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There are some things that just make my blood boil and at or near the top of the list is the mistreatment of children and the elderly. It shocks me to see people disrespect their elders and in a recent incident, the disrespect is coming from a United Airlines flight attendant, which I find even more shocking and disappointing.
According to X user @cmcubfan, who posted a photo of her mom at ORD in a wheelchair: “My mom flew @united yesterday from Dublin to Chicago. During boarding the FA yelled at her to get her bag out of the aisle. She’s 86 & 4’10. She asked the FA to help put her bag up & she snottily said that’s not my job ask a passenger. Do better United! Pic of mom who is amazing!”
We’re sorry that your mother received this type of treatment from one of our agents, Colleen. We regret that the high standard of service we’re striving to provide was not demonstrated. When you have a moment, please send us a DM of the traveler’s reservation details. ^BT https://t.co/Y6hG6u3i8R
— United Airlines (@united) October 7, 2024
I dated a United flight attendant for four years so I know how difficult their job is. And I know that they are not supposed to help passengers with their bags because if they get hurt, their health insurance won’t cover it. I also know that most flight attendants would either help (if the bag wasn’t too heavy) or at least explain nicely that they’re not allowed to assist with stowing bags. Most would suggest you ask a fellow passenger for help.
I guarantee that if they did the latter and if there were other people around, they would jump at the opportunity to help someone, especially an elderly woman.
I also have plenty of experience traveling with elderly passengers as I took my late father on countless trips to over 20 countries, since my mother passed away in 2000. Our last flight together was when I surprised him in Florida a year after the pandemic (video embedded below) and took him to California (photo above). Before the pandemic, I would visit my dad every three weeks for one or two days to help him with chores, medicine, bills and to take him to dinner. I would also take him anywhere he wanted to go in the world for his birthday — usually Las Vegas or Italy. But on our last trip, when he was 93, he chose California and Connecticut, where we grew up, to see all of his grandchildren.
When we flew together, most of the flight attendants (see photo below) just loved helping him but then again he did have a huge heart and was very friendly with everyone. When he flew alone, I always ordered him a wheelchair to make sure he made it to the gate and baggage claim without getting lost or waiting in long lines because he couldn’t stand for long periods.
I don’t think we ever ran into problems except having to wait an extraordinarily long time for a wheelchair. Probably because other passengers had faked an injury so they could bypass long security lines and get early boarding – especially on Southwest Airlines. Fortunately, Southwest just announced a fix to that problem.
FYI: United Airlines (@united) replied to Colleen’s post with this statement: “We’re sorry that your mother received this type of treatment from one of our agents, Colleen. We regret that the high standard of service we’re striving to provide was not demonstrated. When you have a moment, please send us a DM of the traveler’s reservation details.”
KEEP READING
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