United Airlines Business Class Passenger Drinks Too Much, Throws Up, And Eats It

by Gary Leff

A United Airlines business class passenger reportedly was “over-served” alcohol, drank too much – perhaps drinking in the lounge on the ground before throwing a few back in the air – and proceeded to become sick. The woman didn’t go to the lavatory for that, and she didn’t use an airsickness bag. She used… her tray table. And her wine glass.

The woman proceeded to still drink from the glass since, reportedly, cabin crew would no longer serve her more alcohol.

Another passenger in the cabin, who filmed the woman, said that the cabin now smelled. There weren’t any other seats to move to in the cabin. And goodness knows that the airline’s cabin crew weren’t going to clean it up and sanitize the space. So the only solution offered was to provide “a bag of coffee grounds to keep near [the other passenger’s] face to help with the smell.”

Flight attendants know that one of the most important tools in their tool kit is used coffee grounds which can also be used to deal with a stinky lavatory. Haven’t made a pot of coffee, in a pinch coffee grounds that haven’t been used yet will help, too.

Crew don’t know how much a passenger has had to drink on the ground. Combining lounge drinking, potentially airport bar drinking, and on board drinking can get messy. And tolerance varies by passenger. Still, the woman may have shown signs of intoxication before that last drink. If crew aren’t spending enough time on each passenger, they aren’t likely to notice. Add in ambient aircraft noise. Just because you fly a premium class doesn’t mean that you have class.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. OK Gary – I understand some of the “click bait” national enquirer type articles but why did you feel you needed to post this? BTW, didn’t get me to read it since disgusting and just skipped to bottom to let you know I find this very offensive, not productive in any way and frankly beneath you.

  2. Hilarious.

    I have a teetotaler family member who, more than once, has used the airsickness bag. This post is a good reminder of its availability and usefulness.

    As a perfume connoisseur whoao has used a bowl of coffee grounds between sample sniffs, I never thought of using coffee grounds on a flight in this manner. It’s a good idea. As a leisure frequent flyer, I wonder if I should pack a plastic baggie of coffee grounds, alongside my roll of Lysol wipes, my granola bar, and my airside-filled water bottle.

    …and maybe if domestic airlines upped their alcohol offerings to beverages not in an aluminum can, at least rated higher than 89 on the wine spectator, and actual Boston shaker cocktails. But that’s another can of worms for another post rant.

  3. Welp, that’s 1 minute I’m never getting back. You do realize you don’t have to post about literally EVERY disgusting traveler/story you come across, right? Your blog has essentially become a daily update on the dumbest/most disgusting traveler behaviors in the world.
    Probably why I rarely click on most of your posts. But this one was historically in bad taste and judgment even considering your usual fare so I guess this click bait worked. Congratulations.
    smh

  4. Look man, don’t judge. She puked so she was suddenly hungry, and eating vomit is on par with the chicken panini I got on my American transatlantic three weeks ago anyway. I will say it’s gratifying that the FAs were useful in this article with that coffee ground thing, well, after over serving Gertrude. Maybe kind of a wash, but progress all the same.

  5. I didn’t read the article. I saw the headline and just had to add a comment wondering what in the world would possess you to write this article? Perhaps try sticking to articles that convey information that is actually helpful to people.

  6. Hey, in an AF J lav recently, I spotted a Boeing-spec aviation smell-eliminator, rated for vomit, diarrhea, and Lord knows what else. I imagine their presence now is due to a recent unfortunate incident involving a seat, but hey, there’s finally a product onboard I might be interested in having in the office!

  7. Thank you, Gary. This is hilarious. I’m dying over here. She puked and ATE it. Amazing. Magnificent news. Great stuff. I know others slag you for posting lowbrow content but you’re the go-to for the warped among us.

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