EMB ERJ 145 ER/LR
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Communication Breakdown; Other / Unknown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Flight Deck / Cabin / Aircraft Event Other / Unknown; Ground Event / Encounter Other / Unknown
General Flight Cancelled / Delayed
Human Factors
During the deplaning process I was stopped by a group of passengers while I left the aircraft to go print paperwork. The first person to stop me was the passenger who identified himself by saying initially he was sitting in [the front row of the aircraft cabin]. He asked me if I was the captain; and I responded yes; how I can help you. He was very calm and seemed friendly. He very bluntly said; 'I am really concerned about your flight attendant'. I asked him how so? He then explained that during cruise the flight attendant would go in the galley and slam the galley carts around; and also aggressively slamming the doors shut on the carts and the doors to the other storage areas in the galley. The passenger then told me the flight attendant would then begin to jump up; and down in his jump seat; he would then repeat the behavior till landing. At this point other passengers that were seated near the gentlemen confirmed our flight attendants bizarre conduct in flight. The group of passengers told me they were considering using the interphone; or knocking on the flight deck door as they feared their safety and wanted to contact us (referring to US as 'The Pilots') I told all of them that I would follow through with this and that I took their complaints very seriously. At this point I entered the terminal and immediately attempted to call the Chief Pilots Office; unable to reach them I tried to contact Mr. X. After a period of time being able to establish contact with the company; I called Crew Scheduling and talked to the Hub Coordinator. I briefed her on the situation (she was the first available person to talk to); and the concerns the passengers shared with me; and it was my position the flight attendant needed to removed from the trip. She started the process by checking to see if we had a flight attendant available. She took my cell phone number; and then called me back notifying me of a new flight attendant. I then called my first officer asking him to hold boarding off till we had a full crew; and I had a chance to finish notifying the proper channels. My First Officer texted me that he identified himself to the gate agent; and informed her we were dealing with a situation that required us to hold off boarding. He told her that once the situation was resolved the Captain would let her know when she could board the flight. The first officer returned to the aircraft and performed the terminating checklist; and left to meet me so I could better explain the situation to him. The Scheduler called me back to follow up on what progress she had made; satisfied I ask her to inform Mainline Operations. At that point I had an incoming call from Mr. Y; feeling she and I had the situation under control I thanked her; and ended the call. I then called Mr. Y back to brief him on the situation. He asked me to see if I could locate the passenger from previous flight's name and contact information. I told him I would return to the gate and see what information I can find. While walking to the gate I called my first officer back so I could get him in the loop; and we agreed to meet in the boarding area; and this is when the situation quickly spiraled out of control.As we approached the boarding area we heard the agent my first officer instructed not to board announcing the final boarding call for our flight. To our amazement we asked the gate agent what was going on; as my First Officer told you not to board this flight. She then replied that she is a [Mainline] gate agent not [Express]; and she does not have to follow instructions from the crew only from [Mainline] Operations/Zone Control. I tried to then explain to her what was going on and why we were holding off boarding. Unfortunately before I could explain to her what was going on she began to talk over me going on a rant about how she is again 'A [Mainline] gate agent'; 'just because you are a pilot does not mean you can tell me if I can board an aircraft; only operations can dothat'; 'captains and first officers do not have the authority they think they do'. I tried to deescalate the situation; and calm her down unsuccessfully she kept her stance and raised he voice even more. My first officer quickly noticed I was not going to make any headway with her; so he stepped in asking her to call a supervisor. Reluctantly she agreed placing a call to Zone Control; and a supervisor answered the line. She handed me the phone; and I explained what was going on. Telling him the agent was instructed to hold boarding till the captain told her it was ok to board. However she did not follow the instructions; and boarded the flight anyway. We now had a depowered aircraft full of passengers; with no pilots on board; a flight attendant that has been removed from the trip due to passenger complaints; and we do not know when the new flight attendant will be available. He indicated to me that he would instruct the gate agent to deplane; I handed the agent the phone; I overheard the agent refuse to deplane the passenger (twice) then hung up the phone. The gate agent then told me I would have to go away so she could close the flight. At this point my first officer and I returned to the aircraft so we could power it up while passengers were onboard. After making sure the aircraft had power and my first officer was comfortable with me leaving I returned to the gate area hoping things had calmed down; and to coordinate the plan. Now there are 3 gate agents and a supervisor telling me that I cannot request passenger information; and that I am delaying the flight. Getting nowhere I decided to return to the aircraft; and this is when I received a call back from Mr. Y. Leaving the boarding area I was followed by the supervisor; he was making every attempt to talk over me and interrupt my conversation with Mr. Y and my Chief Pilots.To summarize; I feel like the supervisor was harassing me verbally; while attempting to intimidate me. He was making every attempt to interfere with my communication with my supervisors; and hub coordinator. During both my phone calls with the Chief Pilot the supervisor would 'yell at me to get the plane off the gate' (keep in mind he would not listen to me about the change in flight attendants; and anything I said was not taken into consideration). He clearly did not care that the wrong flight attendant was on board the aircraft; no consideration for the passengers as they were boarded on an a aircraft without power; or air conditioning for an extended period of time. I kept walking further into the international terminal until the supervisor stopped following me and I could collect myself as I had for a short moment reached the apex of my ability to handle the situation. After communicating with my first officer that the new flight attendant had arrived I was able to retrieve the updated paperwork and talk to both chief pilots without interruption from the gate agents and supervisor I then returned to the gate area where I overheard the gate agents giving my name out to passengers and two of them were briefing our old flight attendant about the previous flights passenger complaints. The chief pilots instructed me to keep them on the phone while I went back out to the plane. The supervisor that had been impeding my attempts to talk to the chief pilot's office then let me through the gate door out to the aircraft. The next flight was then completed with no further issue. The threats were the flight attendants actions that created the passengers complaints; which created the possibility of a significant safety risk. The gate agent created a further issue by not following my First Officers instructions to not board the next flight; as I did not want any passengers on board the aircraft until the new flight attendant arrived. I really needed the chief pilot's office to tell ops not to board the plane because they would not recognize any authority I had as the Captain of the flight. It was extremely difficult to reach a chief pilot in a timely manner; and then when I did the gate agents and supervisor were trying to prevent me from completing the phone call. Ops and the gate agent would also not recognize my First Officers authority to tell the gate agent not to board the aircraft; even though he was making that statement after my instructions to do so. My feeling is that if my First Officer is doing that; it is no different than if I am standing there myself.
E145 Captain describes a test of wills between the gate agent and himself when the gate agent is instructed not to board until a new flight attendant arrives at the aircraft. The aircraft is boarded without the cockpit crew present and with no power on the aircraft.