Grounded Family Should Be Grateful

It seems these days that everyone is an opportunist. A family is suing an airline because they had to spend a few hours on a plane that was diverted from LAX to Ontario due to bad weather. In “Family Sues Northwest Air Over Christmas Day Delays” [Dec. 28], the Sheldons claim to have suffered severe emotional distress, humiliation and mental anguish. Among the egregious acts: “There was no Christmas music piped in” said their lawyer. “It was claustrophobic” said a family member.

News flash: Air travel is cramped and comes with no guarantee of your favorite music. It also comes with an implicit guarantee to land as safely as possible and to avoid situations that would put you at risk.

The family should be grateful that they were sitting safely, though cramped, on the airplane Christmas morning rather than having attempted a risky landing at the intended airport during bad weather.

Brendan Morrissey

Manhattan Beach

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Their lawyer is quoted as saying “We’re going to be asking for millions of dollars in punitive damages.” I am surprised he didn’t also say the standard “it’s not about the money.” Yeah, right.

This is just another example of the mentality of many in our society that when anything bad happens (even bad weather), someone is responsible and has to be sued.

Russ Lesser

Manhattan Beach