Abusing the airline staff

[Dontcomeflyeithme]

Why is this such a big thing these days? It seems to be the same throughout all customer service roles.

We we're going on holiday this evening and witnessed a fully grown woman on our flight throwing a raging hissy fit at the cabin staff.

The reason for this was, the staff were moving a disabled person into the window seat to allow her to sit with her partner.

The woman refused to let them use the seat beside her and demanded the staff tell her why they were moving someone.

The staff explained that she had no right to know this other person's personal information. This resulted in a 10 minute screaming match.

Never in my life have I witnessed something so crazy. As far as I could tell she looked completely sober.

Then you had idiots shouting at the staff as there was no space directly above their head for the cases. What do people expect when they come on later?

What are these people hoping to achieve?

Like I said, I don't know the full situation regarding the disabled woman's seats however she did have assistance coming on, so I'm guessing she planned it to some extent.

The shouty woman was in an aisle seat of an empty row. The staff wanted to put the other lady and her partner beside this lady.

No one was asking the woman to move from her original seat. Her problem was that she wanted to know the disabled ladies personal information and demanded the staff tell her why they were moving people beside her.

I think she wanted the full row to herself and threw a hissy fit when she realised there would be people sat beside her.

I've had issues before where I'd booked our seats together and then the aircraft was changed and thankfully I checked the new allocated seats and we were in an emergency row with a baby so obvs would be made move on the plane and probably get abuse for not booking together. I've also had a situation where the travel agent booked 3 "comfort" seats for babies but in a row and assumed that we could sort it out on the plane and the airline moved them all at check in and randomly put me in a middle seat away from my family - God knows why, we'd paid for the seats that time. A third time they moved me away from my husband baby and toddler to the row behind him, and argued that I was sitting with my parents so didn't need to move, my parents were on a completely different booking to me. So I had to argue it out at the desk again- although considered leaving him on his own with a baby and toddler for the long haul flight. So that's three times I've booked and paid for seats and could have been asking people on the plane to accommodate us, so I always have grace for people asking and never assume it was out of inconsideration. For all we know similar happened to the women with additional needs in the OP.

Private jet travel costs a little more 🤓.

Its consequences. If they were serious consequences to bad behaviour (as like the zero tolerance in New York many years ago) maybe these drunk entitled people would think twice.

I have also seen the drinking at 0700 in the airport. The 'lads' on a weekend away. Dont we all wish they werent on our flight! Why are bars open at the that time. Yes, its not always 0700 for some of the travellers but for gods sake. Its honestly not against their human rights!

I wonder what the cause of this is because I have certainly noticed increased levels of general disrespect and lack of consideration for others and I think it’s related

Actually it should be compensation.

If I go to the trouble of reserving a seat, and choose an airline that allows me to reserve a seat, and end up sitting in a seat that is sub optimal for me and lessens my flight experience because of it then I should get something over and above what I paid for the reservation in the first place if I can't have that seat, not simply refunded.

@Dontcomeflyeithme we've recently returned from a long haul trip with an elderly relative (90) and a young relative (just over a year). There were one or two issues around booking when the plane changed and hence the seating configuration did. But at the airport and on the plane, people couldn't have been nicer or more willing to help - staff and fellow passengers.

Hope that restores your faith a little bit.

I used to work in an airport, I have been shouted at and spat at. I witnessed a man throw a luggage trolley at a colleague.

I think the airline staff should be able to breathlyse people before getting on the plane.

You can get cheap kits to do it. They could also have them on sale at the airport so people can test themselves.

Anything over a certain amount just don't let them on. That would probably cut down on a lot of the problems and it is much easier to get security to haul them off and chuck them into the cells. Anyone kicking off could get done for drunk and disorderly as well as missing their flight.

We do pay more for our flights as we won't fly with Ryanair etc. I factor the cost of flights with Lufthansa or KLM into the cost of the holiday. If we can't afford that then we don't go abroad. I've yet to see any poor behaviour on either airline.

I agree. NOBODY NEEDS A DRINK at breakfast time ffs. I judge. HUGELY.

I think there should be no pubs at airports, and gemerally more responsibility taken about how pissed people are getting pre-flight.

I don't fly budget airlines because of the crap service, risk of drunks, etc. I have fewer foreign trips and pay more for proper scheduled airlines. I flew Ryanair once, never again. Likewise used Jet2 a couple of times, but again, never again. I tend to use KLM, BA, etc.

I agree. A simple refund isn't enough. You're not getting what you've paid for, so should be compensated for that.

Same here. No chance i'd be flying budget anymore, did easyjet once, not repeating that. the issue with most of this is that the flights are too cheap. if they cost more, fewer would travel, less likelihood of the asbo crowd getting out of hand.

My anecdata to add to all that's gone before..

In over twenty years of travelling dozens of times a year as a passenger on a mainly business route, uk-Europe, with a loco and also a egacy airline I have never once seen disruptive behaviour...last flew on the route a month ago..

With my work hat on, thirty years Longhaul, legacy airline, just one instance of a passenger needing restraining (in 1991), one instance of passenger being met by police (mid nineteen nineties)...

Other than that over the years nothing more serious than occasional reports from cabin crew that they had stopped serving a selected passenger with alcohol (not always males, not always young)...I'm now retired so I'll accept behaviour may have changed.

I did at times fly alongside colleagues who had worked previously at non legacy airlines that served what I'll describe as "party routes" ...and they had a different lived experience.

Given the above I think there might just be justification for looking at targetted precautions on maybe some routes, but I can"t see the data is there to justify a complete alcohol ban at airports, on aircraft, or even breathalysing the majority of passengers.

It is entirely possible that the disabled person did book a suitable seat, but the airline changed the aircraft, which impacts on configuration. I have had this happen to me - I have actually paid for the seat that I want, with extra space and nearer the toilets, to find that the airline have moved me to a seat with neither amenity. And I have complained and got moved. Broadly speaking, there are roughly the same number of suitable seats, but when they change the configuration people who haven't paid for that actually end up in the seats we have paid for, so they are moved - it may be an inconvenience to them, but it's a necessity to me.

Clearly nobody was inconvenienced in this case though, and I'd have to say that if someone acted like this around this "disabled lady" the airline staff wouldn't have needed to tolerate it - I'd have put her in her place without any trouble.

Drinking to excess so that one is drunk is wrong. I had a glass of champagne with breakfast before flying to London to celebrate a sister’s big birthday. We were very civilised and would never dream of abusing airline staff or those on the flight. The problem is the binge culture of drinking in our country coupled with people with no manners.

I think my favourite one was a good few years ago in Newcastle. Some arrogant tosser had his mountain bike and was trying to get through security, insistent that the check in staff had told him he could.

It wouldn't fit through the X-Ray machine, so the suggested that he try dismantling it, still too big. He went on an epic rant when they told him to put it into oversized baggage.

One of the security men told him calmly and politely, "Or we could always have you thrown off the flight and banned from the airport?" He left, meekly.

The woman next to me said, "I bet they just gave up and told him he could, sons he'd bugger off!"

Was it an Aer Lingus Regional flight 😁I commute regularly to Dublin and its my favourite experience as you say the seasoned London Dublin commuters take no prisoners

In law it’s the same as if you see something in a shop window advertised with a price. The shop are not compelled to sell it to you.

Likewise, if you buy something on Amazon which later on turns out to be out of stock, you get a refund, not compensation.

If they are on the ground they can just ask the dispatcher to get rid of them, but it can make the flight late because of getting the bags off so a lot are reluctant to do it. If they are in the air, they can just tell the airline about the poor behaviour later or if it’s serious, have the police meet them when they land and get them taken off.

It’s funny because in a lot of cases a dressing down in front of the rest of the passengers can work very well. DH had a proper bellend last week who was smoking when he was crossing the tarmac to board. Thought no one saw him and when DH challenged him, he got really shitty and denied it. Then when he was threatened with being thrown off the flight and his kids started crying he backed down. His wife was absolutely mortified!

I'm old enough to remember when it was really special.
You dressed up in Sunday best.
You were served proper meals
And everyone behaved

Is this not different from those situations in that the airline has already taken your money?

Amazon don’t take your money until the item is dispatched. And the shop window item is an invitation to treat. If you then offer to buy it, a contract is formed when they accept your offer (and money).

I’ve had money taken by Amazon and then refunded as an item was no longer available due to “supply issues”. Likewise with John Lewis and Argos.