A United Airlines flight attendant called for security on an elderly disabled first class passenger who asked for assistance stowing her cane and small purse, since she’s not allowed to keep them with her for takeoff because she was seated in a bulkhead row.
A fellow first class passenger on the flight shares the incident.
- An “elderly disabled” passenger seated at the first class bulkhead “politely asked the flight attendant if she could help put” up her “small purse and a fully collapsed” into the overhead bin.
- The flight attendant “got super defensive and aggressive,”
ABSOLUTELY NOT, I CANNOT DO THAT DUE TO UNION REGULATIONS, WHAT IF I GET INJURED, MA’AM, MAAAAAAM!!!
- The lady became apologetic, explaining that she “only asked because she’s disabled and can’t do it herself” and noted that she’s never had problems when making this request before.
- The flight attendant didn’t let it go. She “kept insisting that lady was being unreasonable.” Fortunately another passenger stepped in to assist the woman in stowing her carry-ons. But the flight attendant “then angrily slammed the bins closed and stomped back to her jump seat.”
Hopefully that would have been the unpleasant end of it, but the flight attendant decided to delay the flight. The plane had already pushed back. It sat, though, for a few minutes before a pilot came on and announced that “there had been an incident and we’re heading back to the gate.”
Security boarded and told the elderly lady that the FA felt uncomfortable because the lady was “talking down” to her. Everyone around was stunned — it was exactly the opposite (the FA was the one who was being aggressive and yelling at this poor old lady).
Since it was obvious to staff who boarded the plane that there was no threat, they left and did not remove the elderly disabled passenger. This was awkward for the flight attendant, who “then gave the safety announcement in the most eerie, overly cheerful, almost sociopathic-sounding voice.”
Here’s video of the employee who boarded the aircraft talking to the woman:
Just witnessed really upsetting incident with a disabled elderly passenger and United flight attendant
byu/mildlyburner inunitedairlines
The idea that the flight attendant was prohibited from helping by ‘union regulations’ is just incorrect. The flight attendant’s union contract may be what the crewmember is referring to, but it definitely does not say they cannot help with the cane.
Flight attendants generally aren’t required to assist passengers with their bags, however Department of Transportation regulations actually do require the airline to provide the assistance that the passenger was asking for!
Once a passenger with a disability has boarded, airlines must provide assistance, if requested, such as:
- moving to or from the lavatory, including using an on-board chair to assist, if requested.
- stowing and retrieving carry-on items, including assistive devices.
This flight attendant is everything that’s wrong with airline culture, and why in many ways Delta crews whle not as good as they were pre-pandemic (too many good ones left, and their replacements aren’t up to par) are the heart of the ‘Delta Difference’. Their flight attendants are somewhat friendlier and more helpful – treating passengers as people.
Credit: United Airlines
It’s important to note that this isn’t necessarily a union versus non-union result, as some online commenters suggest keying off of the flight attendant’s reported claim about union rules. Southwest Airlines crew are generally quite good and also unionized. There’s a saying, though, that management ‘gets the unions they deserve’ and decades of bad management at United is difficult and time-consuming to reverse, doubly so in a unionized environment.
Just another example of how United puts the “hospital” in “hospitality.” In all my years of well over a million miles of airline travel, United tops my no-fly list.
I’ve had a similar incident on Delta in first class so I wouldn’t give them undue credit. However on a recent Hawaiian flight, a flight attendant was in the aisle as we boarded in the main cabin helping people put their items in the overhead bin which I found amazing after flying on Delta for the last 20 years and never seeing that happen. Not sure what’s going to happen now that Hawaiian has been bought out by Alaska but we will see.
What an unnecessary chain of events! Back in 2019 I flew several times while in a sling after shoulder surgery, and I was told by several flight attendants on different airlines that they weren’t allowed to help me stow my bags. I always thought it was because the cabin door was open so they weren’t yet “on the clock”. They were always nice about it, I think having a giant visible incision may have been part of it, and I always managed to find another passenger to help me if I needed it.
What is the matter with people like that FA? Such a small thing to ask, to stow her cane and purse. However, this passenger knew from experience that in a bulkhead seat she could not put them under her seat. Myself, I would not chose a seat that made me dependent on asking for help.
Remember that for many decades UA’s slogan was “Fly the Friendly Skies of United!”
We are great again! USA USA USA
AAer here and I’m always happy to help except with heavy, full roll on boards. My mom uses wheelchair assistance and only carries on small items. The big suitcase gets checked, as it should. Lots of older folks manage to overpack their onboard suitcase and it can be dangerous. I’m strong but also a mastectomy survivor and overhead lifting can be tough with unpredictable loads. Purse and cane — no brainer!
I never post replies but this story did it for me.
My gosh! What is the problem with a little kindness and decency in the world these days?
This could have been a no story at all if the FA could have the heart and decency to help this disable person and PAYING customer. It could have been done in 10 seconds or less, end of story.
This could be your mother, grandmother, sister or any of your family members flying alone and in need of a little help. Ten seconds of your time to help another human.
This is NOT who we want to be.
This is NOT the world I want to live in.
I don’t blame an entire airline for this, is society that is at fault here.
Let’s be humans again, please!
Anyone else think this Flight Attendant needs to be taken out of service?
Seems to be more than a bit power hungry and doing an immense disservice to all the amazing flight attendants who strive to do the best they can.
Calling security only furthers her twisted perversion of “power”.
Time for a different occupation.
That as..hol. flight attendant needs to be fired and that lady should be refunded her ticket price.
The Union needs to catch up with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
@unintimidated sadly, in our world today, any demonstration of chivalry can easily be misconstrued as sexist. I’ve held doors open for the opposite gender and got side eye. I’ve referred to women my senior as “ma’am” because I was raised that you call people older than you “sir” or “ma’am” and have been screamed at and called sexist.
At this point, I have just given up and keep to myself. I don’t make eye contact with people when traveling. Not the FAs, not other pax. No one. People have become a combination of entitled, mean and / or too emotionally fragile for me to want to waste my time engaging with people looking for a reason to hate on others.
Back to this story, sadly, this FA cares more about themself then providing very low-risk support to an older pax in need. It’s ironic that certain age groups are biting the very hand that has allowed them a life far better than most of their parents had.
If I had been in first, I would have made it very clear to the FA (and the captain) upon deplaning that I had seen the whole exchange, and would be emailing the entire executive leadership team about an employee that needs to be working at Walmart by the end of the week.
I experienced the “Delta Difference” some years ago, when an FA ridiculed me in front of other business class passengers, and for that reason, I NEVER FLEW DELTA again for over 30 years.
United typically has some FA’s who are unhelpful, and rather uppity, but in general, they’re fairly nice and easy going. The bad ones ALWAYS seem to stick out and stick it to the passengers as though it were a game…
@Will- totally agree. That F/A should have been fired on the spot or at least removed from service at the destination. The captain should have intervened – as the “captain” of the “ship” and had the F/A and not the passenger removed. Imagine having to go back to the gate for this. Thankfully the ground crew saw the absurdity of this and allowed her to stay. Fire that sucker and I hope everyone in F wrote to UA about her. What kind of a person could she be?
This STEWARDESS (not flight attendant) should be placed on the no-fly list
@Key West — Nah, it’s flight attendant these days. The times they are a changing. Just as it’s ‘the global south,’ formerly ‘developing countries,’ and ‘the third world’ (or ‘s-hole countries’ if you’re the President, you know, like the ones with the gulags he’ll send us to.)
@Life Logic for Dummies — Almost missed you as your silly comment was on the former page. Let’s be clear: This incident had nothing to do with unions. And unions are good for workers and the society at large. You’re like the guys who say insane stuff then call it ‘common sense.’ Just because you call it that doesn’t make it so. As for the United States Postal Service, it is indeed an American treasure, is relatively reliable and certainly necessary, and we should honor the men and women who serve it. What is up with some of you folks these days… are you gonna attack public libraries next? Yeesh.
Unsurprised. I witness similar but less-severe events like this with regularity on UA. Last week, I watched the man sitting next to me in first class politely ask the FA to hang his coat. She jeered, “absolutely not, I’m not yout mom. I’m sure by now you’ve figured out how to work a coat hangar.” Rolled her eyes, walked back to her jump seat, and proceeded to read her magazine.
Welcome to world-wide Aeroflot.
This is yet another example of why I will NEVER board any commercial aircraft owned by a U.S-based airline again.
Ain’t gonna happen.
I will eventually travel to Europe again, but I’ll take a Greyhound bus from Ohio to JFK, and then get on a plane that is not owned by an American company.
I am an American, by the way. I’m just sick of the gross behavior of the flight crews, and equally sick of the concrete-feeling seats that are being installed on more and more planes.
I hope the entire U.S. aviation industry falls flat on its disgusting face. Soon.
US Management does not care about passengers, their customers are the credit card and other companies that buy their milage points.
Rude to an elderly disabled passenger on a plane? Straight to El Salvador ☠️
Hopefully, the Fa was just having a really bad day, and will realize the unacceptable behavior on her part. As for the poster who said the older passenger should have chosen a seat not in the bulkhead, they should understand that the disability probably required the bulkhead
The Reddit comments indicate this was out of Denver. Wonder if there will be any follow up. The PAX is obviously seated in 1D, so the flight number and date would give United’s DEN station manager all the information needed to begin looking into this—to the extent they even want to do so. I have never seen a call for security and a plane turning back to the gate result in the passenger STAYING on the aircraft! That FA really must have felt about a half inch tall.
I am not saying this was or wasn’t United. The source of this is a Reddit thread with a edited video that does not show any FA interaction. Also, nearly all (maybe all?) United safety announcements are recorded and played on the monitors. I don’t see enough to tell if this was even a United flight. Did GLEFF try to find another source to corroborate?
If she was disabled, how come she was in an exit row?
This is a BS story NEVER HAPPENED !!!
And this is why I’ll never get on a airplane. If I can avoid it. Too much sh!t to deal with before getting on. And too much sh!t too deal with after getting on. Don’t have the Patience to deal with it all.
I fly United a lot. I’ve been 1K for over 10 yrs. At times I have FA setting next to me in Eco+ as they transit or going on holiday. I’ve actually helped a few of them with putting bags in the overhead. I’ve not seen a case like this but I have seen them tell people that they can’t help them. But usually they just lend a hand. Why didn’t another passenger help sooner? I would have!
@Jim — You’re a good and decent human being. We need more folks like Jim.
@Jeff Silveira — You’ve asked the right question. The answer is likely, no, Gary, nor the original poster (on Reddit), does not actually care about the full context; it’s clickbait, and fodder for internet debate and outrage. His adding of union bashing, and others piling on here, is sad and unwarranted. That’s why earlier I suggested this may even be an astroturfing of anti-union sentiment as the FAs are completing their negotiations with management after four years. Hmm.
@J — I hope that you meant to say, ‘in accordance with the law, provided due process, and if deportation is appropriate, perhaps, to El Salvador, in a reasonable time,’ right? Less ‘burn the witch,’ and more ‘rule of law,’ please. Vigilantism is not the way, either. C’mon on, now.
@Lori Renee Fye — Really? Greyhound? Oof. Why not rent a car at that point. From Ohio, the fees on the PA Turnpike might be steep; so, if you’re actually concerned about avoiding ‘mistreatment’ on US carriers, please consider Delta (CVG-JFK?). (@Matt, @L737, am I doing the meme, correctly?)
@christopher kneeter — You say “never get on an airline” on a website called “View from the Wing.” Oh, duh-duh dear, Pooh Bear.
I’m short, so I have to reach over my head to get a bag in the bin. I also have neither depth perception nor peripheral vision. Do you really want me swing bags over my head in a confined space? I’ve never gotten grief from FAs or fellow passengers when asking for assistance. The FA was beyond out of line.
I am, and have been for many years, a world traveler on many different airlines from around the world. I travel in my own manual wheelchair, and carry my own cane to enable me to get from the door to my seat. I have ALWAYS been politely greeted by the cabin staff, offered a hand to hold, and escorted to my seat. The staff person then specifically asks to assist in getting my cane and other carry on into the overhead bin.
The FA discussed in the article was probably royally ticked off that the extra 30-40 SECONDS she would have had to talk to the other FA in 1st Class about her upcoming flight to and vacation in Buenos Aires were lost due to her having to deal with the older, disabled passenger who kindly asked her to store a cane and small purse in the overhead bin. Yes, I’m glad the passenger kept her cool, but I sorta-kinda wish that—AFTER the plane had reached cruising altitude—she would have kindly suggested this to the FA: “Hey, hon, here’s an idea for you. Next time, just shove my cane up your a**.”
The comment about newer flight attendants not being up to par is spot on. I know a major airline flight attendant instructor who commented that the new hires don’t want to work. The captain will ask the purser/lead flight attendant where the rest of the cabin crew is. The gate agent will call scheduling who in turn called the missing flight attendant(s). “Oh, we had a chance to go water skiing.” “Wait a second…you have a flight to work.” “Well, we’ll take a sick day then.” After a couple of those, the recalcitrant flight attendants get fired. Hopefully, they won’t get hired by another airline since they have to list all employment with no gaps. But then the cycle starts all over again.
What a misleading headline. You have no idea what the flight attendant said to security. If she actually had requested the removal of the individual, tat is what would have happened. And it would have been the pilots call, not hers. I’m sure the disabled lady in question acted civil after the discussion with security. That’s probably what the FA was after by having the two meet. Privileged people sometimes need to be taken down a notch.
Thanks for the comment about Hawaiian Airlines. Yes, they seem to practice common sense. Not like the clown attendant in the story. He needs to spend less time thinking up excuses and doing what comes naturally to most of the other flight attendants. Reassign his butt. He needs to remember everyone on the flight is actually in it together.
@J Did you have the “Venezuelan Visiting Delegation” from Parks & Rec in your head when you typed that, coz it sure as hell filled my head whe I read it?!
“Miss your appointment at the dentist’s. Believe it or not, straight to prison”!
I got yelled at by a FA for being drunk and disorderly.
Chorus of voices: not him you nitwit. The guy in the back half naked!
FA looks back to a guy with his underwear on his head. She said “oh sorry” and left.
Probably not surprising since the same airline has beaten and drag a passenger off plane because over selling the seats
I try to avoid the “big three” US based airlines. Generally Asian airlines are helpful and charming and so they are my #1 choice if available.
Whatever happened to the old sales/marketing slogans that the customer is always right and that honey gives better results than vinegar?
@John Needham — Ahh, an idealist. You may have rose colored glasses, good sir. While those are nice thoughts, I’m not sure it was ever that way for all of us. For instance, in prior eras (and perhaps, today), if you were a certain gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, disability, age, orientation, or some other background, you might not be treated as well as someone else. Hmm.
Anyway, many people are credited with that adage, including Harry Gordon Selfridge from the 1900s. The phrase he used was actually “The customer is always right, in matters of taste.” It meant that a salesperson shouldn’t judge the wants of the customer. However, it doesn’t mean to just give everyone everything they ask for all the time. It’s nuanced. It’s case-by-case.
As for the ‘honey over vinegar’ idiom, I scoff at that one as a bit naive. Sure, in some situations, it is easier just to appease others for a quick win, but in others, we must hold firm, especially against bullies (fight or flee, and if you do choose fight back, fight to win, build a coalition of allies and take out the bully). Again, it depends.
Wow, another rude UA FA! Had an experience flying Polari$ to CDG last week. Wife was signed up for a Vegan meal and there was just NO WAY to change that. Daughter asked for a meal from economy (shown as possible on UA’s site) and there was NO WAY to do that either. Apparently NO WAY for my wife to just get whatever my daughter wasn’t getting either. We were not seated together. When I asked if there my be something, anything to be done, she threw up her hands (yes, literally) “fine, she can have MY meal”. I was about to suggest I’d just swap with my wife…
She didn’t bother to wake her up on landing either. Fully reclined. SMH. I wonder if she would have been so rude had we been seated together.
I won’t be paying for Polaris next time.
Feeling a little salty about springing for a United Club card right now.
Once my absolute go-to airline, I now avoid United Airlines like the plague. They are awful!