good morning everyone.
thank you all for your responses. it is appreciated.
i will be filling out the complaint form today. i also have a letter than i am going to attach, and i plan on finding out all my contacts today so i may forward it to them as well. Also i have read elsewhere that i should contact the DOT's Aviation Consumer Protection Division (ACPD) in regards to the detainment.
to answer some of your questions:
no other flight attendants had contact with us. i am not sure where the pilot was after we landed, the cockpit door was closed and he appeared gone. i didnt think of the option at the time of speaking with him, as i was obviously not thinking clearly in the panic i was in. i was worried that we were about to be arrested and our passports confiscated, etc.
no, we did not have any drinks prior to our flight. We had an 8:30 am flight, the bar was not open in the club lounge. we are talking about 3 airplane glasses of orange juice and vodka within 3 hours, hardly a course for concern. we are in our 50s as well, not in our younger years. we were not drunk, nor appear to be drunk. we were not talking loudly, if even at all, as we were watching our own tv shows. we just got up a few times to use the lavatory. the FA commented that he thought it was "too early" for a drink, etc., when we asked for one during beverage service.
it appeared the FA had an attitude from the start and complained when i asked for a blanket, etc. This was consistent with service to the other passengers as well, as i heard them asking for one too. After being told that he didnt know if any blankets were available on board, he sighed and literally rolled his eyes when i asked him to check for me. So right from the get go he was annoyed with us, and the other passengers as well.
The service we received was subpar and horrendous and not consistent with the first class service we have previously experienced with united, and other airlines as well. we have always had wonderful FAs, hence paying out of pocket for first on special occasions, which this was one, as we were celebrating a trip for our 30 year wedding anniversary.
we were humiliated and detained from deboarding and told we were going to be arrested. this in of itself is not only unprofessional, but i believe unlawful, and not something to be taken lightly. of course we did not argue. had i known that no authorities were meeting us, we should have left, but we had no way of knowing that. i was scared out of my mind, as we were now outside to usa. and of course this has never happened to me before, so how was i to know the rules....that we would have been taken off the plane first, etc.
this was done only for the FAs amusement and his wish to 'punish' my husband for being in the lavatory too long, along with the 'drink' situation. My husband is a veteran of the us marine corps and was never in any way disrespectful to the FA.
Also i had nothing to do with the situation but was detained and threatened with arrest as well. when i tell you we really did nothing wrong, its true! our FA was just in a bad mood that day and i guess just didnt feel like assisting us during the flight, then decided to get even with us for whatever reason.
what a waste of money. i do not think i will ever fly first class in united again, if at all.
i appreciate your comments and letting me vent here and ask for advice. thank you.