I traveled from West Palm Beach to Newark this past Tuesday. As we were boarding the plane, one of the passengers was getting sick in a nearby garbage can- really getting sick, without getting graphic. My wife asked the attendant if he would be allowed on the plane, as we were all watching this guy unload. She alerted the Captain, who came out and questioned the passenger. As the Captain walked back, someone asked would he be allowed on the plane. The Captain's response was- "he said he had sushi last night". Maybe he did, maybe he did not, but the Captain allowed him on the plane without knowing the full extent of his illness. The passenger was given his own row in the rear of the plane and continued to get sick for the duration of the flight. Upon landing, we were asked to remain seated as paramedics would be boarding to deal with a sick passenger. The passenger ran down the aisle and off the plane.
I thought the Captain's decision was irresponsible, and put 200+ people at risk. United customer service did not agree.
Thoughts?
Yeah, united customer service is unfortunately never going to admit judgment error.
United in that instance would have been in a no win situation. All you can do is go by what the passenger said which is that he had bad sushi. PLUS if that was the case, then there was no risk to anyone else.
If they forced that passenger to miss the flight, then the internet would also blow up saying how horrible it was that United forced a passenger to miss the flight when all he had was just an upset stomach from some bad sushi.
This would open up a pandora's box that would be tough to close. A pregnant woman throwing up would be asked to miss the flight? Imagine the uproar on that one.
The bottom line here is that the passengers should not have made a big deal over a guy puking before getting on the flight. On every flight there are MULTIPLE people who are sick and are breathing on you even though they are not throwing up. I hear people coughing and sneezing on EVERY flight. How about the people who board the plane with the flu? Happens on most flights.
Thinking this is a "united airlines" issue is really unfortunate.
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 11:45 am : link : reply
anything like that, but the guy was throwing up in a nearby garbage can? JFC. Why didn't the guy just go to the damn bathroom? That's sick & disgusting.
Captain spoke to him for 30 seconds. Not sure if he is qualified to determine food poisoning sick vs. flu sick. If he is unsure, why take the risk?
All the damn service animals on board are a bigger risk to health than that.
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As long as the passenger wasn't so sick that it would force a potential diversion you were not in any danger. I am sure the Captain did his/her best to ascertain if the passenger had been exposed to anything that would put other passengers at risk. Captain also probably contacted dispatch in conjunction with a representative of the medical company United contracts with to determine the proper course of action.
Captain spoke to him for 30 seconds. Not sure if he is qualified to determine food poisoning sick vs. flu sick. If he is unsure, why take the risk?
Before he came out may have contacted dispatch for warning signs to look for. Otherwise Captain may have had the flu and food posisoning before and could distinguish between the two. As part of their training, flight crew do get some basic knowledge.
Claritin and Xanax is a weird combo, btw
While I sympathize with you; no one wants a sick passenger on their plane, I'm not sure I think it's irresponsible of the airline to allow him on the flight. People have to fly for a million different reasons, and a sick stomach shouldn't absolutely be a No-go for me.
I'm sure it was not an enjoyable flight but sometimes situations just aren't ideal. There are no-win situations that just occur and aren't always someone's (or companies) fault. Just my thoughts though.
United in that instance would have been in a no win situation. All you can do is go by what the passenger said which is that he had bad sushi. PLUS if that was the case, then there was no risk to anyone else.
If they forced that passenger to miss the flight, then the internet would also blow up saying how horrible it was that United forced a passenger to miss the flight when all he had was just an upset stomach from some bad sushi.
This would open up a pandora's box that would be tough to close. A pregnant woman throwing up would be asked to miss the flight? Imagine the uproar on that one.
The bottom line here is that the passengers should not have made a big deal over a guy puking before getting on the flight. On every flight there are MULTIPLE people who are sick and are breathing on you even though they are not throwing up. I hear people coughing and sneezing on EVERY flight. How about the people who board the plane with the flu? Happens on most flights.
Thinking this is a "united airlines" issue is really unfortunate.
I agree with everything you say however a huge international airport chain like United Airlines has been in business for decades and should have a standard operating procedure on how to deal with these types of scenarios.
If they dont, then thats negligence.
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Let me bring the perspective of someone who has been traveling on planes virtually every week for the past 20 years.
United in that instance would have been in a no win situation. All you can do is go by what the passenger said which is that he had bad sushi. PLUS if that was the case, then there was no risk to anyone else.
If they forced that passenger to miss the flight, then the internet would also blow up saying how horrible it was that United forced a passenger to miss the flight when all he had was just an upset stomach from some bad sushi.
This would open up a pandora's box that would be tough to close. A pregnant woman throwing up would be asked to miss the flight? Imagine the uproar on that one.
The bottom line here is that the passengers should not have made a big deal over a guy puking before getting on the flight. On every flight there are MULTIPLE people who are sick and are breathing on you even though they are not throwing up. I hear people coughing and sneezing on EVERY flight. How about the people who board the plane with the flu? Happens on most flights.
Thinking this is a "united airlines" issue is really unfortunate.
I agree with everything you say however a huge international airport chain like United Airlines has been in business for decades and should have a standard operating procedure on how to deal with these types of scenarios.
If they dont, then thats negligence.
yeah, thy do have an SOP on how to handle it and that is exactly what they did. The fact is that you do not like HOW they handled it or disagree with it and so your assumption is that they do not have a process. The captain interviewed the guy and made his determination. He was not coming from a foreign country with some strange strain of disease.
I am telling you something... some people have no clue WTF is going on around you. An airline like that has more procedure than most companies you will encounter. Do you have any idea how food chains manage situations like this? Their employees come to work sick all of the time and make your food with those hands that they used to wipe their noses. However, you will chew away because you are oblivious.
Go fly a different airline next time. Get upset over something and then move on to the next one, and the next, etc. Eventually you may just drive.
I will give you ONE Piece of free advice when it comes to keeping the germs to a minimum when flying. Bring a small pack of Purell sanitizing wipes with you. When you sit down, wipe the arm rests, the seat belt buckle and your tray. Those three things have more germs than the guy who walked on your plane. Then, every time you use the bathroom use a wipe on your hands.
Linking it for you below so you can buy some.
Purell Sanitizing Wipes - ( New Window )
United is #1 in on-time Bill.
Link - ( New Window )
I don't think the airline should have to be in the position of making medical diagnoses and cancelling people's reservations based on those. What if they guy had been sneezing a lot? Maybe he has the flu, or maybe allergies. It's a judgment call and what they did does not sound unreasonable to me.
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Is that you had a United flight that left on time.
United is #1 in on-time Bill. Link - ( New Window )
And I just love Southwest.
It sucked you and the rest of the people on the plane had to endure but I've been on many planes where someone is sick, has the flu or coughing all throughout the flight.
airline blankets (for the most part) are not disposable and if you take them with you they hunt you down.
Once I was in the aisle seat and there was this woman sitting next to the window that was coughing, crying and complained about difficulty of breathing. We then found out there was a German Shepherd guide dog right behind us. Never knew it was there for the entire 3 hour flight, never made a noise. Once the dog stood up as his owner departed the plane, this lady started to freak out and kept yelling "I could have died!"
I felt bad for her but didn't know what the airline could have done if she didn't alert to them about her allergy until we landed.
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In comment 13856115 EricJ said:
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Let me bring the perspective of someone who has been traveling on planes virtually every week for the past 20 years.
United in that instance would have been in a no win situation. All you can do is go by what the passenger said which is that he had bad sushi. PLUS if that was the case, then there was no risk to anyone else.
If they forced that passenger to miss the flight, then the internet would also blow up saying how horrible it was that United forced a passenger to miss the flight when all he had was just an upset stomach from some bad sushi.
This would open up a pandora's box that would be tough to close. A pregnant woman throwing up would be asked to miss the flight? Imagine the uproar on that one.
The bottom line here is that the passengers should not have made a big deal over a guy puking before getting on the flight. On every flight there are MULTIPLE people who are sick and are breathing on you even though they are not throwing up. I hear people coughing and sneezing on EVERY flight. How about the people who board the plane with the flu? Happens on most flights.
Thinking this is a "united airlines" issue is really unfortunate.
I agree with everything you say however a huge international airport chain like United Airlines has been in business for decades and should have a standard operating procedure on how to deal with these types of scenarios.
If they dont, then thats negligence.
yeah, thy do have an SOP on how to handle it and that is exactly what they did. The fact is that you do not like HOW they handled it or disagree with it and so your assumption is that they do not have a process. The captain interviewed the guy and made his determination. He was not coming from a foreign country with some strange strain of disease.
I am telling you something... some people have no clue WTF is going on around you. An airline like that has more procedure than most companies you will encounter. Do you have any idea how food chains manage situations like this? Their employees come to work sick all of the time and make your food with those hands that they used to wipe their noses. However, you will chew away because you are oblivious.
Go fly a different airline next time. Get upset over something and then move on to the next one, and the next, etc. Eventually you may just drive.
I will give you ONE Piece of free advice when it comes to keeping the germs to a minimum when flying. Bring a small pack of Purell sanitizing wipes with you. When you sit down, wipe the arm rests, the seat belt buckle and your tray. Those three things have more germs than the guy who walked on your plane. Then, every time you use the bathroom use a wipe on your hands.
Linking it for you below so you can buy some.
Purell Sanitizing Wipes - ( New Window )
um I did say "I agree with everything you say", didn't I?
and I never said they didn't have a SOP , just that they should if they dont.
The link was funny too btw, so well played
lol then get ready to be sued for discrimination cause everyone sucks these days
It sucked you and the rest of the people on the plane had to endure but I've been on many planes where someone is sick, has the flu or coughing all throughout the flight.
just curious on everyone's take on the situation and I appreciate all the different points of view. BBI has always been a good sounding board. Thank you for all of the insights.
I would not use the term "down hill". I Would say it is not what it was when it was Continental. The United employees for the most part were not happy to be at work and treated the passengers sometimes with disrespect. So, for those of us who were familiar, we would book flights on planes that were Continental equipment vs the United Airbus for example. Why? Because they were keeping Continental crews together on their planes and United crews together on theirs. So, booking on a former Continental piece of equipment improved the chances that you would have a more pleasant experience.
Then, Jeff came in to run the business and morale declined. Now that Oscar is running things it is not great. Not like when Gordon B was here... but the results are much better for employees and customers now that Jeff is gone.
Oscar and Company are de-jeffing the place, going aggressively after lost business, competing with the likes of Spirit, and Allegiant (using Basic economy) getting employee buy-in and focusing more on the customer experience (Polaris).
It takes time to change the culture of a company (10 years is the standard). UAL has a ways to go but it's much better than it was a few years ago
"Also...we're out of coffee"
**mass panic ensues**
Oscar and Company are de-jeffing the place, going aggressively after lost business, competing with the likes of Spirit, and Allegiant (using Basic economy) getting employee buy-in and focusing more on the customer experience (Polaris).
It takes time to change the culture of a company (10 years is the standard). UAL has a ways to go but it's much better than it was a few years ago
1) Bathrooms not being serviced before the flight, even though it was the first flight of the day. As a result they ran out of running water mid flight and the trash was overflowing.
2) Selling me an economy plus seat that didn't recline ( front of an exit row ). Their app didn't tell me that it didn't recline. And why are they selling such seats as economy plus ?
3) Less than 30" pitch in economy minus. This one too didn't recline, this time because it was broken.
I'm seeing the same draconian cost cutting and poor service from United under Munoz as I did under Smisek. The only difference is the Munoz has admitted , reluctantly it seems that its not a good idea to assault their passengers or kill their pets.
And unless he was vomiting blood I don't see how the airline could deny him service. A passenger vomiting on airplanes is not very unique.
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United has improved in just about every performance metric. Smisek wanted to shrink the airline to profitability, selling off key routes, outsourcing to regionals, de hubbing SEA, JFK (gone completely) and MIA and ceding ground to Delta.
Oscar and Company are de-jeffing the place, going aggressively after lost business, competing with the likes of Spirit, and Allegiant (using Basic economy) getting employee buy-in and focusing more on the customer experience (Polaris).
It takes time to change the culture of a company (10 years is the standard). UAL has a ways to go but it's much better than it was a few years ago
It doesn't look to me like Oscar is doing a god damned thing. I just flew them round trip SFO to Tampa. The flight attendants and personnel were efficient , polite and helpful. So in my case I can't complain about "the culture". What I can complain about is the following:
1) Bathrooms not being serviced before the flight, even though it was the first flight of the day. As a result they ran out of running water mid flight and the trash was overflowing.
2) Selling me an economy plus seat that didn't recline ( front of an exit row ). Their app didn't tell me that it didn't recline. And why are they selling such seats as economy plus ?
3) Less than 30" pitch in economy minus. This one too didn't recline, this time because it was broken.
I'm seeing the same draconian cost cutting and poor service from United under Munoz as I did under Smisek. The only difference is the Munoz has admitted , reluctantly it seems that its not a good idea to assault their passengers or kill their pets.
Sucks about the bathroom not being serviced. That's outsourcing for you. Just FYI any row in front of an exit row will not recline. Economy Plus is based on the additional leg room, not reclining.
Sucks about the bathroom not being serviced. That's outsourcing for you. Just FYI any row in front of an exit row will not recline. Economy Plus is based on the additional leg room, not reclining.
This.
Anytime you select a seat in front of an exit row you should assume your seat won't recline. You'll still get whatever extra leg room there is and that's really all they are selling you on, especially on domestic flights.
And unless he was vomiting blood I don't see how the airline could deny him service. A passenger vomiting on airplanes is not very unique.
Vomiting on airplanes - agree
Vomiting in trash cans in the gate area before boarding the plane - except for Vegas, not common.
I'm seeing the same draconian cost cutting and poor service from United under Munoz as I did under Smisek. The only difference is the Munoz has admitted , reluctantly it seems that its not a good idea to assault their passengers or kill their pets.
My mistake. United is still killing their passenger's pets
United kills another dog - ( New Window )
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In comment 13856338 DC Gmen Fan said:
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United has improved in just about every performance metric. Smisek wanted to shrink the airline to profitability, selling off key routes, outsourcing to regionals, de hubbing SEA, JFK (gone completely) and MIA and ceding ground to Delta.
Oscar and Company are de-jeffing the place, going aggressively after lost business, competing with the likes of Spirit, and Allegiant (using Basic economy) getting employee buy-in and focusing more on the customer experience (Polaris).
It takes time to change the culture of a company (10 years is the standard). UAL has a ways to go but it's much better than it was a few years ago
It doesn't look to me like Oscar is doing a god damned thing. I just flew them round trip SFO to Tampa. The flight attendants and personnel were efficient , polite and helpful. So in my case I can't complain about "the culture". What I can complain about is the following:
1) Bathrooms not being serviced before the flight, even though it was the first flight of the day. As a result they ran out of running water mid flight and the trash was overflowing.
2) Selling me an economy plus seat that didn't recline ( front of an exit row ). Their app didn't tell me that it didn't recline. And why are they selling such seats as economy plus ?
3) Less than 30" pitch in economy minus. This one too didn't recline, this time because it was broken.
I'm seeing the same draconian cost cutting and poor service from United under Munoz as I did under Smisek. The only difference is the Munoz has admitted , reluctantly it seems that its not a good idea to assault their passengers or kill their pets.
Sucks about the bathroom not being serviced. That's outsourcing for you. Just FYI any row in front of an exit row will not recline. Economy Plus is based on the additional leg room, not reclining.
yeah if he didnt know that the seat would not recline, that makes him a rookie traveler and NOT someone that ANY airline would care about. I LOL'ed when I read that one.
Oh and as far as the pets are concerned... fuck the pet owners bringing them on planes when other people have allergies...and the fake service dogs too.
And this is why you can't check a dog with United - ( New Window )
In comment 13856338 DC Gmen Fan said:
Oscar and Company are de-jeffing the place, going aggressively after lost business, competing with the likes of Spirit, and Allegiant (using Basic economy) getting employee buy-in and focusing more on the customer experience (Polaris).
It takes time to change the culture of a company (10 years is the standard). UAL has a ways to go but it's much better than it was a few years ago
Jeff Smisek was an unmitigated disaster for United, but minor points of fact, SEA was never a UA hub, and the only routes dropped were NRT (essentially replaced by DEN-NRT and JV-partner ANA is now in the market) and a single daily ANC flight, was was actually from pre-merger CO. The SkyWest local operation was all EM2s and operated at-risk, meaning UA took it off the Express contract in 2006 or so when it was determined to be non-core. DL/AS made SEA a bloodbath so I can't argue with UA trying to stay above the fray.
Smisek also had nothing to do with the MIA drawdown; that was long gone before the merger. Even at its peak, MIA was only at about 30 mainline departures.
There remain some very serious cultural problems with this company, many of which were exacerbated by the merger, which was ironically a once-in-a-generation opportunity to actually remediate those longstanding issues.
The wife ends up wheeling it to the plane where I then carry the damn thing on. Upon landing, we filed a complaint with United and after 4 months they finally apologized and sent us a $50 voucher.
Fuck United