United Airlines popcorn controversy: What sayeth the Dis?

[_19disnA]

It wouldn't be 'social media' if there wasn't someone expressing 'outrage' over something on nearly a weekly basis.

 

[GAN]

It wouldn't be 'social media' if there wasn't someone expressing 'outrage' over something on nearly a weekly basis.

More like “@nti-social media”…..

 

[TLSnell1981]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/ne...-over-popcorn-cleanup-on-airplane/ar-AA19YRCV

The above article states that United passed out the popcorn. (Probably not the best snack choice) FA demands mom clean up every kernel after the kid accidentally spilled the popcorn. Humiliated mom crying in the aisle on her hands and knees

Exaggerated? Maybe. Do I believe a FA told her to do so? Possibly. Most are very professional but some don’t want to be there. I think the situation was mishandled. I would NOT have crawled around on that nasty floor nor had my kids do so. Gross! Cleaning crews wear gloves for a reason.

 

[ronandannette]

It wouldn't be 'social media' if there wasn't someone expressing 'outrage' over something on nearly a weekly basis.

I voted "Other". I have no professional sports related outrage left this week. I expended my quota already on NBA player's shrieking off-spring. Where the heck was this kid's mother? Who let's their kid behave like that in public?
https://www.google.com/search?q=sound+of+demar+derozen's+daughter+screaming&oq=sound+of+demar+derozen's+daughter+screaming&aqs=chrome..69i57.12639j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:29f9955c,vid:q3wmxI3BJ10

 

[fly girl]

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

The life vests are where I circled in this pic.

They are housed in rigid boxes underneath the seat, like this. They are small and don't go back far so you still have room to put your bag under the seat in front of you.



As @sam_gordon said, the cushions with the red straps turned up are floatation device (the ones we say pull up to your chest with the straps facing away.

 

[TLSnell1981]

I voted "Other". I have no professional sports related outrage left this week. I expended my quota already on this. Where the heck was this kid's mother? Who let's their kid behave like that in public?
https://www.google.com/search?q=sound+of+demar+derozen's+daughter+screaming&oq=sound+of+demar+derozen's+daughter+screaming&aqs=chrome..69i57.12639j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:29f9955c,vid:q3wmxI3BJ10

Super quiet crowd. Not sure you would normally hear a child scream over fans.

 

[Boopuff]

I remember sitting at Space 220 and a family near us had twins (around 3yrs old) they threw food everywhere! It took several staff members awhile to clean up the mess (no wonder why wait times for tables are so long!) The parents never told the kids to stop throwing food. Unbelieveable. My grandson drops a few pieces of food, and my daughter is right there picking it up and telling him not to drop food. The mess is on the mom. It's also just living in polite society to take care of our surroundings. Spoiled wealthy mommy.

 

[fly girl]

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

That is awesome! Reality is most don't see flight attendants in that role. It is understandable as it is rarely seen (which is a wonderful thing) but it is frustrating at times. Especially when passengers argue over safety regulations.

And I know I have said it before, initial training is 6-8 weeks and none of it is spent on service. NONE! All safety.

 

[tzolkin]

If it were me, I absolutely would have cleaned up immediately so there never would have even been a disagreement.

That said, I do not think the flight attendant should have even asked her to and certainly should not have demanded that she do so. A broom/vacuum after all the passengers were gone would have been much more effective so to make someone crawl on an airplane floor to pick up crushed popcorn is really just to prove a point/ “teach her a lesson” which I find unprofessional.

 

[Donald Duck Family]

Staff should be ashamed of themselves. It lacks common decency, the workers should be reprimanded for making the brand look bad. If I was on the flight and saw this pregnant mom struggling with little kids I totally would have cleaned for the mom, embarrassed the attendants with sarcastic comments, complained to the captain and crushed the attendants with complaints everywhere I could find after the fact. What is wrong with people? Just yuck, how are they not embarrassed?

The only people that should be embarassed are the ones not taking responsibility for the mess THEY made and then whining on Twitter about it. This was a teachable moment for those kids. Unfortunately the wrong lesson was learned. This is why we are becoming a nation of entitled, self centered brats.

 

[Donald Duck Family]

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

Yep. Put down the devices and help your mom clean your mess. The older daughter is definitely old enough to clean. The youngest could be doing it too.

 

[bcla]

I don't get how it would be legal or ethical to detain someone when the plane is at the gate. Saying something to a passenger on the way out that there's a mess I might get. But I've been there a while when I saw the cleaning crew coming through a plane with various devices to clean up. I or my family have had accidents at restaurants and hotels before. We were never asked to pick up broken glass or my family to get on our knees. I was certainly apologetic about something like a broken plate or glass, but never where I was expected to risk injury by cleaning up something when they had dustpans and brooms for this sort of thing.

I always thought it was the cost of doing business.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/05/travel/coronavirus-airplane-cleaning.html​

At the rear of the plane, the lavatory was wiped down several times with disinfectant-soaked wipes — similar to heavily soaked Lysol wipes.​

​

The regional jet had very little in the way of passenger garbage as there is no onboard food and drink service offered on short flights like this one. I saw one water bottle left behind in a seat pocket.​

​

If needed, the floors are vacuumed. (This one wasn’t.) If a plane sits for longer than eight hours — typically a long-haul jet — then the airline will perform a deep clean, a member of the Delta operations team explained. During a deep clean, every seat cushion is removed, the seats are vacuumed and the carpet is shampooed throughout the cabin.​

 

[bcla]

If it were me, I absolutely would have cleaned up immediately so there never would have even been a disagreement.

That said, I do not think the flight attendant should have even asked her to and certainly should not have demanded that she do so. A broom/vacuum after all the passengers were gone would have been much more effective so to make someone crawl on an airplane floor to pick up crushed popcorn is really just to prove a point/ “teach her a lesson” which I find unprofessional.

We don't necessarily have both sides, but there are some professional opinions that demanding passengers to get on their knees to clean up is unprofessional given that the airlines have people (who aren't the flight attendants) to clean up between every flight. I've even been on same plane stops where a cleaning crew did a quick once-over before new passengers were allowed to board.

Here's an interesting take that passengers should clean up after themselves, but it's unprofessional for flight attendants to demand it.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-new...-united-airlines-flight-attendant-w-rcna80210​

Florida-based etiquette consultant Jacqueline Whitmore, a former flight attendant, said it'd be "unprofessional" for in-flight crew to ask a passenger to clean up his or her own mess.​

​

"We don't know the flight attendant's side. All we know is what Anthony Bass tweeted ... but the fact that this flight attendant might have said 'Get on your hands and knees and clean that up' is not only unprofessional, but it's unbelievable," said Whitmore, who was a Northwest Airlines flight attendant in the 1990s.​

​

Whitmore, who founded The Protocol School of Palm Beach, which consults on issues of corporate etiquette, still urged travelers to be considerate and mindful of a plane’s condition when they leave it.​

​

"It is the responsibility of every passenger, regardless of age, to pack their manners and clean up after themselves," she said.​

 

[Lumpy1106]

People taking responsibility for cleaning their own messes notwithstanding, the biggest argument for the FA seems to be that they are not allotted enough time between flights to clean the plane. Uhh...how is that the passengers' problem? Not to get gross, but what if someone pukes during the landing? Are you telling me it's the passenger's responsibility to clean up the mess? I would hope they'd take longer to clean that up than a small bag of popcorn, no matter how badly it was spilled.

 

[sam_gordon]

People taking responsibility for cleaning their own messes notwithstanding, the biggest argument for the FA seems to be that they are not allotted enough time between flights to clean the plane.

Really? I thought the biggest argument was parents being responsible for their kids. I haven't read anything about complaints about turn around time.

I'm sure we'll never get it, but I would like the FA's version of events (or another passenger). Was she "demanding"? Was the FA treated poorly?

Didn't one of the articles say something about passengers backing on the FA? Were those passengers on the flight (which is very telling) or just from those who read about the story?

 

[Lumpy1106]

Really? I thought the biggest argument was parents being responsible for their kids. I haven't read anything about complaints about turn around time.

I'm sure we'll never get it, but I would like the FA's version of events (or another passenger). Was she "demanding"? Was the FA treated poorly?

Didn't one of the articles say something about passengers backing on the FA? Were those passengers on the flight (which is very telling) or just from those who read about the story?

Well, that suggests that the FA is telling the Mom how to parent. Do you really want to go into a discussion of what a terrible idea that is?
(advice to non-parents; that is a third rail you do not want to touch)

 

[Skippyboo]

One why have popcorn on a plane. We are also getting only one side of the story from the husband who wasn’t on the plane so he is getting it second hand from the wife.

 

[bcla]

People taking responsibility for cleaning their own messes notwithstanding, the biggest argument for the FA seems to be that they are not allotted enough time between flights to clean the plane. Uhh...how is that the passengers' problem? Not to get gross, but what if someone pukes during the landing? Are you telling me it's the passenger's responsibility to clean up the mess? I would hope they'd take longer to clean that up than a small bag of popcorn, no matter how badly it was spilled.

There's typically a cleaning crew to do that. And now with COVID-19, there's almost always applications of disinfectant and wiping down of hard surfaces. And yeah they have vacuum cleaners.

 

[bcla]

One why have popcorn on a plane. We are also getting only one side of the story from the husband who wasn’t on the plane so he is getting it second hand from the wife.

Could have been bagged popcorn like Smartfood. With food service so lousy these days, I'll typically bring my own snacks whether they're chips or cookies.

 

[Kestryl]

I’ll say it. I don’t believe that a flight attendant went up this woman and said, “You! Get down on your hands and knees and pick up the popcorn!”

I do wonder about the person behind the kids- you can see their shoes- and, presumably, their bag, surrounded by popcorn.