Do you remember the story of Rapunzel, one of the Grimm’s fairy tales in which a woman extends her long hair down from her tower prison window so that the prince could climb up? I’m sure the man sitting behind “Rapunzel” on United Airlines also wanted to pull her hair…
Rude Rapunzel Repulses On United Airlines…But So Does The Gate Agent
The picture above pretty much says it all…and yet there’s a backstory.
Apparently, this woman with the hair and her companion were separated and asked the gate agent to help. Without consulting the other impacted passenger, she moved one passenger so the couple could sit together. He found out while boarding the flight and shared his story on FlyerTalk:
“Get to my connecting flight this morning and we start boarding and my board pass beeps and shows 3F (I had preselected 2E – I’m 6’4” with a bad knee that I need to extend so I always go for the aisle). The gate agent said, “Oh, a family wanted to sit together” and tried to get me moving.
“I assumed this meant that a child was involved, so I headed onward despite my surprise that I would not even be notified much less asked if it was ok first (there was no equipment swap by the way).
“I get on board and it’s a middle aged couple sitting there. LOL. What??? First world problem for sure but pretty annoying not to be asked first in a situation like this that clearly is not some kind of medical/extenuating circumstance.”
This alone is a ripe issue for discussion. While seat assignments are not guaranteed, it is pretty poor form for a gate agent to move seats without very extenuating circumstances. This man was assigned an aisle seat for a reason and should have pushed back, though I cannot fault him for failing to speak up during the rush of boarding.
But wait, there’s more. Now seated behind the woman, she decided to let her hair down, over his seat.
The man just sat there and did nothing. He was too nice a guy. Too nice.
What a class(less) act from Rapunzel…
As an aside, while couples are not entitled to sit together, it’s a gesture I am almost always happy to accommodate as long as I am trading for a similar or better seat.
CONCLUSION
This story is amusing but also concerning on two levels. What kind of person puts their hair behind the seat as if that is your space too? He may not have been justified in pulling it like the prince (or “accidentally” spilling red wine on it), but he was justified in being miffed.
How would you have handled Ms. Rapunzel on United Airlines?
image: pesos / Flyertalk
She’s lucky that my grumpy Russian barber was not sitting behind her.
Hopefully, the flight attendant would have assisted with the hairy situation. Otherwise, it would’ve been a bad hair day.
And now this–
https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/plane-bad-etiquette-airline-passenger-drapes-long-hair-back-seat
Purely a coincidence!
I am definitely bringing my wireless hair clippers on my next trip.
How about cutting the hair or applying toothpaste?
Chewing gum.
Yup, chewing gum would ensure she never does it again.
Another entitled Karen.
Are you sure that’s not some old photo? There’s an airline magazine in the seat compartment.
Hey, man. I fly United exclusively for Hemispheres magazine.
United has had the Hemispheres magazine back for over a year now.
Life will catch up with her.. it will be beautiful and hairy.
chewing gum is a great suggestion from above.
About nine years ago, a woman in the seat in front of me did the very same thing, but her hair was so long that it actually blocked the seatback monitor. I just stared, stunned for several seconds, not being sure if this were reality or a dream. I politely asked her if she could move her hair. She apologized, unaware of the effect her long locks had on my IFE, and that was that. Awkward but pleasant encounter.
I second the chewing gum idea. Or super glue … but who brought super glue on a plane. I did – don’t ask why.
Maybe dip the tips on the terrible airline coffee ……
Start picking boogers then flip them into the hair mass ….. yeah …….
Unfold the seat back tray then fold it back up with the hairs inside …..
Ooh …. so many devious thing we can do ……
That gate agent action was terrible. I probably wouldn’t have put up a fight, either (especially, as Matthew points out, in the rush of boarding), but I definitely would have complained to the airline afterward, for whatever it was worth.
I’ve a friend who for this very reason carries a specific brand of chewing gum that dries hard and fast such that the only removal method she’s found involves scissors.
I remember attending a concert in the early 90s – when TX hair was still somewhat popular – and a very drunk woman kept tossing her hair into my friend’s face. Twice, my friend asked her to not do that. The third time – there was no third time – I watched in horror (and yes, amusement) as my friend ground that gum into the middle of that woman’s hair, right near the scalp.
Chewing gum, and a tactical sneeze…
Hilarious! Both this story and the parallel video universe are hilarious. I feel compelled to revisit your formerly tireseom blog to read these hilarious stories. I now have *A Gold status, due to my TAP Miles&Go Gold status, and am going to fly UA just a couple days from now. I’m a little nervous, because my last UA flight was three years ago and was a mixed bag of some kind flight staff and some rude flight staff. I also am nervous because UA seems to have more than the usual number of tabloid/tiktok/tmz-worth stories and videos. I am six foot three and refuse to move from my assigned cattle class seat. I often am handed gate upgrades due to alliance status; but, never, downgrades. Whenever a passenger asks for my seat or is found in my seat, I loudly and firmly assert my seat assignment. I may have told this story here or on another blog, but on my last translatlantic flight from Paris to the US, I was in cattle class economy on the aisle, and the beautiful women in middle seat next to me asked if I would switch seats with her husband in the middle seat in the row directly behind us. I loudly said, “No.” She then proceded to tell me that she and her husband had been traveling for three days and were tired. As I used to be a backpack traveler of all modes of transport, I couldn’t care less about her sad long story. She then said that they were from Ukraine. I refrained from asking why her young healthy husband was escaping conscription to defend his country. Anyway, an hour into the flight, the young African-American man sitting in the window seat in our row, without being asked, offered to switch his comfortable window seat for the husband’s dreaded middle seat. So that happened. The thing is, it’s not just entitled American jerks; you have to watch out for entitled European snobs. So, personally, my flight was okay, but it was a wierd story, because I don’t mind pleasant civil human interaction that doesn’t impinge on my passenger rights.
I guess a cigarette lighter would be overkill, right?
Asking for a friend…..
The passenger should never have been moved without his consent simply for the convenience of another passenger, even if that passenger had a higher status with the airline. Unpardonable. Pax should definitely file a complaint, United should re-train the gate agent involved, and obviously United needs to better communicate policy to all gate agents if something like this is happening.
Moving to accommodate a bassinet or disabled passenger to the bulkhead is sometimes necessary but booting one passenger for the convenience of another should never be allowed without the consent of the potential bumpee.
Moral of the story? Always carry a pack of chewing gum when you fly…
Flying business MIA to SFO (was connecting from Lima the night before so I was already grumpy) I had selected row 1, window, for the same reason as author-im very tall.
A woman boarded w a huge dog and was seated next to me on the aisle. Her husband asked if I would switch with him. He had an aisle seat a few rows back. The stewardess was also there. Peer pressure to the max. I said “no way.”
Awkward silence w people in line. I said “put the dog back there.” I was informed that it could only travel at the bulkhead because of it’s size (a very fluffy and admittedly beautiful husky type breed).
So flash forward a minute or so and the guy goes back to his seat. I love the window seat. I need it for my anxiousness. The woman was also very attractive.
But while the coach cabin was coming on board, she had the dog between her legs on the floor and his hair was all over me. And its tongue was hanging out., panting. I got a vision of my next 5.5 hours.
I relented and moved back. It was a miserable end to a long day and a half of travel from Peru. I kept my mouth shut because everyone seemed to enjoy the dog being around, cabin crew were taking selfies, etc. It was ridiculous however to have this thing on board, loose.
I waites, exhausted at the gate in SF to try and get some sort of recompense. No one showed for 20 mins and i beat it to grab my luggage.
I filed a complaint thru the website and American airlines gave me some pittance of miles back to my account, less than 5k. Totally ridiculous. However, one small pleasure was that I filled out several online complaint forms thru AA’s website in the subsequent days, and each time the same customer service rep would call me. I did this 3 or 4 times.
I would have started to cough, and sneeze….and notified the flight attendant that due to the hair I couldn’t get access to my seat back pouch which holds emergency landing information.
They told me I could get off the plane and take the afternoon flight (6 hours later). I was pretty tired from the overnighter from Peru, sland I didn’t want to sit around in Miami. I am still pissed obviously of I’m venting some 3 years later.
This woman is childless. Why?
Women are born as narcissistic people that stay that way until they have their first child. Once they become mothers they finally mature.
It’s one of the reasons why childless women in their middle age are so infantile and entitled. Just look at Kamala Harris. Her entire life has been her own self promotion preforming sexual favor for more powerful men to advance her career. She has never had children of her own.
Tell us you have an Oedipus complex without telling us you have aj Oedipus complex
I don’t think you know what that means. But being a water headed lefty you don’t know very much about anything.
I’d say it’s a whopping case of rampant misogyny. Among other things.
I’d reach up and wring the bitch’s neck!
Really, I would!
Then you’d be getting arrested for assault.
I wouldn’t have moved for one and as for her hair, gum always carry gum for issues like this.
This is a nasty woman who does not care about her nasty hair. I’m a woman with long hair (almost down to my waist) and I’ve *never* put it over the seat. If you’re going to travel with long hair, you wear it in a bun to keep it out of your way and your passenger’s way. I think a case of “accidentally” dipping her hair in red wine or the crappy United coffee may be in order? LOL
One word … loogie.
1st I would have thrown her hair back, if that didn’t work, call the flight attendant, if that didn’t work start yanking on her hair, if that didn’t work I work break out my life savers pop them in my mouth and in the hair they go
LOL,I’m a natural blonde,and have had non caucasians actually touch/play with my hair from behind while seated on a flight,until I expressed my confusion/displeasure.