UA Crew Allegedly Cracked Jokes After Passenger Caught Masturbating

A United Airlines passenger says that cabin crew members laughed and made jokes after she reported that her seatmate was pleasuring himself during a recent transatlantic flight. The airline has since apologized for the incident, but defended the actions of flight attendants.

Genevieve Pascolla says that she didn’t expect United Airlines cabin crew members to have quite so much fun at her expense after she reported that the passenger next to her on a July 4th flight from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD) was obviously masturbating. Pascolla says she alerted another nearby passenger and both women went to a flight attendant to ask to be moved to seats away from the seriously creepy behavior. She says the request was honored, but the crew didn’t seem especially concerned about the illicit onboard activity.

“On this flight the man next to me started masturbating,” Pascolla wrote in an Instagram post included with a video of her seat mate appearing to fondle himself under a blanket. “I woke up and saw him touching himself under a blanket (see attached video) I woke the woman next to me and got out of there to tell a flight attendant the attendants checked and confirmed that he was masturbating in public. Once I got up the woman next to me saw and she also got up. They gave us new seats. They then started making jokes about the situation asking “what perfume are you wearing” and excusing him saying “he’s had a bit of wine” no one stopped him. He was allowed to finish, with a child sitting closely by.”

Pascolla also shared the letter she received from the airline in response to her complaints about the manner in which the unpleasant situation was handled. She was not entirely satisfied with the airline’s less than sympathetic solution to the issue.

“Your observations are important as they help us improve areas needing our attention,” a member of United’s customer care team explained via email. “Unfortunately we are unable to honor your request for a refund of your travel from London to Chicago or offer goodwill compensation. Again, I apologize for the uncomfortable situation you experienced. I appreciate that you chose United for your travel. We hope your next trip with us will be a more positive experience.”

After the airline’s cavalier response to the onboard sexual misconduct was reported in the Chicago Tribune, on the local TV news, and in national outlets such as BuzzFeed and The Hill, United officials took a more hands-on approach to addressing Pascolla’s concerns.

“Inappropriate and offensive conduct like this is exceedingly rare on our aircraft, but we have a protocol to ensure our customers’ safety because it is our top priority,” United Airlines spokesperson Maddie King told BuzzFeed in a statement. “That’s why, in this case, our customers were promptly moved to different seats in a different section of the plane and law enforcement officials were summoned in advance to meet the perpetrator when the plane pulled into the gate.”

The airline appears to have reversed an earlier decision not to offer Pascolla compensation. According to King, an airline official later reached out to personally apologize and offer “goodwill compensation” to the understandably upset customer.

[Photo: Shutterstock]