cjermain

The cleaning crew is not a bunch of random people off of the street! They are professionals with professional equipment, and I'm absolutely sure that cleaning vomit and other bodily fluids is standard, everyday stuff to them. UA runs 5000+ flights per day, so I have to believe that people throw up on UA planes dozens of times, every day... not to mention depositing every other type of bodily fluid imaginable. If you run an airline, cleaning this stuff is part of your business.

Look at it this way: say you had a houseguest who was sick on your carpet, and you hired a professional carpet cleaning company to come clean it. Would it be acceptable for them to leave your carpet wet with vomit-smelling liquid? Of course not.

I agree that there is a lot of hyperbole in any local news story like this. No one sat in vomit! But it's fair to knock UA on this one. They didn't clean the plane well, and then they didn't seem inclined fix the problem when it was pointed out to them. Instead, they offered to cover the offending area with blankets.

Totally agree. If they absolutely didn't want to clean the plane, this would have been the right way to handle it.

kale73

Agree completely.

Yet there are apparently people willing to pay over 5 grand for a <2 hour flight in a "Vomit Comet".

FlyWorld

Do we know where the vomit was, exactly?

Before 3/12, when United Continental was United Airlines, I encountered wet or vomit-covered seats a few times (either myself or through observation) and in every such case, a cleaning crew was brought in to clean up the mess *and* the seat cushion was replaced with a new seat cushion. I never once saw or experienced an sUA FA allowing a flight to depart with vomit or any other form of human excrement on or around the seats.

The entire process typically took < 10 minutes and was resolved before boarding was completed, resulting in no delay.

Makes me wonder if the refusal of this flight crew to clean up the vomit was due to general Continental-style customer hatred, or due to a lack of available resources (cleaners and/or replacement seat cushions) resulting from Smisek's $2 billion in service cuts.

However you cut it, this is unacceptable, and most certainly not flier friendly.

Bonehead

I'm sure that's the reason. In fact, I'll bet the FAs put the vomit there intentionally just to screw with the passengers.

tuolumne

+2. I thought this too.

I was on a NRT-SFO flight in 2008 when the 744s were first getting the new IPTE F suites... During boarding, an F pax (not NRSA) chugged down his sparkling wine, and almost immediately after setting down his glass, started looking around frantically. Next thing I know, he barfed right into the large storage bin to his left....thankfully it didn't leak into the aisle, but the whole F cabin reeked. He ran for the door after it happened and I never saw him again....crew would later remove his bags.

Cleaning crew came aboard, with masks, gloves, aprons, etc., and thorough cleaned the area. They removed the soiled pillow and blanket, which had been in the bin, sprayed down the area, scrubbed the carpet, and repeated, three times if I recall. The flight took a 30 minute delay. The crew was wonderful, and the whole F cabin was extremely understanding. By the time the cleaners had left, there was surprisingly no smell of vomit, just of strong cleaning agents (which nobody minded). The F seat (2K), went out empty. Upon landing in SFO, the purser told me the seat was going to be cleaned a second time.

A more personal, and embarrassing story, took place last month...I was coming back Zurich-IAD in seat 1K 763 F. I was super hungry, so ate the entire meal, and cheese plates, and decided to have some port wine (which I always stay away from). Not sure which it was, or a combination, but after I woke up from sleeping for 3 hours, I had the dreaded "feeling". My mouth was salivating, my stomach churning, and I had high-anxiety. Great! By this point we were in final approach for Dulles and it felt like every second that went by was an eternity. I contemplated my options..The whole plane was seated, but I wanted nothing more than to run for the bathroom. Next best thing was a barf bag....but what if the bag ripped? If it wasnt big enough? Next thing I know, we touched down, and bounced back up, and then plopped back down onto the runway...here it comes, a sudden spasm through my body that signaled it was coming...and somehow I fought it off and kept it down. We taxied, and I somehow made it to the gate. Needless to say I was the first off the plane, and nearly ran to the pre-customs bathroom, where it almost immediately finally happened. I guess the lesson is don't mix the cheese with port. Ha!

Phoenix991

Actually, the FA told them that they were aware of the vomit, only after the family discovered it.

Phoenix991

Hey Pruss, The father was not yet sitting when the wife discovered the vomit. If you watch the News 9 video, the reporter smelled the bag and she even said it had a distinct smell of vomit.

kettle1

The article stinks, I agree. Just like vomit stinks. Vomit is a BIO-HAZARD and needs to be cleaned properly. Like I said last night, I spoke with an Allegiant FA and they are trained how to clean up the Vomit.

If a ULCC has this figured out, how can the second largest airline in the World drop the ball. The GA and FA need training, as well as UA management when the plane is still at the gate and the jet bridge is still connected.

This whole thing stinks, LITERALLY.

chix

http://www.flyertalk.com/story/unite...the-plane.html

pruss2ny

not sure what i'm missing...the reporter claims the husband said (roughly) "they boarded the plane and had stowed their bags..." no mention that they boarded at different times...whatever

frankly i'm dealing with a fish smell that leaked onto my trunk carpet about 6mos ago while at the coast...the carpeting has been steam cleaned twice and i've used every deodorizer i can find...smell is still there....

maybe that's tainting my view, but i really have a hard time believing that the purser barked "sit in the vomit or leave my plane" while the rest of the crew stood around laughing. and based on rewatching the father's recap on the news clip, he really doesn't notice the smell until after they notice the floors wet, and then they smell their hands....HAVING NOT BEEN THERE, I DON'T HONESTLY KNOW but it just sounds like they cleaned up the mess w/ some cleaning solution wetting the carpet, and the smell was still lingering in the carpet fibers, which i'm going to guess it will for some time.

spin88

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel...ando/25870103/

Key quotes:

"A Rockville dad says his family was forced to sit in vomit on their flight home from Orlando, Fla. Sunday.Take a seat, Alton Brown. Your rather tame United horror story has been one-upped.

The latest victim in United's assault on human decency is the family of one Scott Shirley..."

and

"While this story is pretty shocking, the airline involved is not. Of the major U.S. airlines, United had by far the most customer complaints. Overall, only budget carrier Frontier vexed fliers more."

Gotta love the free press! "vomit-friendly"

kettle1

I just got off the phone with a UA FA I have known for 20+ years and she said - NO WAY!
If the plane was still on the ground they should have called back the cabin service crew and the area cleaned correctly. She also stated that they are trained on how to handle PUKE, and this was not right. She also said that this is covered in their training manuals. Vomit, blood, fecal matter, etc. Again, this is a BIO HAZARD matter, not a customer service mistake.

UA = FAIL on this one. Also, did the FA's advise the ground crew of the vomit upon landing, so the blankets could be thrown out and the area cleaned properly. If this was the last flt of the night - I would guess NOT as the planes are cleaned overnight!

Always Flyin

I don't have a ton of tolerance for airlines that would allow passengers to fly on aircraft that have not been properly cleaned after someone has vomited.

Nor do I have much tolerance or respect for anyone who thinks that such behavior by an airline is acceptable.

Perhaps you should read the earlier posts again. If someone is taking a position other than the airline was in the wrong, they are blaming the passengers. Full stop.

Precisely.

I wouldn't want to place a bet on that being true.

buckeyefanflyer

Certainly not Flyer Friendly.

iquitos

This is such crap. They booked a flight and United was supposed to deliver the service without the vomit. They should have rebooked them on another flight that day even if one outside their near monopoly. Buffer schmuffer. United doesn't care and nobody can make them.