United Airlines popcorn controversy: What sayeth the Dis?

[GAN]

This shows the massive difference in the era people grew up in. I can imagine at home the response is "oh look, you made a mess. Now I have to clean it up." vs "Look at the mess you made, you need to clean it up now."

I lived with that as an adult with my own children. Whether it was food or toys, all I had to say is "you need to clean up this mess" once and it was cleaned up if mom wasn't home. When mom was home, it was fighting with her whether I or the kids needed to clean up the mess. When she was at work, the house was clean. When I was at work, I came home and the house was trashed.

Do you really believe it's safe to have a child(or adult for that matter) on their hands and knees mid-flight/post-flight cleaning up something under a seat? I would think that would be the LAST thing an airline safety official would want to see ! Really? We're talking about a "mess" that would have taken all of 30-seconds to clean up with a dustpan and brush....

 

[Babs Johnson]

Daddy Dearest should have kept his mouth shut. Nów the whole world knows he and his wife arę entitled wazoos.

He likely thought most people would side with his account.

Some of the comments in that Daily Mail article are hilarious.

The next time the Blue Jays visit Baltimore, Orioles fans should dump buckets of popcorn on him.

 

[dioxide45]

What in the world is the airline giving popcorn away for?

What makes you think the airline provided it? People can bring their own food on the plane and that is likely what happened.

 

[SirDuff]

I think the article mentions she was travelling with the kids by herself. He wasn't with her.

I tend to fall into the "your mess, you clean it up" camp - within reason. I can't imagine she was expected to get every kernel off the floor, just get a majority of it.

I did misread So, the wife took a picture of the mess, sent it to her husband, and he felt the need to immediately tweet about it to complain?

 

[Pink Partridge]

The area around my table at a restaurant looks like a blast zone. I tip handsomely for that.

What is your tip range for "handsomely" for cleaning up your blast zone?

Because I would already imagine the waitress worked extra hard serving a table with a bunch of patrons that are inclined to make a mess.

I do know the people in my circle pick up excess floor messes caused by their children. I find it to be the norm amongst decent human beings.

 

[dvcgirl67]

The picture in the article looks like UA first class (for short haul flights).

Yes, I thought the same, looks like domestic business class on one of their newer 737 max planes. I've only flown business on United to Mexico and Central America on their older 737s, and that's the old domestic business with the 2x2 configuration. My husband flew from Newark to Seattle this week in business...and that's his description of it....new plane with a 2x2 config, 38 inches of pitch and pretty uncomfortable seats. It's like the old economy plus seats. He says the older planes have more comfortable seats.

Anyhoo, I'm with the airline on this one. Accidents happen, but also, don't give your toddler a bag on popcorn on a flight.

 

[TheIncredibles!]

22 weeks pregnant? Why is that even mentioned?

Clean up after your children.

 

[Babs Johnson]

It doesn’t matter if, like Daddy says, United provided the popcorn. Don’t let your kids make a mess and expect „the help” to clean it up.

 

[sam_gordon]

Do you really believe it's safe to have a child(or adult for that matter) on their hands and knees mid-flight/post-flight cleaning up something under a seat? I would think that would be the LAST thing an airline safety official would want to see ! Really? We're talking about a "mess" that would have taken all of 30-seconds to clean up with a dustpan and brush....

I still wonder if the "mess" actually happened in the seat and the kid brushed the mess onto the floor. A lot easier to clean up while it's contained in the seat.

What makes you think the airline provided it? People can bring their own food on the plane and that is likely what happened.

Later posts by the dad claim United provided the popcorn.

 

[deserrai]

Clean you after your kids. 22 weeks pregnant does not preclude you from doing anything you do not usually do.

 

[Donald Duck Family]

I would really love to see how many of you that have commented have cleaned the table or floor at a restaurant with their kids. You pay for a service. Kids make messes. The area around my table at a restaurant looks like a blast zone. I tip handsomely for that. If I want to clean up everything after them, I stay home and do that. If I am flying first class, I pay a premium for that. If they told me to clean that up, I would tell them to go fly a kite. I love how great people and parents are on the internet (when they can hide behind an screen) and yet live such different lives. Nice piling on.

Umm... I have definitely picked up messes on the table and floors in restaurants. I dont' leave an area looking like a "blast zone". Wow.

 

[mrs. magoo]

The popcorn could have been keeping the kids quiet. I am sure people would have loved to have parents give a parenting moment while their child melted down. Great judgment of others.

The kids were watching their screens in the picture and you should not have children that young eating popcorn as it is a choking hazard. I have 4 kids and have dealt with more melt downs than you can imagine in some very public places (the White House being one - secret service police directed me where to go). Myself or my husband removed said child and when I flew with 3 kids 4 and under while pregnant with the fourth we did not have issues. This is before electronic devices as well. I had books, coloring and we played lots of rounds of ISPY. So I feel that I can be a bit judgey on this one. If I had been on the flight as a passenger I would have stopped to pick up the mess or helped the mom but I would never have left that for someone else to clean up. As a teacher I spend me entire day cleaning up after kids and let me tell you after 29 years it is getting a bit tiresome. Just have some common curtesy and clean up your mess.

 

[White Cat]

I’m guessing cave women preformed tasks up until they delivered. No reason this lady can’t.

 

[mrodgers]

Do you really believe it's safe to have a child(or adult for that matter) on their hands and knees mid-flight/post-flight cleaning up something under a seat? I would think that would be the LAST thing an airline safety official would want to see ! Really? We're talking about a "mess" that would have taken all of 30-seconds to clean up with a dustpan and brush....

First, I did not state in that post any opinion of what anyone should do mid-flight. I stated at the first drop of popcorn I would have taken action at that point to not let it get out of hand. The floor was covered as well as you can see it all over the seat. That's not a dropped piece of popcorn or 2 missed. That's not paying attention at all to what your children are doing. That is my opinion, the parent wasn't paying attention during the actual event of her animals making a mess.

Second, mom is just as capable of going into the airport and seeking out a pan and broom same as the FA now not getting paid since it's been a common occurrence for others in this thread to state that there is no broom and pan on the plane to pick it up.

So now who should get on their hands and knees to pick it up? Enforce the entitlement of letting your children be animals because someone else will pick it up for you or yourself?

 

[Moliphino]

I'm kind of torn on it. On the one hand, yes clean up after your children. On the other, planes are cramped and hard to maneuver around in. Personally, if I drop something and can't reach it when I'm on a plane I leave it to be cleaned up later. If I can reach it I'll pick it up.

 

[mousefan73]

The more I think about it, something doesnt make sense. didn't the pregnant mom's sister claim that she was on hands and feet and " had tears from the humilation" for being "forced" to pick up popcorn??? Ok I know people are not so nice anymore to strangers today, but do we all believe that ALL passengers would sit and just look on and NOT offer to help if they witnessed a pregnant woman struggling to get on her hands and feet and was crying and her two other kids were being a hand-full???? Unless maybe this person comes across entitled and throwing a fit because her family was caught and called out for making the mess...

I would assume is let's say a pregnant lady gave a toddler popcorn and spilled it and shouted "oh my god you cant do that- look a this mess! now we have to pick it up etcc) and she physically was struggling or was overhwelmed I am sure people would have helped her.

 

[mjkacmom]

There's typically a cleaning crew to do that. And now with COVID-19, there's almost always applications of disinfectant and wiping down of hard surfaces. And yeah they have vacuum cleaners.

They don’t vacuum in between every flight.

 

[Babs Johnson]

I’m guessing cave women preformed tasks up until they delivered. No reason this lady can’t.

That reminds me of a ridiculous story in one of those trasy tabloids, maybe the World Weekly News, from the mid 1980s.

Supposedly a pregnant lady wrestler called time out, delivered a 10 pound baby, then returned to the ring to defeat her opponent. It happened in Bulgaria or Armenia or some place like that.

 

[Marrila]

They don’t vacuum in between every flight.

Exactly. Often they are racing to turn around for the next flight.

 

[sam_gordon]

Second, mom is just as capable of going into the airport and seeking out a pan and broom same as the FA

When's the last time you flew? Once you exit the jet bridge, you're not getting back on the plane.

I would think the appropriate thing to do is once the plane is shut down and the door opened, the FA should notify whoever is "driving" the jet bridge (or the cleaning crew if there is one) that a vacuum or broom/dustpan will be needed.
BUT, by the time a vacuum or broom/dustpan is gotten to the cleaning point, there's a good chance the kernels will be stepped on and mushed into the carpet.