trk1

This is a non-sense story

Kevin AA

ridiculous that so many UA FAs have worse customer service skills than correctional officers

TravelingNomads

I thought this article was interesting as it has a section discussing a flight attendant's thought process when she was alerted to a man peeing in a cup b/c the seat belt light was on.

http://www.flyertalk.com/articles/i-...n-the-job.html

BBSHOPSINGER

I don't believe her story. Where are the witnesses? What does she mean by "United refused to take my call?" No one answered when she called United? Sure, people get put on hold, but United takes calls.

I've had emergency situations where I had to use the facilities before the light went off, and the FA was understanding. In fact, I've never had an FA that didn't treat me with the same respect that I showed her/him. She's looking for a payday or her 15 minutes of fame. If you're embarrassed and humiliated about something, why are you posting on facebook about it?

TravelingNomads

I will concede that involving Facebook seems a bit crass. I do think she's telling the truth about peeing INTO the cup, but I have no way in which to gauge her intent. It could be someone who intentionally set about this scenario or it could be someone with a genuine medical condition who didn't expect that situation to occur at which point she must have felt horrendously embarrassed.

Regardless, what I've never understood is why it's safe for the FA's to walk around when the seatbelt light is on, but not the passengers.

rickg523

Or why it's "safe" for premium cabin customers to walk to and use the lavatory, when the seatbelt light is on, but not steerage commoners.
Well let's see what UA says beyond their initial and reflexive "safety issue...it was her fault."

SkiAdcock

From the FB page & subsequent articles, the woman only resorted to social media when UA didn't respond to her complaint despite repeated attempts to contact them (which anyone on this board knows isn't outside the realm of possibility, especially since UA changed the way to contact them via complaints - dropping phone). According to her social media she didn't ask for compensation & is just glad incidents like this might change how airlines do things.

Re: she could have stood in line for the bathroom upon an announcement, but that didn't mean she got to use it. Sometimes the you can get up/we're landing soon is very, very brief & if there are a # of people standing in line, you're SOL. I've stood in line & then been told to return to my seat.

A lot of us have been on flights where the seatbelt sign off was never activated or was activated for a very short time. That could have occurred to her. I've been pretty unhappy where the pilot turns on the seatbelt sign for turbulence, but an hour or so after the turbulence is ended the seat belt sign is still on. I'll usually ping for the FA to ask him/her to ask the captain to turn it off. But that doesn't always work.

A number of us have been on flights where technically we're supposed to remain in our seats but the FAs don't say squat when someone gets up to use the bathroom (and according to pee gal, the FA didn't bat an eye when someone in F used it). And as someone else has noted, FAs frequently use the bathroom when the rest of us technically aren't allowed to do so. So what's good for the goose isn't good for the gander.

I've had to use the bathroom where I've held it as long as I could, both before & after some medical conditions, but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. I was told by one FA that I wasn't supposed to get up, I explained the situation (aka, didn't want to pee on myself) & she said that she couldn't physically stop me but if I got injured it was on me vs. the airline.

FWIW - I would have tried to use the bathroom before peeing into a cup. I would not have hit, barreled down, or otherwise injured the FA, but I would have gone the use the bathroom route before the cup route. And as others have noted, I can't see a way for a (female) to try & pee into a cup that doesn't involve unbuckling a seat belt, which is also a safety violation.

PS - anyone else remember the Gerard Depardieu pee situation in 2011? "The actor was thrown off a Paris to Dublin CityJet flight on Tuesday night after a fellow passenger said he stood up and urinated on the floor. Cabin crew refused to allow him to go the lavatory while the plane was still on the runway awaiting take-off. The flight was delayed for two hours at Paris Charles de Gaulle airport while the carpet was cleaned. "He couldn't wait, so I found this solution. I had a little Evian bottle with me, only it was too small so it overflowed He wanted to clear it up, but the hostess wouldn't let him," "It was naturally very embarrassing and humiliating for him. He didn't do any grand gestures and shout: 'I'm going to piss'. Whatever the larger-than-life nature of my friend Gérard, no one is that crazy." Mr Baer insisted the incident was down to health problems. "No one is flattered to have a dodgy prostate and be obliged to urinate. But the (hostess) panicked and said the plane must stay on the tarmac. "I stopped him because he wanted to go and explain to the crew, he was sorry and he was furious but didn't lose his temper. "The lady was doubtless applying the rules, but it's only human ... are you supposed to pee your pants because of security rules?" (He was sober at the time). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/cele...-problems.html

Cheers.

enviroian

The story hit the major news networks tonight. Tucker Carlson ran it.

findark

+1 to both. Would require some pretty explicit threats to not use the lav, at which point I think situation is pretty ridiculous against the FA (very small windows of descent excepted).

raehl311

I blame the customer. If you know you have an overactive bladder, wear the appropriate undergarments for situations where you might not have access to the facilities for an extended period of time.

arturrrr

Let's hope that if the aeroplane crashes and bursts into flames, the pilot remembers to turn off the seatbelt sign so the passengers can evacuate.