A United Airlines flight attendant purportedly refused to help an elderly disabled passenger store her small purse and cane in the overhead bin, then tried to get her thrown off the flight when she complained.

United Flight Attendant Says “Union Regulation” Prevents Her From Helping Elderly Woman Store Her Cane, Then Tries To Get Woman Thrown Off Flight

A woman described as “elderly and disabled” was seated in first class in the bulkhead row on a United Airlines flight. When seated in the bulkhead, you cannot have any personal items at your feet for takeoff and landing.

During pre-flight safety checks, the flight attendant asked the elderly woman to store her cane and purse. The woman asked for her assistance.

The flight attendant was angered by the request, stating:

“ABSOLUTELY NOT, I CANNOT DO THAT DUE TO UNION REGULATIONS, WHAT IF I GET INJURED, MA’AM, MAAAAAAM!!!”

I’ve argued before that a flight attendant should not be asked to lift larger carry-on bags in the overhead bin…it’s not fair and not right. But this is different: federal accommodation law requires such assistance and we are talking about a purse and a cane, not the kitchen sink.

But wait, there’s more.

Calmly and politely (according to witnesses), the elderly passenger said she had never had trouble with this assistance before and her request was predicated on her disability.

But this angered the flight attendant even more. She “insisted the lady was being unreasonable,” and after another passenger volunteered to put the purse and cane in the bin for her, the flight attendant then “angrily slammed the bins closed and stomped back to her jump seat.”

The aircraft pushed back, but then stopped suddenly and returned to the gate, with the captain announcing that the plane was returning due to an “incident” onboard.

A customer service agent boarded and approached the elderly woman, telling her the flight attendant had complained that she was “talking down” to her. Witnesses immediately spoke up in her defense and she was allowed to stay onboard (maybe United did learn something from my incident…).

Just witnessed really upsetting incident with a disabled elderly passenger and United flight attendant
byu/mildlyburner inunitedairlines

The same flight attendant then “gave the safety announcement in the most eerie, overly cheerful, almost sociopathic-sounding voice I’ve ever heard,” according to a witness onboard who shared about the experience on reddit.

I did reach out to United yesterday about this in an attempt to learn if there was another side to this story. I’m not surprised United chose not to comment. Even if (and we have no indication this happend) the woman was rude and uppity with the flight attendant, that does not give the flight attendant license to refuse assistance or to try and throw her off.

These Stories Undermine “Good Leads The Way” Narrative

I highlight this story because, yes, I’m rooting for United Airlines to emerge as a premium carrier not just in terms of its onboard product–which is steadily improving–but it service onboard. Most flight attendants are wonderful, which is all the more surprising considering flight attendants have been waiting years for a new contract and are paid comparatively less than their industry peers at American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines.

Yet there are bad apples (I’ll never forget my lying bad apple) and I find it important to highlight these instances as a tool of accountability. If there is no countervailing narrative, this flight attendant does not belong in the skies, nor does any other bitter grump who hates customers but shows up for a paycheck.

Sorry, there are too many in the pipeline glad to take their place. Flight attendants at United deserve a raise, just like the C-Suite has already received. But I hope that a new contract will include stricter performance standards for flight attendants. There are so many great flight attendants (like on this flight) that already greatly exceed the threshold of providing gracious, friendly, and attentive service. If that becomes the standard, United can outshine its industry peers, both foreign and domestic.

But incidents like this must be strictly dealt with. Refusing to help a disabled passenger store a cane and a small purse is unacceptable, full stop.

CONCLUSION

A United flight attendant has been accused of refusing to help a disabled passenger store her cane and purse, then demanding the passenger be thrown off the flight when she pushed back. If that is how the event went down (and witnesses seem to confirm this account), the flight attendant does not deserve to be in a customer-facing role.

Hat Tip: View From The Wing