Last week, I was on a United Airlines flight back to San Francisco, sitting a few rows from the tail. As the uncomfortably warm plane slowly taxied on the runway, the man behind me asked a flight attendant whether she could dial up the air conditioning.
Annoyed, she explained the plane had just disconnected from ground power, so the cool air would take a while to kick in.
The man asked, “I see some open seats in the front. Can I switch to those seats?”
“What’s wrong with your seat?” The flight attendant asked as she raised her voice. “If it’s hot, the seats in the front won’t help. Everywhere on the plane is hot. EVERYONE is hot!”
Her response stunned the mostly packed cabin.
“The seats up front have more space,” the man responded. “Can I move?”
The flight attendant ignored the man’s question. She turned around, shrugged, and stormed off towards the front of the plane while fanning herself with her hands.
The cabin became quiet as the passengers observed the unexpected drama. A couple of passengers put on their headphones. My mother didn’t fully catch the conversation in English but noticed the discomfort in the air.
“Why was she so angry?” she asked in Cantonese.
Shortly after take-off, the purser came by, presumably to address the man’s complaint. He explained the situation.
“Sir, I understand. I wasn’t here earlier, so I don’t know what happened exactly, but I need you to relax,” she said. “We’ve got a long flight ahead… I know you’re coming all the way to Cincinnati with me on another flight, and you being angry is not going to fix this problem. I will make sure another flight attendant will serve you for the rest of this flight. The only other thing I can offer you is the seat you requested. Do you want to move up there?”
The man grew more frustrated.
“That flight attendant’s attitude was unacceptable. I asked a reasonable question, and she was so mad. Something is off here.” he said.
The purser responded, “I used to be in the military, so I know how to run my crew. As I said, I can offer you the seats by the exit door with additional legroom and compensation miles.”
After the pair repeated themselves a few times, the man realized escalating further would be futile. The conversation concluded, and the purser walked away.
While he was offered the exit row, the man remained in his original seat. He turned to his female companion and spoke rapidly in a foreign language. It was clear he was still fuming. I turned to him and said, “I saw what happened. She was very rude.” Raising his hands with all his fingers widely spread out, he said vehemently, “Yes!!! Thank you!!!”
While the man initially sought comfort—better air conditioning, more legroom space—in the end, he wanted basic respect and acknowledgment of the unfair treatment.
As I pondered what contributed to this unpleasant exchange, an announcement was made over the PA, as it had on countless other flights since United introduced its slogan in 1965.
“Let us know if we can do anything to make your flight more comfortable. Welcome to the friendly skies!”