I had a very strange encounter with a flight attendant on a recent United Airlines flight from Paris to San Francisco. He was so impatient to conclude the meal service that he reached under the table and grabbed my napkin from my lap. In so doing, he brushed against my crotch. Sadly, that was not the extent of his unprofessionalism.
So I Finally Had A Bad Flight This Year On United Airlines…
Regular readers accuse me of being a United cheerleader and it’s true that I fly United a lot and am generally a happy client. This year, I’ve flown many longhaul flights and (at least until now) had excellent crews. The flight attendants on my anniversary trip to Tahiti were superb as was the phenomenal crew on my more recent flight from Seoul to San Francisco. There are a handful of trips I have not written about yet, but I also had wonderful crews from Denver to London with my entire family and from Frankfurt to Chicago.
In short, it has been a very good year in terms of service on United.
But my flight from Paris to San Francisco reminded me that there are still bad apples and that United remains consistently inconsistent.
I was seated in Polaris Business Class and the flight attendant was clearly grumpy from the very start (it was a morning flight…). He was an older man, probably with an immense amount of seniority to work that 11.5-hour flight.
He was working my side of the cabin. No greeting. No welcome.
There was also no pre-departure beverage served and while he grunted to others, “Breakfast?” as he walked around the cabin before departure taking meal orders, he never even stopped at my seat (I had pre-ordered breakfast, but it is still customary to confirm my choice…).
After takeoff, he came around the cabin with tablecloths, standing over each passenger and saying nothing as he waited for them to open their tray tables.
Rather than asking, “Sir, may I offer you a beverage?” he simply grunted, “To drink?”
The meal was plopped down with everything at once on the tray table (it did not even fit). Flight attendants are supposed to serve meals in courses. On this flight, the yogurt and fruit should have been served first, followed by the main course.
No beverage refills during the meal service…
It Gets Weirder…
And here’s where it got weird. He noticed that I was done eating and reached over to my tray table and yanked away the meal tray and the tablecloth underneath it.
Then he reached under the tray table and grabbed my napkin, brushing against my crotch as he did it. I certainly don’t think it was deliberate, but talk about unprofessional!
Keep in mind, that dessert had not been served yet.
I asked him, “Is there desert today?”
He crossly responded, “I don’t know. What does the menu say?”
The dessert cart did arrive, but now I had no tablecloth and no napkin.
But he wasn’t done yet. As people were still eating, he went around the cabin demanding that everyone shut their window shades. At 10:00 am…
He then disappeared until just before landing…
It’s Important To Highlight The Good, Bad, And Ugly
It’s true I could have handled this internally…complain to United, probably get some compensation, and move on. But that would be a disservice to my readers and further feed into this (false) notion that I am simply a shill for United.
I’m not. I’m a customer too and the idea that United rolls out the red carpet for me is just not true…this flight proves it and the excellent service everyone around me received on the “good” flights proves it too.
As I said above, I don’t think this flight attendant meant to brush against my crotch. But he was so grumpy and so unprofessional…and it is simply unacceptable for United to put such folks in customer-facing positions.
I won’t name this man publicly because that will not help him become a better flight attendant, even after 30 years on the job (he had three silver stars on his badge). But it’s not too late for him…I hope not, at least.
But this is a problem because I’ve heard similar stories…and if United wants to be a leading carrier, it must get the little things right, like offering a consistent experience on every flight. 9/10 is a good score for the year…most of my flights have been great…but this one was not. And the service was so egregious that I cannot help but discuss it here.
Well….did “it” move??? (Seinfeld reference)
@David … +1 for Seinfeld reference . I have never owned a TV , so I did not see the originals . However , the dvds are hilarious .
@David … Also , the additional supporting characters were brilliant . Jackie Chiles the attorney was my favourite .
I flew Starlux a couple weeks ago, and like every time I fly an Asian or Middle-Eastern carrier, I was struck by the contrast with United. The FAs are always attentive, friendly, and do their jobs with a smile, and all young of course. They bring the meals in courses, check up on you often, always offering some more food or drink. They seem to really enjoy the job. Truly a pleasure.
I rarely see that level of enthusiasm on United, especially from the older FAs. Although you occasionally get some that still have passion (And it’s great to see), more often than not they seem to be running out the clock, just eager to get the flight over with and not really caring about the customer experience.
@Chi … I have used intra-European flights on both TWA , BA , and LH . Occasionally there were older FAs . They were always very helpful and professional .
I give you +1 for JAL and NH which are always superb . Not so much on Cathay Pacific . Cultural ?
That’s a great story. We all know your mom doesn’t let you go to the market by yourself, much less fly to Asia
Oh you’d be surprised Billy Bob – Taiwanese boys – they’re the best. I call them my “candies”
I flew JX business a couple weeks back too on the TPE-SFO route! Most amazing flight, completely blew me away even though I came in with high expectations. For Taiwanese carriers, the flight attendants will always half-kneel so they are level with you instead of looking down, very minor detail but goes a LONG way.
To be fair for United, I flew SFO-TPE Polaris for the same trip and I had 2 lovely flight attendants. I told them one of my airpods fell into the seat during my nap (yes how stupid of me, i’ll nvr do that again). They actually crawled into my seat space and used their phone flashlights to look for it. Unfortunately we didn’t have success, but I truly appreciated their efforts. They did tell me they would call the mechanics on-board once we land in TPE. Sure enough, within seconds of the door opening, a young mechanic came up and helped me retrieve it. He had to take apart most of the seat in order to do that. TBH I was going to tell him its fine and to just give up many times, but he persisted and eventually found it.
Anyways if anyone is interested in watching all my JX and UA stories, its in my highlights @fred_chang on IG.
@Matthew, Ok, so you’re not naming him publicly. Fair enough. But did you/are you going to report him?
“It’s true I could have handled this internally…complain to United…” doesn’t make it clear.
If you don’t report him, he definitely won’t change. If you do, there’s a very small chance that UA will do something (and an even smaller chance that he *might* change). It would be a disservice not only to your readers but also to other UA pax if you don’t report him.
Yes, since I published the post I sent a complaint to United with the name of the FA and a link to this story. The hope is not for compensation but corrective action (just re-training). I will report back on what I hear, though I’m sure I’ll hear nothing about how the FA was handled.
San Francisco….check
Male Flight Attendant…..check
Grabbing c#ck
We finally found out what a certain poster here does for a living.
Unnecessary, Dave. Let’s please stay on topic.
Nonsense! This is very topical Dave
You can’t have closeted trolls just end their obsession overnight, Matthew.
STFU c**k slut
Oh look, the other closeted weirdo who is obsessed with me.
I’m not closeted, I say all the time that I’m gay.
Not like you and your secret fantasies of worshipping MAGA kielbasa.
Those aren’t my fantasies, those are the ones you are projecting on me.
And I doubt anyone here thinks you are really gay. It’s just a method conservative trolls use when posting anonymously. Identify with the group you are insulting, and use the “But I can say what I want about them, I am one of them!” line. Which is BS.
Straight guys don’t fixate on those things because they’re secure in their sexuality.
That would be true.
Calm Down, Dave.
Oh my….. I am watching this one very close. It has all the ingredients to be the post of the year. LOL
He must have seen your recent half-naked pictures and took his shot.
Where do they find these people? Don’t they do any interviews to see who loves people?
Hmm. Grumpy might have been having a bad day or a migraine. I find ordering the shades closed odd. Nevertheless, this is a job one must power through without making the passengers uncomfortable.
How can we trust one sided story. Maybe you are the one who tried to take advantage of the situation and wanted your crotch to be rubbed.
I have plenty to eat at home, dear.
ROFL! Clapback of the Year!
What a horrible experience. Polaris class is so hit and miss that I try to fly on other Star Alliance carriers. So glad Turkish Air is now flying to Denver; great experience on that airline. I wish Swiss Airlines flew here as well!
True, bad apples everywhere. I too have had generally great experiences with United (86 segments YTD, though half have been UA Express). Had one Purser on a 757 transcon who was horrible. I was last one to board in First after my connection was late. Someone was in my seat. I booked and paid for the aisle on a 6 hour flight for a reason. Before I can say anything the purser was there and tells me “Can’t you just take his in the window?” I asked well then what’s wrong with it? The man in my seat volunteered that the lumbar support won’t go down and it’s uncomfortable. I could also obviously see from the app that seat was assigned to the one person on the upgrade list who cleared at the gate. I asked the purser what makes her think I want the broken seat? Or is this just what I get because United can’t manage to find a gate agent to meet an already delayed inbound connection? I went to the lav and came out and the guy was back in his assigned seat. Other than plopping the meal tray down, Purser didn’t interact with me for hours… offered refills to other side of aisle and my seatmate but not me. I went to the back halfway through the flight to ask for a bottle of water and a can of soda since it was clear I was being ignored. The F/A followed me back up to the front and went behind the pulled curtain to the galley. She came out with a drink refill and came back to see me again two more times. I wrote United and they gave me 8,000 miles which seemed a lot but hey!
sure it wasn’t a TSA dressed up as a FA?
Seniority should not be the criteria for getting the best flights (long haul international).
It should go to the crew that provides the best service (especially Polaris long haul international which is also the biggest moneymaker).
Alas we have a system in the USA that does not reward performance just seniority so we end up with entitled senior members who do not care about service working up front long haul (not to say that all are).
Until that system goes away (and it will not unfortunately) we will struggle to match the service provided by international carriers.
It should not, but unfortunately it is. I have a friend who has been a FA with Delta for 25 years. He gets the purser job on Delta One flights from Minneapolis to Europe but he is not senior enough to get that job on flights from Minneapolis to Japan. He said he will need another 3 to 4 years to have the chance to get into the Tokyo flights. He might be able to get into coach but I guess that is not interesting to him. Also, with seniority comes flexibility and perks. During summer months, all he does is 1 flight per week to Iceland. That’s it. He then spends time at home taking care of his yard or enjoying the pool. Sometimes in the fall he does some daily round trips but he is always back home by end of the day. The only time he spends at hotels is on the flights to Europe. Last summer he surprised us and he was the purser on our flight from Europe back home. No need to say he was amazing.
Thanks for posting this Matt and thanks even more for notifying UAL For some reason I seem to run into these old meanies a lot more than you do.
“become a better flight attendant, even after 30 years on the job (he had three silver stars on his badge). But it’s not too late for him…I hope not, at least.”
I mean, after 30 years, he still doesn’t know how to be a good FA? Not sure if some additional training could fix that.
Sounds like Senior Dad did not get laid in Gay Paris…or maybe he did and was still frisky….or maybe he was tired from sight seeing, shopping, too much rich food and wine. Glad you reported him. He sounds like an A type personality who uses his position of responsibility to his advantage and then will run to Union when poop hits the fan. Or….another Crew member with more seniority bumped him from galley duty and he has to serve the passengers, who pay his wage..or he is Union and throwing attitude to get a Contract. Drop United for a bit and give them a hard time, cause he wanted to give you one and you refused. Good on you
I’m a FA for a different airline. In my past life I flew UA for decades and am a MM. I had my good and bad. You have a lot of credibility in my book so I read your post as accurate. It struck a chord with a few TA and TP flights I remember over the years. No, you won’t hear about what happens to the FA. But he will hear. He will have union protection. But UA will see this as an affront to their product. The little details make the most difference. And brash service from a rude FA will eat at any onboard product manager like nails on a chalkboard. All FA’s have bad days. But we still have to be professional or stay home. You bid to work that part of the plane, so at 30 years he could have chosen something else in the cabin..like staying in the galley. Cheers.
Did you reach a milestone with UA? Maybe he was just trying to congratulate you.
You had a surly flight attendant on a US carrier. Seriously dude, get over yourself.
At very best this was a gratuitous post. Putting aside whether you consider yourself a serious journalist, do you think you are achieving anything other than crotch clicks.?
I’m just a blogger and I wrote about my travels.
Yet you’ll continue to glaze them everyday.
I don’t think the FA will get better on his own, I would have put his picture in this post. You’re a better man than I am.