offered throughout the entire flight."
The head attendant, according to the suit, told the other attendants the Patels were not to receive any food or alternates for the remainder of the 12-hour flight, despite other passengers being given bread and fresh fruit -- which are allowed in a Hindu diet.
The suit also alleges <b>the head attendant threatened to have the plane diverted to Tokyo, where Patel would be removed from the aircraft, arrested and have his passport taken. She also threatened Patel with arrest in Chicago and investigation by the FBI.</b>
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...1/80122041/1002
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Promised Hindu meal not provided -- amid threats -- suit says
By ESTEBAN PARRA
The News Journal
DOVER â A Hindu couple from Smyrna has sued United Airlines, claiming they were denied food for 12 hours and threatened with arrest after telling a flight attendant they were unable to eat their airplane meal for religious reasons.
The lawsuit, filed in Kent County Superior Court, also claims the head flight attendant threatened to have Amrutbhai Patel investigated by the FBI once the mid-July flight from Shanghai, China, arrived in Chicago. Because Patel's wife, Nilaben Patel, was unable to eat, the suit alleges, she couldn't take her antibiotics.
"The conduct of the flight attendants toward [the Patels] was readily apparent to all members of the flight in the immediate vicinity and was highly embarrassing and distressing to [the Patels] and all members of the group," said the suit, filed by Dover attorney Nicholas H. Rodriguez.
According to the suit, the head attendant referred to the Patels and their group as "these people" and threatened to have anyone who said anything about the situation arrested.
Rodriguez would not discuss the suit without talking with his clients. The Patels, who allege a breach of contract, could not be reached Monday. They are seeking unspecified damages.
Megan McCarthy, a United Airlines Inc. spokeswoman, said she was unaware of the lawsuit and could not comment.
"In general, any situation involving complaints from our customers we take seriously and we will address," she said.
Anita Feld, of Bedford, Mass., was a passenger on the flight and witnessed the incident. She sent a letter to United Airlines protesting the treatment of the group.
"It used to be 'The customer was always right,' " Feld wrote. "It appears now the flight attendants do not have to try to keep their customers content concerning food issues."
In her letter to the airline, which was filed with the lawsuit, Feld said an attendant called "one of the Indian travelers 'obnoxious' and insisted that he stop talking about the incident."
"I felt this was outrageous as this was definitely a food issue not a terrorist issue," she wrote.
It is uncommon for airlines to have Hindu meals, and is something Hindus deal with, said Patibanda Sarma, president of the Hindu Temple of Delaware. Hindus will go without eating or make do with fresh fruit, he said.
But no one should be subjected to the treatment the Patels say they received, Sarma said.
"People cannot be threatened," Sarma said. "It's just a meal."
According to court documents, the Patels boarded United Airlines Flight 836 from Shanghai to Chicago on July 17. The tickets came with an airline pledge to furnish the Patels and other members of their group with Hindu meals.
United Airlines' Hindu meals are designed for vegans and do not include meat, fish, eggs or dairy products. The diet is part of the religion, which the airline acknowledges under its list of religious diets.
According to the lawsuit, when attendants began serving non-Hindu meals to the group, the Patels informed them of the problem.
Attendants then told the Patels that "they could not have any meals or food of any nature whatsoever other than what had been offered throughout the entire flight."
The head attendant, according to the suit, told the other attendants the Patels were not to receive any food or alternates for the remainder of the 12-hour flight, despite other passengers being given bread and fresh fruit -- which are allowed in a Hindu diet.
The suit also alleges <b>the head attendant threatened to have the plane diverted to Tokyo, where Patel would be removed from the aircraft, arrested and have his passport taken. She also threatened Patel with arrest in Chicago and investigation by the FBI.</b>
http://www.delmarvanow.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...1/80122041/1002
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