United Airlines popcorn controversy: What sayeth the Dis?

[Colleen27]

I figure both major players are wrong. Mom shouldn't have let the kids have the popcorn or should have kept a better eye on how they were managing it if she didn't want to clean up. Or, if she wanted to enjoy the peace of occupied kids, she should have been prepared to clean up the mess without complaint. Personally, I'd have put my kid(s) on the task - the novelty of crawling around an airplane floor likely would have been fairly amusing to them, and they're better suited for the size of the space anyway.

But United absolutely shouldn't be handing out popcorn, which even adults frequently manage to drop, spill or make a mess with, with the current state of understaffing and tight plane turn-arounds. It is just begging for an impossible cleaning task for the flight attendants, and a choice between delays to get the plane clean enough to board the next flight or complaints from passengers about the mess of a rushed clean-up to keep things running on time.

And while we're at it, Dad shouldn't be using his platform as a pro athlete with a degree of fame to whine on behalf of his wife over such a nothing situation. He's got more power and money than the whole cabin crew combined, and he's going to use it to publicly shame a flight attendant who is just trying to do her job in a notoriously problematic industry? Gross.

 

[fly girl]

United’s crew should have cleaned it up. With all the BS airlines are putting customers through these days with delays, cancelations, etc. they can clean up a few popcorn pieces. Whether the woman was pregnant or not should’ve had no bearing on this.

Read my post, #57.

You can be mad at the airlines, just don't take it out on the frontline employees. They have no control.

 

[mrodgers]

Read my post, #57.

You can be mad at the airlines, just don't take it out on the frontline employees. They have no control.

This because you can just replace "customers" with "flight attendants" and the statement is also true.

"With all the BS airlines are putting flight attendants/employees through these days ... customer can clean up a few popcorn pieces when they are pigs.

 

[Mysterian]

The only positive scenario would be if the stray popcorn flew into the mouths of passengers who happened to be feeling snacky in that moment. Everyone would have had a big laugh, until someone gets a kernel stuck in their throat, creating a divergent thread topic.

 

[mylilnikita]

Smh , lack of home training is astonishing.

I don’t care if it was popcorn, teach kids at a young age to pick up after themselves or do it your self.

 

[GAN]

The only positive scenario would be if the stray popcorn flew into the mouths of passengers who happened to be feeling snacky in that moment. Everyone would have had a big laugh, until someone gets a kernel stuck in their throat, creating a divergent thread topic.

I don’t know how long the flight was, but let’s be thankful they didn’t clog the toilet with the popcorn…..

 

[EACarlson]

Looks like a 2x2 configuration in an Embraer 175 or 170. And United doesn't actually fly those. Those are United Express, and all their employees (even the the gate agents) work for a contractor like Republic or Skywest.

No. Someone said they think it's Economy+/Comfort+ (whatever United calls it) based on some tag at the window (that I can't see). 2/2 can simply be a small aircraft.

It has been confirmed it's the E+ section of an Embraer 175. It's not mainline, it's a regional. To the best of my knowledge, they don't stock the bistro boxes that contain popcorn, the family had to bring it on board with them. I think it's very telling that no one has come forward to back the family's story. What exactly was said by the FA is something we will never know, but I highly doubt it was anything close to what the mother claimed. We do not know the route, but since it's a regional, it very well may have been from a hub to an outstation. I've never seen any cleaners at an outstation from the legacy airlines. They all wait until they get back to the hub, meaning that the FA would be cleaning that up without getting paid for it.

 

[pbrim]

One thing to bear in mind -- when the plane is in the air, the attendants primary duty is to serve the passengers, and to make sure they are all safe, not cleaning up your kids mess. When the plane is on the ground and the doors are open, the attendants are not getting paid. They have to be there well before the passengers start to board, but they don't get paid until the doors are shut and the plane pulls away. Similarly they are there until all the passengers are off, and they do a bit to help pick up so they can meet turnaround, but from the moment the engine is turned off and the doors open, until the moment the doors are closed again that the plane starts to taxi, they are not getting paid.

The mom could have kept the kids from making that big of a mess, or picked up most of it herself, or gotten the kids to pick it up, or brought a family member or an assistant to help her keep the kids under control, since she claims her pregnant self can't do it and her husband apparently has a lot of money. The attendants are not paid to manage her kids or to clean up their messes.

 

[slo]

Read my post, #57.

You can be mad at the airlines, just don't take it out on the frontline employees. They have no control.

Thank you for everything you do.
It can not be easy having to deal with so many different people in an enclosed space. With so many people today being rude and unpleasant, it has to be difficult doing your job with a smile. Plus, with some people easily blowing up about things these days, you probably look at passengers like ticking time bombs hoping one doesn’t go off during the flight (like the recent situation of a man flipping out over a baby crying).
Please know that you, and other FAs, are appreciated by many of us.
God Bless!

 

[CynBeth]

Thank you for everything you do.
It can not be easy having to deal with so many different people in an enclosed space. With so many people today being rude and unpleasant, it has to be difficult doing your job with a smile. Plus, with some people easily blowing up about things these days, you probably look at passengers like ticking time bombs hoping one doesn’t go off during the flight (like the recent situation of a man flipping out over a baby crying).
Please know that you, and other FAs, are appreciated by many of us.
God Bless!

Very well said and I echo the sentiment.

 

[mjkacmom]

https://nypost.com/2023/04/20/southwest-flight-delayed-flight-over-spilled-rice/

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

I think a flight attendant expecting her to crawl around on the floor picking up kernels is spiteful! Don't tell me they don't have a broom or a vacuum on board that they could have brought out for her. It's not a huge mess and could have been quickly dealt with (by mom) with a couple swipes of a broom. While I agree with most that we should be cleaning up after our own kids, dropped popcorn explodes into a million tiny pieces and I too would be embarrassed if some flight attendant was standing over me tapping her foot while I crawled around on the floor at her feet digging those out of the carpet with my fingers. It's expecially outrageous because the popcorn was provided on the flight! Do better, United!

 

[Marrila]

I think a flight attendant expecting her to crawl around on the floor picking up kernels is spiteful! Don't tell me they don't have a broom or a vacuum on board that they could have brought out for her. It's not a huge mess and could have been quickly dealt with (by mom) with a couple swipes of a broom. While I agree with most that we should be cleaning up after our own kids, dropped popcorn explodes into a million tiny pieces and I too would be embarrassed if some flight attendant was standing over me tapping her foot while I crawled around on the floor at her feet digging those out of the carpet with my fingers. It's expecially outrageous because the popcorn was provided on the flight! Do better, United!

What makes you certain you have the straight scoop on what happened?
I've noted there has been not so much as a peep from other passengers. If mom and kids had really been mistreated, I think there would be tweets backing up their story.

 

[Tinkerbell58]

What makes you certain you have the straight scoop on what happened?
I've noted there has been not so much as a peep from other passengers. If mom and kids had really been mistreated, I think there would be tweets backing up their story.

Or, someone would have recorded the incident on their cell phone.

 

[Babs Johnson]

What makes you certain you have the straight scoop on what happened?
I've noted there has been not so much as a peep from other passengers. If mom and kids had really been mistreated, I think there would be tweets backing up their story.

Another passenger would certainly have recorded the „humiliating” incident and posted it. Their silence speaks volumes.

 

[fly girl]

Thank you for everything you do.
It can not be easy having to deal with so many different people in an enclosed space. With so many people today being rude and unpleasant, it has to be difficult doing your job with a smile. Plus, with some people easily blowing up about things these days, you probably look at passengers like ticking time bombs hoping one doesn’t go off during the flight (like the recent situation of a man flipping out over a baby crying).
Please know that you, and other FAs, are appreciated by many of us.
God Bless!

Thank you, @slo.

But let it be know, I am retired. I took a package they offered for an early retirement. With my years of service, I qualified. I miss flying, but I don't miss my schedule. At 20 years I still worked weekends/holidays. FA's that are senior don't leave.

Yes, I have been screamed at for many things I had absolutely nothing to do with, but overall most passengers are lovely. I have meaningful memories -- making a young new widow laugh when she thought she couldn't, and hugging me as she left because I gave her a few moments of happiness; having passengers excited to see me because I took them on vacation the year prior and they liked me; helping set up a proposal onboard, etc. Those are the things I remember the most. (of course I do remember the bad, but now I can look back, roll my eyes, and laugh.)

My dad once said, if you like your job 80% of the time you are doing good. I loved mine more that that, and I was lucky. The wonderful thing is I still have my benefits and I am still part of the airline with dh and my friends. Sometimes it feels like I am still there.

 

[MrsCobraBubbles]

What makes you certain you have the straight scoop on what happened?
I've noted there has been not so much as a peep from other passengers. If mom and kids had really been mistreated, I think there would be tweets backing up their story.

I personally don't think it is ever ok for ANYONE to force someone to crawl on the floor at their feet cleaning something. I think it is spiteful and an abuse of power. Sometimes people act like fools, and this mom could have been acting like an entitled tool to the FA, but that's no reason for someone with power over them to demean them. I sincerely doubt the airline has any kind of policy saying this is ok. Of course I don't know exactly what happened, but the article provided to us seems to indicate it happened like I described--the FA forced her to crawl around cleaning up the popcorn. At least that's what they are claiming. If I read that wrong please correct me. All I said in my reply was that that's not ok. Demeaning and demoralizing people is always wrong in my opinion.

 

[fly girl]

I think a flight attendant expecting her to crawl around on the floor picking up kernels is spiteful! Don't tell me they don't have a broom or a vacuum on board that they could have brought out for her. It's not a huge mess and could have been quickly dealt with (by mom) with a couple swipes of a broom. While I agree with most that we should be cleaning up after our own kids, dropped popcorn explodes into a million tiny pieces and I too would be embarrassed if some flight attendant was standing over me tapping her foot while I crawled around on the floor at her feet digging those out of the carpet with my fingers. It's expecially outrageous because the popcorn was provided on the flight! Do better, United!

The thing is this ... did that really happen? Or was it just a tweet of an entitled person hoping for outrage and it severely backfired? If the flight attendant was that nasty there is absolute zero doubt in my mind passengers would be defending her. Their silence speaks volumes.

And I will absolutely 100% tell you there is NOT a broom or vacuum onboard! A vacuum and broom aren't necessary for flight - no airline is taking on any added weight. Trust me.

 

[fly girl]

I personally don't think it is ever ok for ANYONE to force someone to crawl on the floor at their feet cleaning something. I think it is spiteful and an abuse of power. Sometimes people act like fools, and this mom could have been acting like an entitled tool to the FA, but that's no reason for someone with power over them to demean them. I sincerely doubt the airline has any kind of policy saying this is ok. Of course I don't know exactly what happened, but the article provided to us seems to indicate it happened like I described--the FA forced her to crawl around cleaning up the popcorn. At least that's what they are claiming. If I read that wrong please correct me. All I said in my reply was that that's not ok. Demeaning and demoralizing people is always wrong in my opinion.

The only person that claimed that she was forced to crawl on the floor was the baseball father, who wasn't there.

Think about it -- if you were on a plane and witnessed a flight attendant standing over a mother demanding she get on her hands and knees to pick up popcorn off the floor don't you think another passenger would whip out their phone to video it? Absolutely!! The fact we don't have one tells me it didn't go down that way.

 

[Marrila]

I personally don't think it is ever ok for ANYONE to force someone to crawl on the floor at their feet cleaning something. I think it is spiteful and an abuse of power. Sometimes people act like fools, and this mom could have been acting like an entitled tool to the FA, but that's no reason for someone with power over them to demean them. I sincerely doubt the airline has any kind of policy saying this is ok. Of course I don't know exactly what happened, but the article provided to us seems to indicate it happened like I described--the FA forced her to crawl around cleaning up the popcorn. At least that's what they are claiming. If I read that wrong please correct me. All I said in my reply was that that's not ok. Demeaning and demoralizing people is always wrong in my opinion.

The husband has played in the major leagues for years. Wealthy and well connected, he knows how to use social media. And use is the operative word.
Had the flight attendant actually "forced" mom to do anything like he described I believe other passengers would have taken note immediately. What have we heard from them? Crickets.