Another week, another flight diversion. This time a United flight from Sydney to San Francisco diverted to Auckland after a profanity-laced misognystic tirade from an irate passenger over a seat assignment.
Anjou Ahlborn Kay, another passenger on the flight, writes on Facebook that–
Originally on a nonstop flight from SYD (Sydney) to SFO (San Francisco) has landed us overnight in AUK [sic] (New Zealand). A bigoted passenger screamed racist, homophobic, misogynistic, disturbing words to passengers and crew, then called the flight attendants every offensive thing in the book. Kudos to the flight attendants who remained calm but really sucks this one idiot has grounded us.
She later adds in the Facebook comments section that apparently the man was seated between two Indian men who spoke to each other over him in the middle seat, but refused to swap seats. That annoyed him and led to the rant captured in the video below (warning: language)–
Such a gentleman…
After the flight diversion began, he continued his rant, allegedly making just about every misogynistic, homophobic, and racist remark in the book…plus a lot of swearing for good measure.
Thankfully, he did not resist arrest and walked off the plane — though not before throwing a few more barbs–
With the stop in Auckland, the crew became “illegal” (could not legally continue on to SFO) so United had to book hotel rooms for each passenger.
Ms. Kay writes:
Luckily made friends with my amazing seat mates as we dealt with the last 24 hours.
She posts a couple great pictures with her fellow passengers in an Auckland hotel.
Not a great way to start the new year, and yet…everyone looks happy and relaxed here. What a shame the disgruntled passenger had to be so nasty. I truly hope that United will send him the bill for all the hotels rooms, meal vouchers, fuel, and crew time…that had to be costly.
I’ve got to admit…maybe cell phones on planes are not a great idea after all. But reserving a window and aisle seat, refusing to swap, and then talking over the passenger in the middle also is not very nice behavior.
Guy might be a jerk, but, I truly hope that United sends the FA back to training if she resolves non-violent seat disputes with a diversion.
Lack- you have no idea what you’re talking about. Your name represents the Lack of information you actually have about the situation.
I’m talking about what I see in the video and I read in this post. I suppose it’s as much information as Matthew had to formulate his opinion.
Only the pilot can make the decision to divert.
Yes Troy but often it’s based off info from incompetent fools working the cabin. The flighty was inadequate and needs retraining, based off those short videos. He was never a threat or security risk. Typical though for a left wing socialist airline that has “hot chocolate sit-ins” & “calming puppy therapy” when offended by the slightest raise in voice tone or questioning stance. I say this as a current International pilot with >26 years experience in this garbage. The flighty needs investigating for ulterior motives & costing the Airline enormously.
Passengers in window and aisle seats purposely refused to sit next to each other because they wanted the passenger in the middle to move so they would have an empty seat .
I and my wife will always book aisle n window hoping middle will be empty – but if it does not work out we move immediately and other passengers now has choice of window or aisle
I suppose there was no other seat available, otherwise this would have been even easier to solve (although which such high tension dissolving skills as shown in the video I’m not sure).
My husband and I frequently book an aisle and a window seat. I mean, who wants the middle seat, especially on a long flight? However, we do try not to talk around in the middle seat passenger.
@Barbara, my wife and I did that before also. There ended being a woman who sat between us. Wife and I tried not to talk around her, but probably did once or twice. We did enjoy some funny conversation with the middle-seat gal (about cats, I think).
That said, for our most recent flights, I booked same-row aisle seats for me and my wife. Thought it would present less potential for awkwardness.
Or if you have the means just buy a business class ticket well in advance.
Pictures are actually taken in the Air New Zealand business class lounge.
We frequently book aisle and window. I need aisle to stretch my bum knee, husband likes window to sleep against. Some times I have swapped seat with middle person when they are obviously uncomfortable not fitting in the seat. But my husband and I never talk around the middle person, in fact I insist we pretend we aren’t together. I get a lot more reading done and the hubby gets a lot more snoozing done. And sometimes we luck out with an empty seat.
United should contact his employer and have him fire from his job. All airlines should have him blacklisted on any commercial flight and order him to pay for all the inconvenience that he had cause to the passengers, crew and the airline . Ge should rot in jail, behavior like that should not be tolerated. He should be in a hall of SHAME of passengers.
Yup better destroy his life and put him in jail for his thought crime and speak crime, how dare he be allowed to live. Now lick your socialist comrade’s boots 1984 times.
I worked A a tour guide and bus driver for years in San Francisco.
We had a lot of rude passengers who just would never shut up and ruined the tour for everyone. They made it impossible for me to give any information to the folks who had paid for the tour. It became comparable to riding the local MUNI bus, especially when more and more Latinos came on board as their incomes rose. Indians and Arabs loved to take over the bus with their own talking.
Ultimately it was a philippino hotel
Concierge with her Mexican coworker, both given comp tours by my boss, whose obnoxious behavior I could not stand and addressed directly, considering that they should have known better and were riding for free. Desiree Bruise and her sidekick of the filthy loud jokes wrote against me on TripAdvisor.
My boss fired me.
Those airline attendants want to keep their jobs. They call an authority to deal with Desiree Bruise and her ilk. They do not risk direct confrontations. Even if it means diverting an aircraft it spares their jobs. Do not mess with arschloch.
And thank heavens! I found a much better job and Desiree Bruise can continue to torment others as is her persuasion and inclination.
Maybe the guy was a jerk who deserved to be booted off the plane . From the video he was clearly rude. Unfortunately, nowadays, anytime I hear racist, homophobic and misogynistic used in a sentence the first thing that comes to my mind is fascist-leftist SJW storm troopers becoming unhinged over some micro aggression. Clearly there was nothing racist, homophobic, misogynistic shown on the video , Just an angry rude ahole.
It seems Facebook left up this comment but censored the post of the white traveler that was racially abused by Popeyes employees. Hopefully this huge double standard will no longer be tolerated.