Delta is apologizing for kicking an OC family and their two toddlers off a LAX-bound flight from Hawaii after a video went viral after they refused to give up a seat for their 2-year-old son, despite having paid for it.
"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 apologize," the company said in a statement released on Friday.
Delta says they're refunded the couple their money, as well as offered additional compensation.
The Orange County family posted a video of their encounter on YouTube that quickly went viral after airline employees threatened the family with jail for the adults and 'foster care' for the children.
Brian and Brittany Schear told NBC News they had already boarded the Delta Airline flight from Maui to Los Angeles with their two infant children on April 23rd when they were kicked off the flight for arguing with officials. The Schears were forced to find hotel accommodations, transportation and purchase new tickets for a flight the next day - all after midnight.
The Schears say they had initially purchased the ticket for their teenage son on the red-eye flight returned to LAX, but he went home on an earlier flight so the 2-year-old could have a seat of his own on the plane.
After making the ticket agent aware of the situation, the agent made arrangements so the family could sit together according to Schear.
However, once they were on-board, Delta wanted to give the 2-year-old's seat to another passenger on a standby list. Schear says he was told by Delta agents that the 2-year-old would have to give up his seat. That's when things escalated.
Video capturing the family's removal from the flight showed the moment when an airline or airport employee told Brian if he and his family did not cooperate with authorities, they would all have to leave the plane.
Brian can be heard on the video saying, "Then they can remove me off the plane."
The employee can then be heard telling him, "So this is a federal offense. You and your wife could be in jail and your kids will be in foster care."
"We're going to be in jail and my kids are going to be what?" Schear asks.
"It's a federal offense if you don't abide by it," she replies.
"I bought that seat … you're saying you're going to give that away to someone else when I paid for that seat. That's not right," Schear responded.
Because it was not Schear's teenage son in the seat and the ticket was in his name, the 2-year-old would have to give up the seat. Another argument over whether FAA rules stipulate that a 2-year-old needed to either occupy a car seat or be sitting in an adult's lap.
Schear responds that his son had been in a car seat on their flight to Maui.
The incident on Delta comes on the heels after United Airlines settled with Dr. David Dao, whose infamous video of him being dragged from an overbooked United flight provoked outrage around the world.