KenTarmac

It happens. Get over it. Flying is a crap shoot. You can't blame the OP, or Mr. DYKWIA for what happened to delay the flight. One persons karma is everyone else's bad luck.

It just worked out that the OP made it there 3 hrs sooner than the other flight. ... Luck of the draw.

If you can't see the humor in Mr. DYKWIAm's bad luck for your pity of the rest of his flight that's too bad.

UA Apologist

which news?

tarheelnj

Multiple news stories of negative interactions between passengers and airline/airport employees, usually caught on camera.

azepine00

all we need now is some pro- vs anti- GA crowds going at each other.

I strongly disagree with OP's approach - UA has the rules and it's up to them to enforce them.

I am not seeing when the guy got to the gate ("boarding completed" is meaningless), why he was late (perhaps UA shifted delayed departure time back and forth) and i don't quite see any evidence if DYKWIA behavior (perhaps frustration which is understandable under the circumstances)

The comment of "wish I could have seen his face when the captain announced the delay" only reinforced my opinion here...

I bet i can find a dozen similar stories here from the opposite prospective eg GA gave away my seat in UA-caused irrops and i missed my kid's performance..

Kevin AA

I strongly disagree with yelling at another yelling passenger. OP was fortunate that the DYKWIA didn't continue yelling at you and the GA, or worse yet, escalate the situation into a fistfight.

Sad that flying is a lower form of transportation, in terms of attitude and yelling and whatnot, than taking the city bus in the ghetto.

UA Apologist

but the stories are about the airlines, not passengers, behaving badly

Kevin AA

true

hilarious user name

formeraa

Having worked for AA, I assure you that your comment helped (regardless of whether the lady complained). These comments are forwarded to the crew supervisors and, even if the lady didn't complain, it counts as a compliment to the crew members.

emcampbe

actually, many are the pax behaving badly, but blaming it on the airline behaving badly (or both are at fault). From threads in the last month or two: Mr. drunk in MSY (ok, probably equally bad behavior on both sides there), the two newlyweds who decided they could take exit row seats because ׳another pax was sleeping' in their assigned E- seats, and tennis player who decided that they could get away with extra carry-ons by hiding behind the rule allowing them to bring tennis equipment on board. I get UA has their fair share of issues which they have brought on themselves, but there are just as many that are bitter pax that either make up stuff completely or exaggerate, using the public's hate for the airline to justify it and garner up support for themselves.

MSPeconomist

It's rarely a good idea for a third party to voluntarily get involved with (I just avoided a more rude term) a customer service dispute. You only know part of the story and it's really none of your business despite your well-meant sympathy for one side.

For all you know, the passenger dragged off of a previous flight by UA staff, or was kicked in the head by an off-duty area of the airport that isn't owned or leased by UA, etc. There are at least three sides to every dispute and interjecting a fourth one isn't helpful as it could make the customer more angry.

tarheelnj

I agree with both of you for the most part. In nearly all cases, Words + Volume alone aren't enough to justify a 3rd party reaction like mine. What ticked me off was the passenger coming around the back of the counter and throwing his phone down on the counter next to the gate agent. My gut reaction was to warn him off before he did anything really stupid (and in this case, it appeared to work). What if he had thrown the phone at the GA instead of on the counter? Still, you are absolutely right that I took a risk.

As for my reaction to seeing that his flight arrived 3 hours after mine, that was pure Schadenfreude. No excuses, especially if his motivation was a special event he missed.

porciuscato

That was exactly my thought when I first read this.

Not only do you have no clue what led up to things, you also undercut the authority of the person you're ostensibly helping out. The fact that the GA was a woman makes it even more dubious. Is she not able to handle these situations herself? Does she need the big authoritative male to step in and defend her with his big all-caps voice? Seems a little patronizing, doesn't it?

There's more than one side to a story. There's often more than one DYKWIA, too.

MY-OTHER-BROTHER-"TED"

4 get it

tuolumne

File this stuff under the least possible resonate explanations / going on a fishing expedition file.

kettle1

OP: You do not know what the GA was dealing with. MYOB.