United Airlines popcorn controversy: What sayeth the Dis?

[sam_gordon]

They do, but this is a pregnant mom with 2 little kids. This isn't like a grown man by himself who made a mess but then again, judging by the state of things in the world I shouldn't be shocked no-one feels compelled to help anyone do anything.

I've got no problem if someone wanted to help the mom. Your post was a LOT more than complaining about no one helping...

embarrassed the attendants with sarcastic comments, complained to the captain and crushed the attendants with complaints everywhere I could find after the fact.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Sports prima donnas. Ugh.

 

[Lumpy1106]

I was reading this on Twitter all day.. here are my comments.
1. People have no idea how flight operations work- not all flights are cleaned inbetween and flight attendents are only paid when doors are shut.. so having to do touch up between flights is unpaid work.
2. some peope are saying " oh that's just a little bit of popcorn, not a huge mess" well for me it looks very trashy. if I were to board that next flight
3. 22 weeks pregnant is not handicap. and sorry but if you can travel alone with two little kids and be pregnant you are physcially able to pick up after your kids.
4. Why didn't the kids pick up the popcorn..I recall when my kids were little and that age, i would have them pick stuff that fell to the floor for me all the time.. for them it's super easy. So maybe get your kids off the ipads and have them pick up their own mess??
5. I loooooove how 99% of the people were defending this FA and telling UA ( responding to their response) if you fire this FA we will no longer fly with you. and to leave him/her alone.
6. Why tweet about this.. was this really so offensive of ALL the things that could have happened in life.. you tweet about this???

I agree with everything you said here and I also agree that this couple seems VERY entitled.

BUT...

Anyone who says this is a big mess either does not have kids or does not remember when your kids were this age. The kids did not get into a popcorn fight - they just dropped some popcorn. It's really not that big of a deal. You also cannot just demand that the kids pick it up because they are on a moving airplane and presumably are seat belted for the duration. What are you going to do? Go into demanding parent mode to teach them a life lesson just when all the other passengers are dislodging suitcases from the bins above their heads? That's why I side with the parents - but just by a hair.

Going back to the parents, yes, Mom should have done a little clean-up, maybe even been apologetic, but I am sure she did not and was not. That's why I believe they are acting entitled and probably what pushed the button of the FA that made this an issue in the first place. If that was the case, I would side with the FA, but, being in the service industry, it's really not her position to "parent" the Mom either. That would just cause problems, like, you know, pictures being taken, social media being posted, airline customer care being involved, all that rot. Who needs it?

Personally when flying with my kids, especially when they were younger, we always sat in the back of the plane. That way we were not in the way of the flight crew or the other passengers no matter what might transpire during the flight.

 

[Wendy31]

Well, I’m not a fan of airlines & how flying is such a mess right now.

On the other hand, I’m also not a fan of entitled people who don’t feel the need to be responsible for themselves & for their children & who act like they’re too good to clean up after themselves because there are others “who are paid to do that sort of thing.”

(And, disclaimer - I don’t know that that this particular baseball player’s wife is like that, but there are, unfortunately, a lot of people who are. And, had the baseball player’s wife been apologetic about the popcorn, I doubt the flight attendant would have taken things as far as they went.)

Kids will drop popcorn. Adults will drop popcorn. And I’m sure the flight attendants expect a few pieces of popcorn - but not a complete mess.

And, if you make a mess, clean it up. Or, if your kid makes a mess, clean it up. It’s not a difficult concept.

One of things we’ve always tried to teach our kids is to leave places better than we found them.

Nobody should have to clean up a mess that your kid has made. I’ve always felt sorry for the restaurant employees when parents w/ kids leave behind an absolute mess on the table & chairs & on the floor all around the table & chairs. Gross.

While there are employees whose jobs require them to clean, they’re not getting paid to clean up absolute disasters of messes left behind by lazy, inconsiderate, rude people.

Young kids are tough. Being pregnant is tough. Being pregnant w/ 2 young kids is tough. However, if flying alone w/ your kids while being pregnant is too much for you, you probably shouldn’t then be on a plane w/ them by yourself.

All that said, I don’t think the airline attendant should have INSISTED that she pick up her kids’ popcorn. While I feel for the attendants & all the left-behind messes w/ which they probably have to handle every single day, I don’t think attendants should have that kind of authority over the passengers.

If the baseball player‘s wife intended to just walk out & leave behind the mess w/o even an apology, that’s shameful, entitled behavior on her part - but people are thoughtless & inconsiderate & rude all the time. And, unfortunately, there are other people who then have to contend w/ & put up w/ people’s thoughtless & inconsiderate & rude behavior all the time. Life shouldn’t be that way, but it is.

So, beyond maybe (& I’m still not sure on that) pointing out the popcorn on the floor & handing the baseball player’s wife a small trash bag along w/ a friendly smile & a “Would you mind helping us by getting your trash off the floor?” kind of request, I don’t think there’s really anything else the airline attendant can or should do in this kind of scenario.

 

[mrs. magoo]

This mom should have cleaned up after her kids or better yet let the kids clean it up. I flew solo with 3 kids under 4 and was 22 weeks pregnant and we did not make a mess. Also I did not let my kids eat popcorn when they were that young. I was petrified of choking especially when the 7 year old did choke on a mozzarella stick and needed the Heimlich in a restaurant. As a teacher I clean up after kids all day and I am tired of it as well.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Where do you stand on this “outrage”? With the parents, or with the airline?

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/...Airlines-making-pregnant-wife-clean-kids.html

Poll coming…

I heard this on the radio while out in the car today. I knew it would be here, with proper polling, by the time I returnee home. You are on the ball, PnM.

 

[gottalovepluto]

The picture in the article looks like UA first class (for short haul flights).

No, this is domestic Economy+ there is a tag on the side you can see by the window, it's one of the ways UA makes it easy to quickly distinguish the extra legroom seats from the rest of economy.

well the kids sure dont look like they are struggling.. maybe the 5 year old should have helped mom out and cleaned up the mess?? get the kids off the devices and have them bend over a minute

At first I thought the kids should help but then I thought all it takes is one bump of turbulence in that moment and the kid's head could be slammed into a seat. No bueno.


I lay all blame on the mom, she is the one who chose to fly during a high risk pregnancy. She is the one who put her health and that of her unborn child at risk. If she didn't want to clean up after kids she should have brought someone along who would. No matter what your airline status Clean Up After Your Kids isn't something UA offers.

 

[mumto3girls]

I’m in the middle. Mom should have done it, but I don’t think the FA should have asked. I always cleaned up after my kids in a restaurant when they were messy, but maneuvering in an airplane is much more difficult—should be seated and belted when moving and when not moving people are trying to get off the plane and she’d have likely been in the way.

Also—popcorn tends to be messy—dumb choice for a snack on an airplane.

 

[Marrila]

No, this is domestic Economy+ there is a tag on the side you can see by the window, it's one of the ways UA makes it easy to quickly distinguish the extra legroom seats from the rest of economy.


At first I thought the kids should help but then I thought all it takes is one bump of turbulence in that moment and the kid's head could be slammed into a seat. No bueno.


I lay all blame on the mom, she is the one who chose to fly during a high risk pregnancy. She is the one who put her health and that of her unborn child at risk. If she didn't want to clean up after kids she should have brought someone along who would. No matter what your airline status Clean Up After Your Kids isn't something UA offers.

I believe the kids could handle helping with some cleaning up after landing before leaving the aircraft. Mom could help or nicely encourage the effort.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

I haven’t read the whole thread yet, but what’s up with this comment??



What is that supposed to mean? Implying the flight attendant somehow got in trouble?

 

[GAN]

I haven’t read the whole thread yet, but what’s up with this comment??

View attachment 754284

What is that supposed to mean? Implying the flight attendant somehow got in trouble?

probably not. They probably "discussed" the whole scenario with her and let her know they way they want it handled in the future. How about like -DON'T GIVE 3-year olds POPCORN!

 

[sam_gordon]

she is the one who chose to fly during a high risk pregnancy

Why is the pregnancy considered "high risk"?

Since I'm a guy, I had to google what a 22 week pregnancy looked like. Depending on the pic, the pregnancy may not even be obvious.

 

[mousefan73]

I haven’t read the whole thread yet, but what’s up with this comment??

View attachment 754284

What is that supposed to mean? Implying the flight attendant somehow got in trouble?

In his original tweet united respond directly to him asking for his wife’s reservation number to follow up the response from others to United’s tweet was 99% basically saying you guys ( UA) leave your hands off this flight attendant or I will never flying with you again. And actually saluting the flight attendant in ensuring that slobs don’t leave their messes on flights. We don’t know what the Exchange was between the FAA and the family. I’m pretty sure the flight attendants gonna be OK.

 

[sam_gordon]

Something else I just thought of... we don't know...
A) When the FA asked the mom to clean up the mess (in flight, post flight).
B) How big the mess was. Yes, we have the picture, but was that the limit of the mess or was there more later? After all, the pic is provided by the family, and definitely looks like it was taken in flight. Was a further mess made later?

 

[lifesavacation]

We've only heard from the dad so it's hard to know how the FA asked the mom to clean up. The kids are totally adorable, btw.

These are my thoughts:
22 week pregnant women aren't disabled or helpless.
If you can fly with 2 young children, you are physically capable of cleaning after your kid.
Your kid makes a mess in public, your responsibility for cleaning it up. If you aren't willing or able, don't take them in public and especially don't give them messy snacks.
Tweeting this makes him seem entitled and completely out of touch. Maybe use your notoriety to highlight the real travesties that happened in the news yesterday.
It's possible the FA was snarky or rude when asking, but it's hard to know without hearing her side.
2 year olds shouldn't eat popcorn for safety reasons.
The space is so tight that it would be hard to bend down and clean mid-flight. It's best done at the end of the flight, and that is something the mom could have communicated.

 

[slo]

I voted - Neither

The Mom should be teaching her young children to respect their surroundings and not make a mess and not leave a mess. This drives me crazy in church when people allow their little ones to put dirty shoes on the pews, leave crumbs on the floor and etc. Wherever you are, you should teach your children to respect the property of others - period!!! She also should not be teaching her kids that they should EXPECT others to clean up after them.

The FA should not have asked the mom to pick up her mess. After everyone leaves the plane he/she can get a dust pan and a broom and clean it up in 2 minutes. I’m not saying the FA has to be happy about it, but after 35 years of working with the public, I’ve cleaned up after a lot of slobs - it’s just a part of working with the public. I’m still cleaning up after slobs in our office - some people just don’t care. It is what it is - you do what you gotta do.

I’ve been on a decent amount of flights and since this doesn’t happen all the time, it would have been easier for the FA to just sweep it up instead of all this attention now being drawn to it and them.

 

[fly girl]

@fly girl, where are you?

I agree with airline. A little something on the, maybe the cleaning crew. A mess, from a kid or whomever, clean up your mess.

I'm here!!

Oh boy. Where do I start ...

(let me preface I am just reading about this and do not have all the info I need pertaining to the crew.)

1. This popcorn mess is laughable. Seriously. I have seen sooo much worse. Here's an example and yes, those are upturned seat cushions. Don't ask me why, because I don't know why. My personal eye roll was crushed up Cheerios from kids stomping on them. If only I had a pic. People are disgusting. They just are.


2. Do we really know the Flight Attendant forced her to pick it up? And getting the captain involved? Spilled popcorn is not the captains priority. I don't know of one captain that would get involved, this has nothing to do with safety. I can't imagine any flight attendant calling up to the cockpit to tell them about this.

3. Personally, I would have never said a word. Like I said, people are disgusting. The only time I made someone take care of their own trash is dirty diapers and when a man took out the Sky magazine and used it as Kleenex. Yes, a grown man. I made him walk with me to the galley and throw it in the trash receptacle after I opened it for him.

However, I did not work for this airline and I don't know how this all came about. My best guess, and it is just 100% speculation ... the mom and children treated the crew like the garbage they spilled on the floor. So with that attitude the flight attendant gave it back. I still find it suspect she "demanded" the mom pick it up, but you never know. Would I have done that? No. But if she and her children were absolutely awful I would have suggested to work with us and help pick up the mess they made.

4. My airline did have cabin service come on and clean the plane most of the time. They do have the hokey sweepers, but sometimes on short turns and non-service stations it was left to the flight attendants to tidy. Let me add, when it was the flight attendants job we did NOT have a hokey sweeper - they don't leave that on the plane (you don't have anything not necessary to add weight.)

5. It is hard to separate personal opinion because I ALWAYS pick up my messes. (a few weeks back we had the hotel room discussion, I leave it clean.) Heck, even when my water broke in the doctor's office my husband was on the floor with paper towels picking up the fluid before the OBGYN came in. We always picked up after our child, or we had her pick it up when she was old enough. Personal responsibility, such a novel concept sometimes.

6. Here's where I have my PSA. I know, I know, I know. Flying sucks right now. The airlines are flying jam packed with minimum staffing. However, please realize this is not the frontline employees fault. You are blaming and taking your anger out on the worker bees who have ZERO control over it. Once a crew member signs in for their trip, they are at the mercy of the airline. Yes, we have a published trip, but crew tracking can and will reroute if needed. We have no control over why a plane is delayed, why they scheduled only 30 minutes to turn a 767, weather, other passengers behaviors, etc. No doubt there are nasty flight attendants out there that need to retire. But there are also those that are really good but are being pushed to their limits not only by their airline but by the surly passengers too. Flight Attendants #1 responsibility is safety. You never see it, that is why it is taken for granted. You see the service side, which really isn't why we are there but should be treated importantly too. You can blame the airlines and rightfully so, but blame the behind the scenes VP's, Executives, and CEO's. They are the ones approving how it is running. I can certainly tell you it isn't the frontline employees because we are complaining too. How can we do a good job when we don't have proper tools? (And FWIW, my airline was non union. So telling me to take it up with my union meant nothing.)

Ok, off my soapbox.

With that ridiculously long novel said, I cannot truly pick a side. The tweet in itself sounded so entitled that is why the debate started. And my guess is if no passengers came to her defense or even assisted her then that speaks volumes about that families behavior.

I still cannot fathom that being a demand. If so, her union (since United has one) will deal with it. My guess, it will be nothing.

 

[jo-jo]

I'm here!!

Oh boy. Where do I start ...

(let me preface I am just reading about this and do not have all the info I need pertaining to the crew.)

1. This popcorn mess is laughable. Seriously. I have seen sooo much worse. Here's an example and yes, those are upturned seat cushions. Don't ask me why, because I don't know why. My personal eye roll was crushed up Cheerios from kids stomping on them. If only I had a pic. People are disgusting. They just are.
View attachment 754290

2. Do we really know the Flight Attendant forced her to pick it up? And getting the captain involved? Spilled popcorn is not the captains priority. I don't know of one captain that would get involved, this has nothing to do with safety. I can't imagine any flight attendant calling up to the cockpit to tell them about this.

3. Personally, I would have never said a word. Like I said, people are disgusting. The only time I made someone take care of their own trash is dirty diapers and when a man took out the Sky magazine and used it as Kleenex. Yes, a grown man. I made him walk with me to the galley and throw it in the trash receptacle after I opened it for him.

However, I did not work for this airline and I don't know how this all came about. My best guess, and it is just 100% speculation ... the mom and children treated the crew like the garbage they spilled on the floor. So with that attitude the flight attendant gave it back. I still find it suspect she "demanded" the mom pick it up, but you never know. Would I have done that? No. But if she and her children were absolutely awful I would have suggested to work with us and help pick up the mess they made.

4. My airline did have cabin service come on and clean the plane most of the time. They do have the hokey sweepers, but sometimes on short turns and non-service stations it was left to the flight attendants to tidy. Let me add, when it was the flight attendants job we did NOT have a hokey sweeper - they don't leave that on the plane (you don't have anything not necessary to add weight.)

5. It is hard to separate personal opinion because I ALWAYS pick up my messes. (a few weeks back we had the hotel room discussion, I leave it clean.) Heck, even when my water broke in the doctor's office my husband was on the floor with paper towels picking up the fluid before the OBGYN came in. We always picked up after our child, or we had her pick it up when she was old enough. Personal responsibility, such a novel concept sometimes.

6. Here's where I have my PSA. I know, I know, I know. Flying sucks right now. The airlines are flying jam packed with minimum staffing. However, please realize this is not the frontline employees fault. You are blaming and taking your anger out on the worker bees who have ZERO control over it. Once a crew member signs in for their trip, they are at the mercy of the airline. Yes, we have a published trip, but crew tracking can and will reroute if needed. We have no control over why a plane is delayed, why they scheduled only 30 minutes to turn a 767, weather, other passengers behaviors, etc. No doubt there are nasty flight attendants out there that need to retire. But there are also those that are really good but are being pushed to their limits not only by their airline but by the surly passengers too. Flight Attendants #1 responsibility is safety. You never see it, that is why it is taken for granted. You see the service side, which really isn't why we are there but should be treated importantly too. You can blame the airlines and rightfully so, but blame the behind the scenes VP's, Executives, and CEO's. They are the ones approving how it is running. I can certainly tell you it isn't the frontline employees because we are complaining too. How can we do a good job when we don't have proper tools? (And FWIW, my airline was non union. So telling me to take it up with my union meant nothing.)

Ok, off my soapbox.

With that ridiculously long novel said, I cannot truly pick a side. The tweet in itself sounded so entitled that is why the debate started. And my guess is if no passengers came to her defense or even assisted her then that speaks volumes about that families behavior.

I still cannot fathom that being a demand. If so, her union (since United has one) will deal with it. My guess, it will be nothing.

So that’s where the life vests are? They always say under the seat, but under the seat is also where my bag is…….

 

[sam_gordon]

So that’s where the life vests are? They always say under the seat, but under the seat is also where my bag is…….

I think the seat cushions ARE flotation devices. Delta, on some flights, also has containers/holders under the seat (front) for life jackets.

 

[mjkacmom]

I'm here!!

Oh boy. Where do I start ...

(let me preface I am just reading about this and do not have all the info I need pertaining to the crew.)

1. This popcorn mess is laughable. Seriously. I have seen sooo much worse. Here's an example and yes, those are upturned seat cushions. Don't ask me why, because I don't know why. My personal eye roll was crushed up Cheerios from kids stomping on them. If only I had a pic. People are disgusting. They just are.
View attachment 754290

2. Do we really know the Flight Attendant forced her to pick it up? And getting the captain involved? Spilled popcorn is not the captains priority. I don't know of one captain that would get involved, this has nothing to do with safety. I can't imagine any flight attendant calling up to the cockpit to tell them about this.

3. Personally, I would have never said a word. Like I said, people are disgusting. The only time I made someone take care of their own trash is dirty diapers and when a man took out the Sky magazine and used it as Kleenex. Yes, a grown man. I made him walk with me to the galley and throw it in the trash receptacle after I opened it for him.

However, I did not work for this airline and I don't know how this all came about. My best guess, and it is just 100% speculation ... the mom and children treated the crew like the garbage they spilled on the floor. So with that attitude the flight attendant gave it back. I still find it suspect she "demanded" the mom pick it up, but you never know. Would I have done that? No. But if she and her children were absolutely awful I would have suggested to work with us and help pick up the mess they made.

4. My airline did have cabin service come on and clean the plane most of the time. They do have the hokey sweepers, but sometimes on short turns and non-service stations it was left to the flight attendants to tidy. Let me add, when it was the flight attendants job we did NOT have a hokey sweeper - they don't leave that on the plane (you don't have anything not necessary to add weight.)

5. It is hard to separate personal opinion because I ALWAYS pick up my messes. (a few weeks back we had the hotel room discussion, I leave it clean.) Heck, even when my water broke in the doctor's office my husband was on the floor with paper towels picking up the fluid before the OBGYN came in. We always picked up after our child, or we had her pick it up when she was old enough. Personal responsibility, such a novel concept sometimes.

6. Here's where I have my PSA. I know, I know, I know. Flying sucks right now. The airlines are flying jam packed with minimum staffing. However, please realize this is not the frontline employees fault. You are blaming and taking your anger out on the worker bees who have ZERO control over it. Once a crew member signs in for their trip, they are at the mercy of the airline. Yes, we have a published trip, but crew tracking can and will reroute if needed. We have no control over why a plane is delayed, why they scheduled only 30 minutes to turn a 767, weather, other passengers behaviors, etc. No doubt there are nasty flight attendants out there that need to retire. But there are also those that are really good but are being pushed to their limits not only by their airline but by the surly passengers too. Flight Attendants #1 responsibility is safety. You never see it, that is why it is taken for granted. You see the service side, which really isn't why we are there but should be treated importantly too. You can blame the airlines and rightfully so, but blame the behind the scenes VP's, Executives, and CEO's. They are the ones approving how it is running. I can certainly tell you it isn't the frontline employees because we are complaining too. How can we do a good job when we don't have proper tools? (And FWIW, my airline was non union. So telling me to take it up with my union meant nothing.)

Ok, off my soapbox.

With that ridiculously long novel said, I cannot truly pick a side. The tweet in itself sounded so entitled that is why the debate started. And my guess is if no passengers came to her defense or even assisted her then that speaks volumes about that families behavior.

I still cannot fathom that being a demand. If so, her union (since United has one) will deal with it. My guess, it will be nothing.

The article I recently read emphasized the fact that flight attendants biggest responsibility was safety and how thoroughly they are trained.