With a rolling delay putting everyone in a foul mood, an odd fight broke out on my United Airlines flight from Houston to Los Angeles on Monday between two passengers that appeared to be over a first class passenger cursing.
Fight On My Delayed United Flight From Houston To LA Over Cursing?
I was sitting in my seat in 2A somewhat zoned out when all of a sudden I heard, “Don’t you ever tell me to speak English!” There was a man sitting in first class (seat 4D) who made this statement to a man in a Hawaiian shirt walking back to economy class. I didn’t catch if he may have said something first, but it quickly became clear this was an extension of something that occurred in the gate area.
The verbal spat quickly escalated with the first class passenger standing up and raising his voice. There was a lot of swearing by the first class passenger and a lot of exchange that I could not understand, even sitting just a few feet away. It seemed, though, that the first class passenger used coarse language in the gate area, which the man in the Hawaiian shirt called him out on (cursing does not shorten delays, after all). Based on the “don’t tell me” comment I wonder if Mr. Hawaiian Shirt made a comment to Mr. First Class about speaking proper English rather than using profanity?
I began taking video…which I am not posting here…just in case the fight got physical. Thankfully it did not. At one point, the man in the Hawaiian shirt yelled out to the flight attendants, who were standing and watching in the front galley, “This man is threatening me!” But the first class passengers claimed the Hawaiian shirt guy was threatening him.
Flight attendants told the man in the Hawaiian shirt to proceed to his seat and they would take care of it. The first class passenger then added, “Go to the back! You’re a goofball and you look like one. Coming back from Hawaii?”
Sure enough, a service director boarded the aircraft about 10 minutes later. First, he asked the first class passenger to step off the aircraft and onto the jetbridge. They spoke for a few minutes and the man returned to his seat. Then the Hawaiian shirt guy was pulled off and spoke to the supervisor on the jetbridge. He returned to his seat too and the supervisor left. Whatever it was, neither men were deemed a threat.
I’m blurring the faces because of United’s onboard photo policy (since I took the pictures). The first class passenger was sitting a couple of rows back from me and I would have asked him what happened, but there was a huge dude sitting next to me on the aisle and I didn’t feel like disturbing him.
CONCLUSION
Ultimately, I’m glad both men had the common sense to walk away instead of resorting to physical violence and I am also glad that United took the situation seriously but let both men fly. Sometimes our tempers do get the best of us, but that doesn’t mean we are not fit to fly…a few seconds can calm many people down.
Finally, I’d have to imagine that incidents like this happen all the time. The only reason I am writing about it is that I witnessed it, but it reinforces that most fights onboard actually do not lead to physical violence or passengers being ejected…they can be resolved just by walking away.
I’m glad the crew and UA staff didn’t make this into something more than it was
Was this a fight though? Fight implies punches thrown. this was an argument.
FWIW the story would be just as interesting too me without the picture
what was the point of posting the photo of the passengers?? you are really good at clickbait…this was not a fight…two passengers who cant manage their emotions, thats all
nice way to ignite a comments section filled with stereotypes.
You are one of those that will pull out a phone to record and post online…smh!
A fight does not have to physical…
First definition when you Google “Fight”
“take part in a violent struggle involving the exchange of physical blows or the use of weapons.”
“Heated Argument”. would have been a better description, but that wouldn’t get as many clicks as “Fight” and you’re all about clicks
And the second definition?
Theresa McHargue I agree with you. And it becomes the publics “biz” when it’s made public by the participants!
Everything/anything that happens within the plane is my business….everyone’s business.
I fly all the time and I never get to see amusing things like this. The funniest thing I ever saw on a plane was that time some drunk woman cursed me out for being a Trump supporter before knocking back another one and sleeping for the rest of the flight.
How did she know you were a Trump supporter?
We were chatting before and in the first part of the flight. It was amicable but then the discussion turned to politics and she did not care for my opinion. I was surprised that she got so excited – contrary to my behavior on this blog, I am polite in real life.
Anyone who supports Trump after he makes fun of handicap people people obviously can not help the way they are I have no respect for you.
You just don’t get it do you? And you never will….nor will the idiot you so proudly follow…even after he loses everything, destroys everything around him, and is thrown in jail. And both of you will still think….”I am polite in real life”….how ignorant and just plain stupid must one be to make such statements?
You’ve made it very clear how ‘polite’ you really must be….
Are you talking to Mr. Chi?
Michael,
You’re another prime example of why that study that came out last month shows lefties have twice the mental illness as normal people.
Source?
Facebook meme.
You seem nice.
Your a troll
Welcome to America??? or is this just the dumpsite of various races trying to push their agenda on everyone else. If you are not a citizen after 6 months in this country…go home where you came from and stop getting benefits at the expense of tax paying AMERICANS!!!
America has never been White.
Columbus didn’t discover America and most of his passengers had STDS.
Jesus wasn’t White, Jesus was a Palestinian, A Jew and Died as a Jew. Actually he was Murdered by those that didn’t approve his teachings.
Some of you need to read the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
You suffer from massive white envy.
Sad inferior complex.
How does any of that relate to this conversation?
Wow! USA has always been multicultural beginning w/the huge native cultures that in inhabited the Americas. Spanish, French, British & other Europeans intermarried & formed the Americas including Africans that were kidnapped from their countries.
So of our national issues are based on Ignorance, Wow! Our founding fathers really did an amazing job!
Not a Monarchy or Autocracy or a Dictatorship but a carefully constructed Democracy that allowed for a separation of powers and yet a united states. WOW!
What an amazing feat! Yet, here we are hating each other, fighting each other, destruction from within. Christians who are not real Christians if they hate others.
Its all about controlling others despite the consequences to the sanity of our youth. The youth that are our future. We have to find a middle ground because no one cares. We used to be a united country but we were never perfect! Hatred is taught not born! Look into your heart & think.
Joz, I am completely surprised I found someone who thinks exactly like Idi. Thank you so much fir your wisdom because you are correct when you stated that Hatred for One Another is Taught and not an inherited trait and when people realize this fact maybe than the context of our common lives can start changing for the better. But until then, all we can do is c continue to do i is continue to try moving forward as much as we can.
Meanwhile, have a great life and don’t get lost and if you do you aren’t, you will be sightseeing and enjoying YOUR quiet…
does your airline allow you to use your (or your friend’s) flight benefit to make money? you’re being paid to write this article…
Most US airlines prohibit any business travel using a flight benefit.
Go ahead, tell us
No, I don’t have flight benefits on United.
I love what he did to the faces in this photo. This should become the new standard. People’s lives are out here getting ruined over a 10 second clip. Some deserve it yeah. But some also just so happened to be having their worst day. And it gets memorialized for an eternity. That’s more punishment than any employer or cancel culture can do. Don’t think you can guess my race beca use of this comment. These race comments are terrible and everyone of you should be ashamed of yourself.
It’s nice to have an insight into how first class passengers act. Is this cabin first class in name only? The seats don’t seem to be lie flat ones.
IMO, what should have happened is both should have been removed from the flight, and simply told that unless that act like civilized human beings, they will be banned for life. If they agree, rebook ’em. otherwise, give them directions to the Greyhound station. I would hope that would shut them both up. It’s way past time that if people don’t want to behave civilized, there needs to be harsher punishment.
Hardly worth the read, or the writing. You actually get paid for writing and photographing this drivel? When you come into the middle of a situation, it’s not a good idea to interject your interpretation of the cause of it to match your subjective beliefs.
That’s not reporting, but I do see from your bio that you’re not a journalist
Thanks Deb!
Seems totally appropriate to post on this blog. He just reported what he saw. I like to mock Matthew for some of the sillier content he writes (In good humor), but I see nothing wrong with this.
just another example of MICROWAVE WI-FI and BLUETOOTH radiation BRAIN damage…soon it will lead to a nuke war…I LOVE HIGH TECH! Enjoy! Good ol 2.4 DIGITAL.
The thing about flying is that people do it to travel. That means that they may come from any part of the world and speak any language. I doubt if many in the “speak English” crowd would learn French if they went to France, and speak to their spouse in French while walking down the street in order to speak the language of the country.
People in the US speak many foreign languages, including English.
Are you a journalist or an antagonist ? Throughout the entire article you continued to only catch one side of the argument, ( not fight ). Wasted space.
What side was that?
The right side of course!
If you go to Quebec, Canada they will ask if you speak French.
You don’t need to blur faces. Nobody has any expectation of privacy in a public mode of transportation.
That is very true, but because I was not fully aware of the context, I chose to do so.
Give back 5 mins of my life. What a waste of an article. All ado about nothing.
We serve to serve again.
Thanks for sharing .
Dudes gonna dude. I’m always amazed at what little control some people have over their emotions in public. Or more to the point, how little they care.
Hilarious that T-shirt guy in a baseball hat was calling the other one out for a Hawaiian shirt.