Originally Posted by dba
I think most of my "single incident" complaints are about fellow passengers, not the ground or flight crew. The passenger who made the 13-year-old unaccompanied kid cry; the passenger who told the stewardess he worked for the head office and would have her fired (for not giving him alcoholic drinks on a BOS->LGA flight when she wasn't allowed to).
Then again, a "single incident" could be worth complaining about forever if it is egregious enough. I know I have read stories of being discriminated against racially, or of deliberate destruction of someone's travel plans rather than accidental damage -- things like that are worth hearing.
I agree - even single incidents are interesting. I was referring to much grander generalizations made by (usually) less experienced travellers.
I once read (not on FT) a totally insane comparison of two airlines with an argument that one of them uses primarily Airbus aircraft "which go much faster"
, when challenged about this, the OP explained that he measured the time and distance and "on airbus you can even feel the speed is higher".
I am referring to the type of comment like: "What's wrong with United? They need to get their act together! I flew LAX to O'Hare and they refused me an upgrade. Last year I flew with Continental once and they upgraded me, so I know it can be done!"
The sad routine "I can get you fired, you know" is pathetic but I think all cabin crew hear it at least once a week so they do not take it seriously (I hope)