Originally Posted by
narvik
THIS is EXACTLY the part that many contributors to this thread can sympathize with, especially as many have witnessed similar, UNACCEPTABLE behavior of United Airlines' flight attendants.
The other side of the coin is that it seems a bit murky as to what happened (and what potentially could have happened) after this occurred. It appears to me that if you had left it at that, remained calm and in your seat, with your [eventually] recovered boarding pass in hand, the escalation would have died down, and you could have continued on your journey. It may have involved a re-visit with other UA staff, but since you had your correct BP back in hand, the seating issue should have been able to be cleared up successfully and in your favor, AS LONG AS you remained levelheaded and calm.
By INSISTING that you prove you were in the right by DEMANDING the FA look at your boarding pass IMMEDIATELY, you added to the escalation and deterioration of the situation. Or do you see that differently?
I'm leaning toward a bad apple UA FA. Having seen a FA go on a power trip, call the Captain, and demand the passenger be deplaned, I can see how this could be a problem. In the case I witnessed, the FA was overruled by the Captain, he even said something to her to the likes of you are out of line or something. We had about 10 of us ready and willing to support the passenger in question, and none of us could understand why the FA decided to be on whatever power trip that she was on. Needless to say, I avoided her like the plague, as did others that witnessed the event; that was self created by the FA.
If an FA pulled something similar on me, I will happily stand my ground, with whatever happens next being fine. If UA decided to ban me for doing nothing wrong, I will happily take my business elsewhere. Rogue and crazy FA's exist on UA, as my relative is one of them. She is a nut job, and I'm sugar coating it big time. I've only had a few flights with her, and will never do so again.
So to the OP, welcome to FT, which is a wealth of knowledge overall, but I do understand why some question everything. We do have first time posters with some crazy stories and conspiracy theories, then never return to explain. You haven't done that despite what has been said. Stick around, as this will go away at some point.