'A little bit of fatherhood': Airline pilot goes viral after telling passengers what behavior won't fly

An American Airlines pilot is receiving high praise after a passenger's video documenting his recent preflight scolding went viral.

While some regarded the indiscriminate reprimand as patronizing, others appear happy to see someone finally put his foot down regarding bad flying etiquette. One Harvard Business School fellow has even indicated the pilot demonstrated a much-needed style of leadership.

Passenger Anna Leah Maltezos' video of the pilot's speech, posted to Instagram on July 26, has been seen well over 5.2 million times and presently has nearly 400,000 likes.

In the video, the captain of the American Airlines Boeing 737 can be heard over the plane's intercom setting down law and custom so that there can be no mistaking what sort of behavior won't fly.

"Remember, the flight attendants are primarily here for your safety," he said. "After that, they're going to make your flight more enjoyable. They're going to take care of you guys, but you will listen to what they have to say because they represent my will in the cockpit ... and my will is what matters."

The captain then listed a few of his high-altitude commandments, including:

• "Be nice to each other";
• "Be respectful to each other";
• "Don't lean on people";
• "Put your junk where it belongs";
• "Don't pass out on other people or drool on 'em unless you've talked about it and they have a weather-assisted jacket."

"I shouldn't have to say that — you people should treat people the way you want to be treated — but I have to say it in every single flight because people don't and they're selfish and rude," he continued. "We won't have it."

The American Airlines captain had a great deal more to get off his chest in the form of what he characterized as "a little bit of fatherhood."

"The social experiment of listening to videos on speaker mode and talking on a cell phone in speaker mode — that is over," he said. "Over and done in this country. Nobody wants to hear your video. I know you think it's super sweet. It probably is, but it's your business, right? So keep it to yourself."

Toward the end of his speech, the pilot played Solomon, making quick work of dividing arm rests among the passengers by noting that "middle seaters ... own both armrests."

One of the most-liked comments on the video was, "The people complaining about his speech are the people that need to hear it."

Another comment, which received over 41,000 likes, similarly suggested, "If you're offended by this speech, congrats, you're the problem."

Maltezos, the passenger who captured the speech on video, told People, "It did seem oddly quiet afterward though ... maybe everyone was just so awed by the gift of double armrests they were left speechless."

Bill George, an executive fellow at Harvard Business School, told CNBC, "I say bravo to the American Airlines pilot. He has every right to do that. He’s the captain of the flight, and he’s in charge of what happens. ... If something goes wrong, he has the obligation to go back to the nearest airport and land ... and no passenger likes that."

To George's point, a United Airlines flight recently had to turn around hours into its journey from San Francisco to Taiwan owing to a "disruptive passenger," reported USA Today.

Brawls and other disruptions are unfortunately not uncommon.

According to the Federal Aviation Administration, there there have been at 1,123 unruly passenger reports so far this year. In 2022, there were 2,455. The previous year was particularly bad, with nearly 6,000 reports of unruly passengers.

George said leaders like the pilot in the video have "the right to set some standards of behavior."

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