Embarrassed and upset. Was I wrong?

[fatandembarrassed]

Nc for this

I recently had to take an 11 hour flight. I'm quite pregnant at the moment - not close to my due date, but it's very obvious and I am pretty big now. I was cleared to fly but warned that I must walk about as much as possible.

I didn't have much notice of this flight and so didn't have spare money, so I booked an economy seat next to the toilet, for obvious reasons, and with extra legroom. It was fine, but about 4 hours into the flight, I realised my ankles were swelling, so I got up and started to walk about a bit.

I felt a bit embarrassed, but I was in a fair bit of pain with my ankles and Braxton Hicks contractions, so I persevered very slowly and in complete silence, making my way along the aisles which wasn't easy in Economy as it was very tight. I then walked up and down the Business Class aisle. Nobody looked up or seemed disturbed by me, and it was easier to walk, so I walked up and down that section twice which took me about five minutes.

Next thing I knew, a male flight attendant marched up to me, put his hand on my arm and told me that I was disturbing passengers who had paid more than me, and that I might be pregnant but it was 'not an excuse' to 'make a disturbance'. I was quite shocked to be told I was disturbing anyone - I was very quiet and slow, and there for less than 5 min.

I was really upset to have him talk to me like that, both touching me and implying that I was just being a 'nuisance' to people who were clearly 'better' than me. I ended up crying because I was so humiliated (hate having to walk anyway and draw attention to myself), in horrible pain and having contractions.

Was I being unreasonable here? DH is very upset that I was treated like this and I really didn't think I was doing anything terribly wrong.

"Are you honestly of the opinion that someone paying £400 should be entitled to the same facilities of someone that has paid £5000? Really, is this what you think?"

No one is saying that, but interesting that it's how you see it.

She was not helping herself to the comfy seats, free booze, in flight entertainment etc.

She was walking up and down FFS.

If you think that paying any kind of money means a pregnant woman should not be allowed to walk up and down in your presence to ease her pain, then the problem here is people like you, and the system that supports that kind of attitude, not the pregnant woman IMO.

Never seen the Persian cats, mores the pity! Once when traveling with my bosses Kuwaiti boss we were schlepped across the runway in Jeddah in a souped up Land Rover just before take off! No waiting in lounges for that family - being British I was embarrassed and sort of shuffled on feeling mortified.

She was walking up and down FFS.

Yes she was, in a cabin she shouldn't have been in! She was most likely trying to blag a free upgrade to BC, hoping the AS would take pity on her in her pregnant state. If people choose to fly when pregnant then they know the risks. I've flown numerous times when pregnant KNOWING the risks and not once did I expect to just amble into first class from business class to stretch my legs. The OP was probably chancing getting a free upgrade and worst of all using her pregnancy to get one.

JeanandTonic why don't you go back and read my threads again and tell me where I have said that I am -

of the opinion that someone paying £400 should be entitled to the same facilities of someone that has paid £5000? Really, is this what you think

But to answer your question, I will repeat - No. Any random person who has paid for an EC seat SHOULD NOT get to access the facilities and services of BC. However someone who is in distress or pain which will be relieved by walking SHOULD BE allowed to walk on the floor - not sit on a seat...not eat or drink the food...not take up the time of the FAs...not use the toilet ...but quietly walk on the floor and breath business class oxygen.

You may disagree with me as is your right.

Yes to the falcons in business! And quite a few Persian cats roaming around too

Huh???!!!

I'll ask again: what healing properties does BC have for a pregnant women that means that she must walk there?

Saying that people's feet sticking out means that she can't walk down the economy aisle is bollocks - the FA themselves just ask people to move when they come through with their trolleys

It's true puzzled - they are valuable birds and like to travel in style. (They cover the seats in plastic and there is some kind of perch attachment with an ankle strap to stop them flying around the cabin.)

I was completely the first time I saw it. Now I barely notice!

I'll ask again: what healing properties does BC have for a pregnant women

It had spare seats in the OP's case and wider aisles but the AS saw through her "I'm pregnant and in pain" plan to get a free upgrade I still don't understand why she didn't tell the crew she was in so much pain instead of annoying passengers in BC by doing laps of the cabin. I really can't be arsed with the attention seeking shit the OP posted. It's simple, tell the cabin crew if you feel ill/are in pain, they would have happily helped her without anyone having to venture into business class. I really can't be arsed with people like the OP who think they should be treated like a special little snowflake because they are pregnant.

it had spare seats in the OP's case and wider aisles

If you want the perks then pay for em baby

Exactly queen

I'm wondering why the OP (or anyone else) thinks that the FA saying: 'You are disturbing people who have paid more' was so heinous. It's a factual statement really.

Anyway I was reading an article recently that there are apparently more flight rage type incidents on planes with different classes, especially where you have to walk through the nicer sections to get to cattle class. Clearly people get upset by having other people's privileges made too obvious and entitled when they are aware that they are privileged too (higher class fliers behave badly on planes too)

I've flown with traveling companions in a better class than me, and I've certainly been a bit envious, especially on long overnight flights, but I don't think it's really that big a deal (not enough for me to pay the difference anyway). It's a bit galling when nice food smells come floating down the aircraft as you wait for your cardboard servings though!

Emotion, class war, rage, feminist angst-when are we getting to the real issue?

How the fuck is OP going to get back home?

YABU, OP and you know it. I'd be seriously pissed off if someone was meandering up and down in BC if I'd paid stupid money to be there. I'd be even more pissed off about you hogging the toilet for so long. I flew long haul shortly post several ops and a DVT. I did not decide to hoy myself into BC, I managed to shuffle up and down the EC aisles quite nicely.

Having seen many threads on this site started by (justifiably) not pregnant women who have been offended by someone thinking that they're pregnant, I don't think there's any such thing as a visibly pregnant woman.

You're kidding, right? Saw an extremely pregnant woman why only today. Either she was pregnant or had an oversized beach ball stuck up her jumper.

P.S. Daily Mail, fuck off.

"a man inappropriately put his hands on me... I cried in the toilet."

He put one hand on your arm, you said in OP. Are you going to be OK? As devastating as this traumatic experience no doubt was, please try to remember all you have to live for.

You were wrong and you know you were wrong, deal with it.

I flew ec Dubai to London and ended up in a row of 3 with some entitled madam in an abaya who insisted that she have sole custody of the spare seat in the middle then proceeded to stretch out and rest her hobbity bare feet on my leg. I objected politely and she ranted about how she was a member of the Emirati Royal family and had more rights than me. She then demanded that the cabin crew "remove me". Which they did - to business class.

Similar happened to me on an Emirates flight, so it definitely does happen. Stupid woman and her just about to turn 2 year old sitting on her lap. Child kept grabbing my hair and she got angry when I told her to control her child. Then I went to the toilet and came back to find her changing her kids nappy on my seat. I was not amused and told her so, and then she complained to the flight attendant that I was 'discriminating against her child'. Flight attendant said they would go and see if there was a spare seat in business class, and she got all smug. FA came back 'I'm found a spare seat in business class.' She smirks at me. FA turns me to 'so if you'd like to gather your things and come with me ma'am, I'll get you seated.' My turn to smirk.

YABU, OP and you know it. I'd be seriously pissed off if someone was meandering up and down in BC if I'd paid stupid money to be there. I'd be even more pissed off about you hogging the toilet for so long.
I repeat my earlier remark - if the OP had also paid stupid money to be in business class and all other conditions remained the same, that would be all right for the other BC customers, would it?

It's not what he said its HOW he said it
OP complain!!!

Do not complain, you were in the wrong!!!!!!!!!!

I flew to Hong Kong when I was 7 months pregnant. I did not use the business class aisle. Yabu

The flight attendant could have handled it better

BUT the issue here really isn't lack of compassion or humanity, or wealthy "toffs" not deigning to be in the presence of "peasants" it's airline economics. The airlines charge vastly more for business over economy and vastly more again for first, and make much of their profit this way.

To get people to pay these prices there needs to be a clear point of difference - and it's more comfort, better food and a more spacious, peaceful cabin. And this needs to be enforced - no one necessarily complained, cabin crew will always ask people to leave an area they haven't paid for.

If they let one person who feels uncomfortable in economy on a long haul flight walk around business they'll have to let everyone who feels uncomfortable in economy (ie everyone in economy on a long haul flight) do it

It' business, there really isn't any emotion or meanness involved - if people can have the advantages of business class for free, why would anyone pay (through the nose) for it?

queenof the boys Point well-made and taken.

I'm not going to bother reiterating what pretty much everyone else has said, I think you've grasped by now that you stay in your section. I'll add though, that we are on our highest security threat, and people randomly wandering in parts of the plane they are not supposed to be in, probably made some passengers, not to mention the FA, twitchy.

I'm still slightly gobsmacked that you thought that was an ok thing to to.

Agree with Stratter about the twitchy thing. Flight regs require you to stay in your section as pointed out earlier on the thread. There are a great many nervous pax these days and the crew are just doing their job.

You might think the flight attendant would have asked if she was OK first. Then quietly whispered that she needs to stay in her own area near her seat. FAs are there to make sure everyone is ok not to upset people. What an idiot if he did say those exact words.