Vomit on United Airlines Flight

A Note from HWYF.COM: HWYF.COM believes that the overwhelming majority of airline employees and contracted airline service workers strive to provide the best services to airline passengers. However, U.S. airlines have continued to make staff cutbacks in recent years that have resulted in the deteriorating performance and customer service received by airline passengers, as witnessed by the recent J.D. Power and Associates survey. While the story below is about a UA employee, it illustrates the implications of an industry’s failure to invest in its workforce and to raise standards for both customers and employees.

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I am writing in regards to my flight with United Airlines on July 20, 2008.

During the flight the passenger next to me became ill and vomited on me. Please note that my dissatisfaction and unhappiness is not from the uncontrollable situation of being vomited on but rather the lack of professionalism and customer service provided to me from the flight attendants.

A few moments prior to vomiting, the passenger alarmed the help button and no flight attendant came. When I noticed the young lady vomiting on me, I stood up and had to tell the flight attendant twice what was happening. I then went to the back of the plane and informed another flight attendant of the situation. I asked for disinfectant wash or spray and both flight attendants didn’t have any, in fact one of the women suggested that I “just use paper towels”. This is extremely unsanitary, especially when I had another flight to board before I reached my final destination.

At this time in the flight, my boyfriend and I were out of our seats at the back of the plane. We attempted to clean up since the vomit was on my bag, arm and leg, shirt and shorts, and we wanted to give the young lady room while she was still vomiting at our seats. As my boyfriend and I were cleaning up we heard the flight attendant say that the young lady was less than nice and a bit rude. Then we heard the other flight attendant say that they didn’t have any hazmat cleaning materials. One flight attendant made a comment to the young lady that it was “ironic that the only seat on the flight didn’t have a vomit bag for the one person who needed it”. I found the disrespect given to the young women to be extremely uncomfortable and unprofessional. I personally did not have a pillow, blanket, or head phones set at my seat and it is not ironic that I needed all three for my flight!

After cleaning myself up I asked the flight attendant if there was another place for my boyfriend and I to sit on the plane. Her response was “There are empty seats on the plane, go look and find one.” Considering this was a red eye flight and the plane was dark, we felt it was unfair for us to have to find our own seats. As the flight attendant gave us this useless response the captain alarmed the seat belt button due to turbulence. The flight attendant had not noticed and after my boyfriend and I walked down the row trying to find seats, we became dizzy. We then sat back in our original seats and put on our belts.

About 15 minutes later a flight attendant came back to our seats and said she thought there would be room for us in row 7. I then asked how much longer we had to land and her response was “I don’t know, I don’t have a watch on. I don’t even know what time it is!”. A passenger sitting behind us (who witnessed this whole situation) said that we only had about an hour left. I then said thank you to her and told the flight attendant that we would just stay there.

About 10 minutes later the young lady joined us at our seats and apologized for getting sick. I told her that “things happen and it was ok”. I then asked her if she was feeling better and she informed me that she was but that the flight attendances were rude to her. I told her that they appeared to be clueless and I was confused as to what their role was on the plane if it isn’t to help the passengers.

Throughout the flight we heard several people complaining and were witnesses to people being forgotten on beverage rounds and given attitudes by the attendants. Also, once the flight was over the attendants were nowhere to be found as we exited the plane. The pilot greeted us and that was it. This was the first flight I have ever been on where the flight attendants were not around for the dismissal of passengers.

I contacted United Airlines and the best that they could do for me was to say “Sorry”. The customer service agent told me that there was no way that someone could call me back to ensure that it wouldn’t happen again but that I should “rest assured that the situation will be addressed”.

Do not fly with United! How did they clean our seats for their next flight without the proper materials?

-Submitted by Jill L. Bassett

photo credit: photographia