United Flight Crew Allegedly Calls Coach Passengers "IDIOTS"

The first rule of being a flight attendent isn't even: "be polite." I think we all know that too well. The first rule is "don't ever call anyone on your plane an 'idiot.'"

Well, according to the Consumerist and reader Nicholas, the flight crew of United Airlines flight 941 from Chicago to Denver did just that.

[...]I am a frequent business traveler. I was on United flight 941 from Chicago to Denver. On takeoff and landing I always listen to the cockpit communications. Hearing the dulcet tones of the pilot helps ease some of my flying nervousness. During flight 941 I didn't hear anything from the cockpit during takeoff and once we were in the air I heard something odd on the cockpit communications channel. It appeared I was hearing the flight attendants communications. I could see them talking on the phone near the bulkhead and I could hear it on the cockpit channel. Most of the conversation was fairly innocuous but when it was time to serve drinks I heard: "We start on drinks for the IDIOTS in coach". It was at that point one of my fellow passengers let them know we could hear what they were saying. They stopped using the communications system and offered no apology.

I've sent the story to United and surprise… no response.

Here's the thing. It's not always personal when something like this happens. Just because it does once doesn't mean that stewards and stewardesses don[t care for the vast majority of people who happen to pay for his/her income. And it doesn't mean that they don't secretly love anyone who doesn't want to waste the extra $300 to sit in a bigger seat and get a hot towel. 

But United, presuming that Nicholas' email is accurate, needs to do something to address this issue, because, as it stands now, they're kind of getting away with it. One has to wonder how long that will last if it gets national attention.

Good News on US Airways: Pillows; Bad News: They're $7

Pillows and blankets on air travel are absolutely crucial, especially on longer flights. Airplanes know this, which is why they make them so gosh-darn hard to actually get a hold of (you have to be first on the plane, etc.)

But now, you can have all the pillows your head desires with the "Power-Nap Sack". It just costs seven bucks a piece.

Jackson said the sleep kit was an affordable way for passengers to increase their comfort while flying.

The kits include a 34-by-60-inch fleece blanket, a neck pillow, eye shades,foam ear plugs and a $10-off coupon for items in the SkyMall catalog. They come in a fleece drawstring bag embroidered with the airline's logo.

Oh, well, if there's an embroidered fleece drawstring bag, just forget I ever considered saying anything snarky about having to cough up $7 for this beautiful pile of airplane semi-rest.

Again, airplanes obviously make more money than me (no, seriously, even in bad quarters) so I'm not one to tell them how to run their business. But when it already costs $15 to check bags and then another $7 gets tacked on just to sleep in the already brutally uncomfortable airplane, well, I kind of tend to think there's a smarter, more consumer friendly way to handle all of this.