A father is going on a bit of a social media crusade against United Airlines, following an unpleasant recent flight. He has a point with his criticism, but the irony is that what he’s describing is incredibly common, and could just as easily happen on any airline. Does that make it okay, though?
Continue reading: “United Airlines Tried To Cook My Toddler.” Dramatic, But He Has A Point…
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Easy: aircraft with broken APUs must be taken out of service.
Airlines will fix them much more quickly if faced with that requirement.
FAs are so used to doing the same thing everyday on every flight, they are working like robots and are totally lacking empathy, especially towards families traveling with toddlers
People on Threads don’t care about facts. Just moral grandstanding. It’s why they went there in the first place.
The real issue is UA continuing to hand out 70% isopropyl alcohol wipes which is hazardous without proper ventilation, and when the APU is down….is ARPS still around?
How is it legal to keep people in such warm environment for an extended period of time? I would expect that this is covered by existing rules already. Over here if a train does not have working AC and it's too hot outside it gets taken out of service, no exceptions. Operational performance should never be above safety.
Parents always overreact.
Snowflake parents overreact tenfold.
I feel sorry for the toddler. You have to deal with this lunatic for the rest of your life.
Bad on United and bad on the parents. Why do they need to take a flight to vacation with a 10 month old?
Agreed. What did he want from the FA when the bag of ice was dropped off? An apology in the form of a limerick?
A million dollar check and free first class travel for the rest of their lives, of course. And a handwritten apology from Kirby.
You know that traveling on a domestic vacation with a 10 month old child is not an alien thing to do, it is more to do with if the parent is responsible enough to manage it and if they have controlled the temperament of the child
In fact I have travelled halfway across the world with my 2 year old and 10 months old toddler twice, they have behaved well, surprisingly did not cause much issue on the long haul flights and we were in premium economy and economy both times
The plane, with a broken APU, should of never taken off, what would happen if they got a bird strike after taken ...See my point...
Having experienced the same I am sympathetic to this family. I doubt anything will change unless one of two things happen: Federal regulations dictation some passenger time/temperature equation to limit this OR contract bargaining from FA or pilots. I’m surprised that this hasn’t been a negotiating point(at least that I’m aware of). I certainly wouldn’t want to work in an environment where temperatures and humidity can’t be controlled for unknown time duration.
I have been on several flights with both UA and AC recently without broken APUs where temps went to 90f+ onboard.
It’s a cost saving strategy and needs to be made illegal.
This actually is a law in Canada. Tarmac delays need to provide passengers the opportunity to disembark if the cabin cannot be maintained "comfortable" or if there's no ventilation. If this was in Canada United could have fast a much steep fine for this.
https://otc-cta.gc.ca/eng/publication/tarmac-delay-standards-treatment-and-disembarkation-a-guide
If the cabin is unacceptably uncomfortable and the door is still open, stand up and leave. I've done it when I was seated next to an overperfumed person in a full plane. I just deplaned. From this story it looks like the door was open well into the incident. You're not "trapped" if the door is still open. Go to the gate and change flights.
But yes, it shouldn't happen. The Canadian approach seems sensible. Dead APU? Fly to Toledo, not Toronto, until you fix it.
Having a certain temperature triggering the need to deplane should be just as automatic as crew hitting a certain moment that causes them to time out.
A Mainer checks into a hotel and is assigned room 314. “What floor is that on ?”
One of the things America does incredibly well is keeping temperatures at a healthy level in most environments. Airlines need to be held accountable if they do not ensure a healthy temperature. Something like 150,000 people die in Europe every year for heat-related reasons because they don't have AC.
I actually find it considerate of the FA to hand them a bag of ice. Not sure what he wanted them to do differently about that. Did he want the FA to soothe the baby with ice cubes? This guy gives me the ick
I'm actually quite impressed with the FA producing a bag of ice.
Would an American FA have been so coooperative?
"keeping temperatures at a healthy level" Excuse me, but coming from 90 F outside to what, 60F? is anything but healthy. It feels like entering a refridgerator everytime you enter a store or another indoor facility.
I find offices in Texas far too cold, year-round.
A thicker shirt is feasible in winter, but not in summer because then when one goes outside ...
So one keeps a jacket in the office to wear only inside.
Dubai is similar; Singapore gets it right - cool enough but not cold.
I find offices in Texas far too cold, year-round.
A thicker shirt is feasible in winter, but not in summer because then when one goes outside ...
So one keeps a jacket in the office to wear only inside.
Dubai is similar; Singapore gets it right - cool enough but not cold.
An American checks into a hotel in Europe and is assigned room 314.
He thinks it's only two flights of stairs up. 🙂
It's not that hard to communicate. Communication is key, tell them "you can de-board, there are next seats in the machine at XX:XX." Here is a bag of ice, does that help? Can we do anything else for you? As soon as the engines run, the ventilation will be much better. We apologize for the circumstances".
But I guess, your service attitude is not very present.
UA is the worst on temp! Never have that issue on DL, sometimes it can be uncomfortable sure but not UA’s profusely sweating to shaking cold and back again.
Catch 22 for sure. For the most part, the APU is deferrable. The MDM or maintenance dispatch manual, will list the alternatives. Many airlines will prohibit the carriage of live animals in the cargo hold during summer months for reasons similar to this. The "big yellow hose" attached to the aircraft is supposed to provide heat and air but, in most cases is vastly under powered on severely hot days. My guess is the only safe recourse is to deplane even though that's going to mess up plans, etc. As far as FAA investigation, I think there should be some re-examining of this problem. It's not going to go away on its own. "The temperature of the flight deck, cabin or cargo hold carrying live animals must be between the range of LL°F or HH°F. Otherwise, persons and live animals shall be deplaned until such time as the temperature range is returned to the acceptable temperatures."
If the APU unit is out the only other option would be take the a/c out of service and cancel the flight. Then passengers are pissed because their flight is canceled and likely stuck in Chicago for a day. The FA gave them ice. What else should the crew do?
Maybe what this Karen should have done is realize that the plane is too hot for their toddler, asked to be deplaned and reaccommodated.
A few days ago I had the opposite problem. We were stuck on the tarmac for 30 minutes on a plane with an APU that was working too well. 35°C outside, somewhere near the freezing point inside. After a few minutes almost everyone was starting to take jackets, extra shirts or scarfs from their bags. Keep in mind that in Italy we are not used to strong AC like in the US. Once the plane started the engines the temperature went back to a normal level.
Broken APUs seem to be very common. But the question is why? You hear about inoperable APUs all the time, and somehow we just accept it as normal. Is it just shoddy craftsmanship? I mean, whoever manufacturers these APUs is probably laughing all the way to the bank because they've been selling second-rate devices for years, even decades.
To have a broken APU be a common occurrence, one has to wonder if it was built in the US. With Americans be lazy, not surprised the lack of craftsmanship and reliability. Way to bring manufacturing back to the US; there will be more defects than one can count.
Yeah, dad is a total drama queen. A whiner looking for attention and to maximize profit from this in some way. Sure, it's very uncomfortable when something like this happens. Definitely not ideal and something that probably shouldn't have been handled as it was (on the maintenance end). But it sounds like the cabin crew did all they could to help. For this whiny little snowflake to claim that they tried to "cook" his toddler is absolute BS. I wonder if he took his covid masque off before writing that gem on social media.
Also, not mentioned, is that the RJ wouldn't have technically been a UA plane. It belongs to the regional carrier who is the one that mishandled the APU issue. Still, nobody was getting "cooked" and dad needs to collect his $1050, hop in his Subaru and STFU. So tired of entitled jerks like this who have no tolerance for anything.
That's why this parent is a lunatic.
Rather than getting off the plane,
"At this point, I got my phone out while my wife attended to our son. I began composing a social media post saying I was boiling alive inside a United plane in Chicago."
He thinks social media Jesus exists?
To be expected. United is nothing more then a Cattle car wrapped up in their CEOs smooth words.
This Karen turn to social media Jesus and prayed.
Now this lunatic gets a gospel instead of a punishment.
If only the US had a government with a spine and regulations forbidding this and forcing huge compensation on citizens subjected to heat stroke-inducing temperatures.
Shameful. Only in a Banana Republic are lives at risk this way. An United has zero incentives to do anything about it -- it is obvious that the airplane was not fit to fly passengers but it would have cost them money to take it out of service (but no fines/costs to board passengers) so they didn't.
Shameful Banana Republic
So very true!
But don't forget the "thoughts and prayers" that do-nothing American politicians automatically offer instead of solving the problem.
Seems like it shouldn't be an issue to have a cabin thermometer installed and regulations that require the aircraft to return to the gate and deplane if they're still on the ground 15 minutes after the inside thermometer hits 90*F or whatever temp you want to draw the line at. That way aircraft aren't just being automatically removed from service when the APU is out while temps are more mild, but does lower the risk of heat stroke/heat exhaustion in passengers during summer months.
With regards to cold temps, you can always put more clothes on, or get a blanket, or stretch your muscles to get your blood circulating and raising your body temp. But you can't keep taking clothes off in hot temps, and depending on the humidity that can also lower the temperature at which your body can regulate itself through sweating. If the sweat isn't evaporating, it isn't actually cooling you off.
Yet another entitled snowflake who thinks his moral outrage should be everyone’s moral outrage. Sitting on a 90-degree plane is uncomfortable, it’s not really dangerous. And if sitting there presents a medical concern for you, get off the plane.
And…the “corporate oligarchy” stuff is way dramatic and where credibility is lost here. I’m pretty sure United execs are not sitting around trying to find new and creative ways to cook their passengers. It’s not okay, but it’s not a national crime either.
And with an actual thermometer, this lunatic and his oven accusation of unsafe will get busted right away.
For all of you who are calling the parents Social Justice Karen's, why don't you take your toddler and lock them in your car without AC on a day where the heat index outside is 95°+. Let them stew for 30 minutes then check to see how they're doing. Maybe if your kids wind up in the ER with heat related issues you'll see things differently.
I believe SeaTac Airport attaches a hose to aircraft parked at the gate which pumps the airport's AC into the cabin. It's marketed as a greenhouse gas reduction strategy (the argument being the grid in Seattle is much cleaner than the aircraft's own onboard power), but wouldn't it also help situations like this?
The US is an babana republic with a fascist government constructing concentration camps. They are absolutely not interested in matters such as this.
Newsflash! Airplane is hot when it is on the tarmac. Sure, ORD and most has at gate piped in A/C, but it only does so much. Running the APU at the gate is generally a no-go due to environmental regs and not wanting to waste fuel.
Or be proven right. I've had to deal with summer temps with no AC in my own home. Temporary window units helped the situation somewhat in my office room and my brother's, but the rest of the house was often reading high 80s/low 90s during the day and was basically uninhabitable.
I'd also point out that infants/toddlers/elderly are just not able to regulate body temperature as well as adults, so any regulation should obviously be tuned towards the safety of those more vulnerable travelers rather than assuming a frictionless and healthy adult.
So, short version. P,and has no A/C, pax got hot, but could deplane anytime. They decided they'd rather put up with the heat, depart on original flight, complain and get miles and $s. So, about $350/head to these pax. Would I be willing to go through this for $350. Probably, since I've gone through things like this for zero $s.
Super Karen. Maybe he should keep his own air start unit handy for future flights
I was also once in this situation.
Sat in A320 in SFO with ultra hot cabin.
Pilots late, empty cockpit.
After some talks with the cabin crew I learned that without a mechanic or flight deck crew its not allowed to run the APU unattended.
If you would run a modern airport infra you would have AC from the ground.
What a drama queen. His kid was going to be fine. Have been on plenty of hot planes, including with kids. This is next level b%tching, including insistence on more rules/oversight.
I've been on a plane where someone fainted during boarding due to the temps. We were then delayed because they had to replace items in the med kit. Some cabin temperature guidelines for boarding would be great
"they could’ve deplaned" ... "to be rebooked on another flight"
Rebooked for free? Or forced to buy new tickets?
United Express regional jet , get it correct one of theses days will you! It is not a mainline United crew or aircraft.
How about this solution, don’t fly with your toddler. If your first response was to post on social media, you need to get a life. I agree with a previous post, you’re a snowflake. Do everyone a favor and stay home.
I mean, we all know it takes special care to cook a toddler. Sous Vide preferred...
Joking aside! And yes, that hot of a cabin should trigger deplaning if the remaining wait time is unknown or greater than X minutes. Make it a rule, since for-profit corps will never care unless forced to care.
And the whole cabin crew not knowing what's going on is unacceptable also. Why would a data-based megacorp like United not have a way to inform crew? Or if the the cockpit crew knows, why don't they inform the cabin crew?
Very easy solution, the captain can refuse boarding until he feels the Cabin is cool enough to accommodate the passengers and there are temperature guns that passenger service can go on board and take a reading of the current temperature. Nobody likes it when the captain delays boarding because then the agents are gonna have to hustle and may take a delay. nothing was mentioned about the ground power unit to see if it was putting out cool air. That should’ve also been done.
I think all of us at one point or another have been stuck at the gate, tarmac, wherever, on a very uncomfortable aircraft.
This is a very real and valid concern. What is uncomfortable for a 40 year old healthy adult can get to be health and even life threatening for babies, small children and older adults. Persons with diabetes are also endangered by a very hot environment.
While this man's story is filled with drama, it is quite valid. Most cities in the US are quite warm during the summer months. This is only going to get worse.
Said Brad, RN, BSN.MSN, CNOR
I don’t understand coming down the hotel elevators in Europe . There is level 1 , 0 , and -1. I just need the lobby.
I might have been on the same plane the week before, going from Chicago to Madison. Hot as hell, flight attendant was clearly annoyed as she had been on the inbound flight on the same plane and was not looking forward to another hour of death. Happened to be in "premium economy" which is just a few rows on this tiny plane, and did receive a baby bottle of water but people in normal person class received absolutely nothing. It was like death the entire flight, with people moaning and yelling the whole time. Once we got to Madison people were peeling themselves off the vinyl/police cruiser fabric used on the seats and everyone left behind a visible puddle of sweat in the butt impression left in the seat cushion. People started to undress on the flight, and I briefly considered if I would have the airport police called on me if I stripped naked. Flight attendant took off her scarf which I guess they are not allowed to do normally. I was genuinely fearful the pilots would pass out from heat exhaustion and we would have all died if not for auto landing. Worst flight ever, shame on United policies for forcing an unsafe aircraft to take off knowing the physical and psychological harm they were causing to humans.
I agree with both sides. On one had there should be some controls on the situation but on the next hand due to this person's situation there should not be an investigation and he should not get more than he demanded. He wanted to be treated better or more than anyone else in this situation. Look as his water comment for example.
If your wife is a physician then her medical knowledge and training should've kicked in. Her take direct and/or indirect action as her professional training signposted her. Eg: removing layer(s) of clothing as felt needed. Introducing additional fluids. Taking his temperature. If observable signs of dehydration or overheating were present then calmly but assertively making herself known to crew, briefly explaining her healthcare position, explaining the child's symptoms and how they might best be addressed along with a request for assistance.
That none of that was mentioned raises multiple issues to me.
Babies and non-verbal toddlers default means of communicating pain, discomfort, upset etal is to cry. That is universal. It's absence signifies a lower level of distress or discomfort. Him as a father, her as a mother ( without the addition of medical training of some degree asserted) either not being aware of this or believing limb movement is their childs primary method of communication is again concerning.
Ice provided. They should be able to use that to help lower the toddlers core temp if actually needed and their baby-bag should certainly have ( multiple) things to package the ice and create a skin barrier.
Tbh the lack of basic parenting skills and any level of preparedness to care for their child in dynamic circumstances on so many levels screams red flags everywhere
"At this point, I got my phone out while my wife attended to our son. I began composing a social media post saying I was boiling alive inside a United plane in Chicago."
This is the last thing I would think of in this situation. Does it do anything to improve the situation? Definitely not! Instead of trying to attract attention on social media he should have thought of smarter ways how to contribute to problem solving. Poor devil that.
I was flying BA MIA-LHR last summer, and the captain wouldn't let the flight board until the boarding ramp was adequately cooled.
The apathetic incompetence of the industry on this issue is patent. Other circumstances would rightly bombard "human airlines" with outraged "Cruelty to animals!" condemnation. Wake up, morons.
Another flappy-wristed drama queen "man", raised by a single mother and following her example.
Not a "hot cabin", mind you. Or even a "very hot" cabin, but an "ultra hot" cabin.
Its disgusting how airlines dont bother to put the aircon on cos theyd need to pay extra for it
So you think it's a "dramatic" to be concerned when your own heartrate is doaring and your toddler is in distress? You're a sick and demented MF!
Proper response to this comment is what the young Woody Allen thought about Joey Nickles in Annie Hall
this is a HUGE problem and you cant imagine how often Air Canada has this issue when one of its AC units is broken. This needs to CHANGE to often airline just call it deferred maintenance and its NOT! Next nobody on Air Canada would get ANY compensation and the pilots are encouraged NOT to run the engines to say fuel.
So yes its time to STOP flying planes with Broken AC. Can you imagine getting into other public transportation like a taxi or bus with inoperative AC.
United express, not United. United parent company does not own regional jets. United contracts out express airlines to fly short commuter type destinations that do not require a larger jet.