1kBill

They need to serve the inflight meals to UA's exec and management staff in their lunch rooms. And the folks should be required to eat them. Same rotation as on the flights.

SPN Lifer

Unless you had been staring intently between my legs, it is highly unlikely you would even notice.

In a restaurant, a guest who receives unsatisfactory or poor quality meal service can walk out. Not so on an airborne aircraft, not so.

That is why it is a best practice to embody the utmost courtesy and tact, and to refrain from rash judgments about the intentions of others.

Such projection of fears or motives onto others is the major factor in transforming the Friendly Skies into the Stormy Tubes of Physical Altercation.

Fortunately Scott Kirby is keeping the focus on quality, and most UA flight attendants are far too professional to succumb to whispered innuendo, however well intentioned.

asphaltman

UA is like your favorite sports team that you *want* to win the championship, but never can quite make it. I’ve seen highs and lows from Tilton days to present. Unfortunately things were looking up, and then we took 20 steps back. I get Covid, but some things don’t make much sense. Increased use of the disaster 200’s, using 700’s on longer 3+ hr routes again, dirty planes fleet wide , inconsistent express operators, express operations inconsistent with mainline, current flight skeds are very random at some stations, despite full planes. I could go on and on. The good side, I don’t hear much rumbling from crews on who is who, UA/CO anymore. For me, flights have been on time. The app is great. Baggage arrives on time. I’m just thinking out loud, but I hope one day United can be back to some of its former glory days.

serpens

Off-topic comment.
Substitute Amtrak or Hilton (at least regarding the food and beverage credit) for United Airlines, and the statement still stands--perhaps even more meaningfully.

prestonh

If the FA notices (as you state) that you dump the glass of ice on the floor, it is unlikely IMO that a pax sitting in your vicinity would not notice this same behavior. Perhaps you can clarify if the ice dumping is to get the attention of the FA as to make a point, i.e. 'no i really do not want the ice' as noted by your quote, my emphasis "I'm sorry, you must not have heard me say, 'No ice, please." or was it to really to dispose of the ice discretely. It really can't be both ways as positioned in your original statement

If you want to present a false dichotomy of putting ice on the floor or not as a means of accepting beverage service on an aircraft (as pointed out there are other ways of resolving this), this is beyond the means of my having logical discourse. This is why i would feel uncomfortable in this situation and ask for reseating to put space between me and the aggressive individual since there are clearly issues which generate an aggressive response to the FA. It has nothing to do with intentions, it is the response to the situation which is the issue.

willliamjia

I am brainwashed. I do think UA is the best airline in the world. For hardware, many airlines are better than UA but for software like loyalty program and customer service, UA is the best.

dmurphynj

If I were seated anywhere in your vicinity on the plane, we'd be having a major problem. So far as to probably get myself greeted by police on the ground. With my feet, bag or any of my other possessions on the floor, you think it's OK to just throw ice down there?

Simply, you could just hand the cup back, or run it up to the galley if you don't want the ice. But to throw it on the floor? That's appalling. I'm embarrassed for you.

Repooc17

Recognizing the problem is the first step to recovery

Starbase 1K

Ah. Sounds like what the Cowboys are to their fans. 😅

I echo the various inconsistencies from UX operators. While I’m grateful for overall smooth flights, its weird to experience service inconsistencies—some few Skywest FAs thank us for flying Delta and for earning SkyMiles on our UA flight. When corrected by their colleagues, a couple of them joked around saying in the end DL and UA were the same thing. 😂 🤦🏻‍♂️

“Tomato tomato.” - Archer

SPN Lifer

Sitting in economy, with the tray table down and a beverage service cart in the aisle, there is no way a quick toss of ice between my legs could be anything but discreet.

N.B., the space in front of me between my feet is used by me alone, not a seat mate next to me (usually my spouse) or the passenger in front of me. It will melt and evaporate soon enough

Speed in immediately disposing of the unwanted ice is paramount, because the high-quality, professional UA flight attendant may begin pouring from a can of tomato juice or bloody Mary mix into the blue plastic cup at any second (or place the can next to it).
At no point during the private interaction would I be anything but calm, courteous, and discreet in my words and behavior toward the flight attendant.

The fact that a few people are prone to assume otherwise says a great deal about the propensity toward "air rage" these days.

Thus, it is all the more important that United Air Lines is redoubling its attention to quality in the passenger experience.

Bravo Zulu!

dmurphynj

I don't care if it's discreet or not, it's ridiculous. There's absolutely no possible way to justify tossing ice or liquid on a carpeted floor on a plane. Period. And as it melts, it soaks the carpet, which could get my bag wet, or my feet, or my blanket, or whatever else is in the vicinity. Could also land in the electronics box under the seat.

We're not barnyard animals; I wouldn't expect anyone sitting on a plane to act like one.

ContinentalFan

Here’s the conundrum: you don’t have to be any good in business to succeed, you just have to be the best. I try not to grade United on a curve: it does well. It would be better if the airline got ambitious and truly tried to be good rather then settling on being the best.

Joshua

Amtrak premium food is consistently better than UA premium food. I feel UA could learn something from Amtrak catering. You're right that Hilton's consistency is approaching UA service levels.

Imstevek

I can’t tell if you’re being serious. If you are, your solution, as opposed to asking the FA politely for what you wanted, is one of the most childish and selfish things I think an adult could do on a plane.

narvik

WineCountryUA: we miss you!