I purchased my mother a ticket from ewr to hkg and used my miles to upgrade her to bf. My mother is a frail 65 yo Asian lady who speaks decent English. So on the flight one of the Cantonese speaking fa's walk to her and basically says in a rude assuiming tone 'this is first class you can't sit here'.

Now if this were me the fa wouldve gotten an earful and the head of the flight crew would also get a piece. However the lovely and too nice of a person simply said sorry. Before she could say more, the bf fa came up and apologized for the Asian fa.. Then she simply stood and walked away. Later on the flight the Asian fa gave my mother a glare... But again my mother is too nice to say anything... Though she is quite angry at the assumption made, and I'm even more upset about the classnessless of the comment.

So would it be worth writing or calling continental to tell them about this?!? Ultimately I'd like a written apology from the fa to my mother since she's still upset about it , and as I'm sure with everyone, we hate to see our mothers upset

Sorry about your mother's (and your) experience. Its unlikely that you'll get a personal apology from the FA, however if you write a note to customer care ([email protected]), they will send you an apology on behalf of Continental. Don't know if that makes things any better...

I dont think you'll get any travel voucher compensation, but they might throw 1,000 onepass miles your way (I realize you weren't asking for compensation, but just thought I'd add this).

Did you get the rude FA's name? If so, then by all means, write to CO! I have a great relationship with this airline and I love to fly CO (and do- I've been a Plat for years) but I'm not one of those people who claims that CO does no wrong. In fact, I've been the recipient of some rude FAs.

The worst time I was "talked down to" was when I was pregnant and flying in 1st. The FA, a woman, offered me wine with dinner. I proudly said "I'm pregnant, but thanks." She looked at me, then shook her head. (I remember this as if it were yesterday, but it was 6 and a half years ago.) She returned to ask if I needed anything and I asked for a Dr. Pepper. (They really did serve DP back in the day!) She turned to me with scorn and said, "I thought you said you were pregnant?" I said, yes, I was pregnant and told her how many months along I was. She said, "Well you don't LOOK pregnant." How stupid is THAT? A woman can be pregnant and not show for a long time.

So then she said that Dr. Pepper had caffeine and THAT was as bad as wine. I said very clearly (I was quite hormonal) that my OB had said I could drink a little caffeine once in awhile- moderation being the key. I think I had 3 caffeinated beverages during my entire pregnancy. She then went to another FA and the 2nd FA brought me a Sprite! I told number 2 that I'd ordered DP, and she apologized for the mix up. She said that FA #1 had told her to bring me a Sprite! I got my DP, but didn't enjoy it.

Then several months later I flew back because my mom was dying and got little Mary Sunshine all over again. And she remembered me! She asked me where my baby was and I told her that sadly, we'd lost him at birth. Maybe I'm a sucker, but I thought that the info might actually make her a bit friendlier to me. NOT! She spent her time whispering with another FA and looking at me. Maybe she thought I made the baby up? In any case, with what I'd been going through and what I was headed for (my mom died 3 weeks after I got there) I was in no mood for her. On my way home I was so relieved to fly through another city, thus not having to see that FA.

I really wish I'd had her name, but with all I had going on, I might not have used it anyway. But if your mom got the name, it wouldn't hurt writing CO about her. If she treats other people that way it reflects on the whole company. Lucky for us, the majority of FAs are friendly and kind!

If you did not get a name, you can mention it was the BF Speaker (I am assuming it was.).

Thaliajen - ditto. the one and only time I have ever had a blatantly rude FA was when I was 7 months pregnant. I was flying from Bristol, UK to EWR and as I boarded the flight I asked a male FA if he would be kind enough to help me lift my carry on into the overhead. As I'm only just over 5ft tall it's a bit tricky for me, even when I'm not pregnant!! He was very kind and said "sure" and began walking down the aisle to help me. A female FA yelled down the aisle to him to stop, and stormed up to me and said "we're not paid to cripple ourselves loading YOUR bag into the overhead, do it yourself or get another passenger to help you". Needless to say, I was quite shocked!! the male FA silently mouthed a "sorry" and rolled his eyes behind her back, but didn't help me! Fortunately, a very helpful gentleman took my bag and put it in the overhead, and got it down at the end.

I was fumng for the whole flight, and composed a letter to customer care while flying. Got a form letter response apologising and 1000 OP miles.




I agree. that one doesn't always look pregnant, even in the later stages. I was heavily pregnant before I began to show with both of my children.




I am soooooo sorry to hear that you lost your son at birth. I cannot even begin to understand how sad and difficult that must have been for you.

And how sad that you also lost your Mother. My heart goes out to you.

Jacklee - so sorry that your Mother had to experience such rudeness. You're right, none of us want our dear sweet Mom's to be treated in such a way.

I think you are well within your rights to pen a letter to customer care explaining the situation and asking for an apology.

I offer my apologies to you and your Mom as a fellow passenger and hope that she has a better experience on her return flight.

You do not need to know any of the crew's names inorder to write a letter of compliment or complaint to WE CARE. Just make sure that you state the flight number, the city that you boarded the flight, the date and any physical description of the FA you are writing about.

I'm sorry that your mother had a bad flight. I learned a long time ago not to assume anything.

Sfogate - I have been flying CO exclusively for years, and have rarely had rude or inappropriate treatment from the FAs. They are always friendly and polite, and even if sometimes not chatty because they are tired or ticket off or whatever, I've never been on the receiving end of poor behavior from a FA with the exception of the above post.

That's why I fly CO and will continue to do so!

I've had a few issues on CO but nothing over-the-top. The worst I remember is a surly old female FA in BF going from EWR to HNL. She didn't ruin my trip, but for the entire flight I had wished I was on the other side of the cabin.

Most of the time CO FAs are quite pleasant IMO.

I have heard this several times from FAs on CO and other US-based airlines. Is it really true? If it is, I'm surprised how many FAs go beyond what their paid for. I see them helping passengers on almost every flight. Just curious...

FAs are not paid until the boarding door closes and end pay when it opens at the destination.

I've never had a problem except on that one flight. I guess that FA was just having a bad day .....

Then I'm very happy and grateful for the service I get from the FAs. Kudos to them for going above and beyond.

FAs are not paid to load passenger bags. I would suggest packing lighter or checking the bag.

The issue is on the 777, the bins are so high it is very difficult for us height impared people to get it in. I'm 5' 2" and it is always a struggle for me. I can manage it, but always appreciate it when I get an addition lift. I never expect an FA to help me with my bag, but I've had many help without any request from me.

The majority of FA's might help, but the hassle of the potential injury, out weigh the perception we gain by helping the customer. If we do injure ourselves lifting a bag, we'd be covered by workman's comp - but the payment is not enough to cover the loss of wages we would have earned if we had just declined helping.

The company advises us to be careful when helping with bags -but when we do help and get injured, we are often grilled about whether the injury is legitimate.