An Interesting Exchange in Polaris
 

A quick story from the flight deck...

The other day I was kicking off a trip, and we had a combat wounded veteran flying in the Polaris cabin. The GA who is a friend of mine made me aware of his presence. Boarding was underway, but I had a few minutes and wanted to introduce myself one veteran to another, and thank him for his service. I did so, and we had a pleasant exchange. As I turned to head back to the flight deck, a passenger 2 row's ahead, who had clearly heard our conversation says rather loudly, "Hey Captain, why are you thanking him? I'm a United 1K, and spend 45K a year flying your airline, where is my thanks?" To be honest, his comment stopped me in my tracks, and for a second I didn't know what to say. I smiled at him, said thank you, and that while I appreciated his business, I also appreciated the sacrifice a solider made in defense of our country. His reply?? "Who cares guys like me pay your salary." I looked him square in the eye, and told him to fly another airline next time.

I'm still bothered by the whole thing, 2 days later....

That's a DYKWIA story for the books. Thank YOU for your service and for putting him in his place.

You handled that situation with professionalism. Thank you, Captain.

p.s. if I had been in your position I may have added a joke at the end that said passenger should reach GS before expecting a personalized thank you from the CO.

Of course you would be. Anyone with common decency should be. I'm sorry you had to suffer through that. Thank you for letting him know that such ignorant commentary with utter lack of regard for this soldier's sacrifice was not to be tolerated.

And thank you for continuing to give me reasons to be proud to fly United. It's folks like you with integrity and compassion that keep me coming back.

Totally absurdly self centered.

Totally agree with your perspective.

Still during this time of trauma for us all, who knows what else was on the mind (and causing pain) for the insolent 1k?

Not defending at all, but realize it’s hard enough to understand my own triggers as I try to have empathy for the pain others hold however misdirected.

You were having a private exchange with someone else, and you thanked him for his service (not his business), and this (enter your choice of descriptor here) inserts himself and want to be thanked for his business.

Well..... he still needs to answer to the mirror. Probably not satisfied with what he sees. Wonder if he went home and kicked his dog.

I am not experiencing any trauma. Life is great - what you make of it! What are you talking about with the "us all" reference?

Trauma "for us all"? Seriously?
The guy was a jerk. What make excuses for the idiot?

Thank you for sharing your deplorable experience. I was married to a flight attendant...and she always said that the nice thing about working the flight deck in times like this is...you get to close the door.

For some people, it's just always gonna be all about them. I feel bad for our OP for having to start a trip with an interaction like that.

Throughout my career, it’s been internal or B2B. I give a Purple Heart to those who have to work with the general public.👍

Ugh! You handled it better than I would have!

Wow.

And thanks.

That's pretty much all I can say!

Wow. The word idiot comes to mind.

David

Wow, just wow. As my mom once said, "you can't fix stupid....... but you can smack arrogant in the nose when they need it" ;)