United customer service strikes again

[PaxBritannica]

Nigerian woman kicked off United flight after white man complained she was 'pungent' (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2018/05/12/nigerian-woman-kicked-off-united-flight-after-white-man-complained-she-was-pungent-suit-says/?utm_term=.9bc3ee619738)

The lawsuit alleges that United Airlines discriminated against Obioma and her children during the incident on March 4, 2016 at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston because they were black. It also accuses crew members of singling out Obioma, not because she was being disruptive, but because a white man — who refused to sit in his own assigned seat — did not want to share a plane with her.

Not sure why United didn't bump the man to another flight. She had two children, there was just one of him.

[aterpster]

Nigerian woman kicked off United flight after white man complained she was 'pungent' (https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2018/05/12/nigerian-woman-kicked-off-united-flight-after-white-man-complained-she-was-pungent-suit-says/?utm_term=.9bc3ee619738)



Not sure why United didn't bump the man to another flight. She had two children, there was just one of him.

UAL still just doesn't get it. I doubt they will. The corporate culture is so hopelessly messed up.

[megan]

The conditions of carriage under Rule 21 Refusal of Transport says removal may be made of passengers who have or cause a malodorous condition. Who defines what is a malodorous condition? Different cultures have significantly different natural smells brought about predominantly by their diet. To me Asians it's one of rice, and they tell me the white man to them is one of rotting meat.

[Mostly Harmless]

https://youtu.be/MWl2Zgd0Qpk

[core_dump]

A few points from the linked article, for what it's worth:
- The woman dumped her children in cattle class and sat in business class
- She calls herself "Queen". Queen Obioma.
- The man was sitting in her assigned seat and refused to move
- When "Queen" Obioma used the lav, the man blocked her in the isle when she attempted to return

Different cultures have significantly different natural smells brought about predominantly by their diet.

You use the word "natural" as if that's supposed to magically make it acceptable. Vomit is "natural". But I wouldn't want to sit next to it for 3 hours. Arsenic and radon are natural. Underarm odor from certain cultures who refuse to wear deodorant is "natural".

[parabellum]

Anyone who has lived and worked in Nigeria will know exactly what this is all about.

[Wannabe Flyer]

Refused to sit in his assigned seat........the buck stops there.

[ExXB]

She was flying from Nigeria to Ontario via Houston and San Francisco? With two children?

But I think, from the report, the guy acted like a jerk after she agreed to be moved.

But I wasn’t there and we haven’t heard both sides of the story.

[DaveReidUK]

UAL still just doesn't get it. I doubt they will. The corporate culture is so hopelessly messed up.

You might want more evidence for that than an incident that happened more than two years ago.

[ExXB]

And, from the report, it was the pilot who made the decision, which suggests there could be more to the story.

[Piltdown Man]

Where is the racist component in this lady’s complaint? Or was it a case of I’ve been kicked off, therefore I’ll use the racist card? I’m fortunate in so far that I’ve only refused pungent passengers belonging to my racial group. But I’m acutely aware that the “racist”, “sexist” or “islamaphobic” (or any combination thereof) cosh may be deployed whenever a person of a different racial, ethnic or religious group to myself hears something they don’t like. What is certain is that some passengers do not smell very fresh after a long haul flight and this can affect anyone and quite understandably many people do not wish to sit close to pungent passengers.

It will be interesting to see where this ends up.

PM

[ExXB]

It will be interesting to see where this ends up.

I suspect UA will make an offer to settle the suit long before it gets to court.

[Ancient Mariner]

After travelling around the Chinese countryside for months I was shocked when I returned to "civilization" and realised that whites smelled like sour milk. Should I have asked to have all of them removed from my PEK-CPH flight? Very annoying it was.
Per

[PaxBritannica]

A few points from the linked article, for what it's worth:
- The woman dumped her children in cattle class and sat in business class
- She calls herself "Queen". Queen Obioma.
- The man was sitting in her assigned seat and refused to move
- When "Queen" Obioma used the lav, the man blocked her in the isle when she attempted to return



You use the word "natural" as if that's supposed to magically make it acceptable. Vomit is "natural". But I wouldn't want to sit next to it for 3 hours. Arsenic and radon are natural. Underarm odor from certain cultures who refuse to wear deodorant is "natural".

I imagine she was given the name 'Queen' by her parents. It's not that uncommon. Note that the current US president named his youngest son to suggest aristocracy.

It does seem odd that she sat in an expensive seat while her children were seated cheaply. It may be that she had health / weight issues that made it worthwhile to expend extra cash on one member of the family. We don't know how old the children were.

There's no report of any other passenger complaining. Why did the complainant sit in the wrong seat to begin with, and refuse to move? Is that a common occurrence in business class?

[BluSdUp]

I almost offloaded a FO some time ago because he stunk. But realized he could use the race card!
He was Swedish!

[finfly1]

Judging from the comments both here, and on other websites where so-called "news" stories allow readers to comment, it is apparent that a great many people have latched onto the idea that currently...inconsiderate, boorish, offensive, sometimes illegal, sometimes unsanitary and always thoughtless behavior, when questioned by anyone, will be deemed to be racist and therefore invalid.

What would be welcome indeed, would be that time when the media also realizes that they are taking idiotic, biased, slanted positions and giving publicity to people who are sometimes, maybe even often, just trash and looking for a quick easy payday. Failing that, moderate, non-hysterical, objective reporting of facts would be a welcome switch.

Not too awful long ago (well, when 777's were new), I flew from Newark to Dubai to Kuala Lumpur in a window seat. One of the most beautiful women I've ever flown with was seated beside me shortly thereafter, but before i could even say hello, my eyes began to water, and before a half hour had passed, was desperately asking the flight attendant if there were any empty seats ANYWHERE aboard to which I could switch. She understood without asking the need, but said that it was a totally full flight. Small wonder, as it was about five cents a mile. Race had NOTHING to do with my distress at sharing space with someone whose every movement made my eyes water again and have to fight a gag reflex. I could not begin to even try the inflight meal. And she was gorgeous!

[PaxBritannica]

@finfly1: I'm curious to know what you thought was 'idiotic, biased and slanted' about the news report in the Washington Post? I thought it reported the facts of the lawsuit without embellishment. The lawsuit is where the charge of racism has been made, not in the reporting. Do you think the news item should not have been published?

[finfly1]

@finfly1: I'm curious to know what you thought was 'idiotic, biased and slanted' about the news report in the Washington Post? I thought it reported the facts of the lawsuit without embellishment. The lawsuit is where the charge of racism has been made, not in the reporting. Do you think the news item should not have been published?

Very fair points. I will concede that my remarks were mostly a result of veritable deluge of similar stories coming from all over the country seemingly unendingly. My remarks should have been specified to apply to the genre rather than this specific article.

My opinion in general about the reporting of charges brought but not proven (such as the numerous allegations of inappropriate behavior recently) is that yes, I would like to see some real limits on the publishing of allegations vs proven facts. I would actually much prefer however to see them self imposed by publishers who suddenly develop some common sense, taste and good judgment.

[Gauges and Dials]

A few points from the linked article, for what it's worth:
. Underarm odor from certain cultures who refuse to wear deodorant is "natural".

General body odor from certain cultures who insist on consuming dairy is "natural" too, but a large portion of the world's population finds it absolutely disgusting. Ask a Korean or Japanese person what it's like to get onto an elevator full of Europeans or Americans: "Yuck, like sticking your head into a fridge full of rotting cheese."

[A Squared]

Refused to sit in his assigned seat........the buck stops there.



If that really is the case, I'd tend to agree. However, I'm a little skeptical that this really happened as stated. To my mind, if the guy just sat down in some seat he for whcih he did not hold a ticket, and the passenger who was properly ticketed for that seat asked him to move, and he refused, it would be an extraordinary move on the part of the crew to have the ticked passenger move somewhere else. That to me suggests that there is something more to that aspect of the incident. I'm just speculating, but it seems a likely explanation is that they may have both been issued tickets for that seat. I know that it's happened to me on a number of occasions. If you have 2 passengers who have tickets to the same seat, moving the person already sitting in the seat doesn't make sense. Again, I'm just speculating, but that scenario seems a lot more plausible than: "Entitled white guy sits anywhere he wants and flight crew makes black passenger sit elsewhere because RACISM!!!!.

Bear in mind that this article is apparently simply a regurgitation of the claims of the person filing the lawsuit. The article explicitly states there there has been no comment from United, and there's nothing which appears to be statements from the other passenger, or uninvolved witnesses. A person looking for the big payola in a discrimination lawsuit may have a vested interest in presenting the events is a certain way, which may or may not be an accurate reflection of what really happened .... know what I mean?