Flight attendants deal with a lot of bad behavior from passengers. Even though the flight attendant loses her cool here, I’m inclined to feel bad for her and the rest of the crew…
In this post:
IndiGo flight attendant & passenger get into argument
A roughly minute-long video posted online, depicts what happened on a recent IndiGo flight from Istanbul (IST) to Delhi (DEL). In the video, a flight attendant can be seen kneeling down and arguing with an angry and unhappy passenger.
In the dialogue between the flight attendant and passenger:
- The flight attendant admonishes the passenger for pointing his finger at her, and says “my crew is crying because of you”
- The issue seems to involve meal selection, and how the passenger didn’t get the meal he thinks he requested
- The passenger then yells at the flight attendant, asking “why are you yelling?”
- At this point the flight attendant raises her voice, and yells back “because you are yelling on us”
- Another flight attendant then shows up to restrain the flight attendant and calm her down
- The flight attendant continues, “I’m so sorry sir, but you cannot talk to the crew like that; I am peacefully listening to you with all due respect, and you have to respect the crew as well”
- At this point the passenger responds by asking “why are you yelling?” and also yells “shut up!”
- The flight attendant responds by yelling “you shut up, I’m sorry, you cannot talk to me like that”
- At this point the passenger says “you are a servant,” to which the flight attendant responds “I’m not your servant, I am an employee, I am not your servant”
You can see the video for yourself below…
Here’s the statement that IndiGo issued regarding this incident:
We are aware of the incident that took place on flight 6E 12 from Istanbul to Delhi on December 16, 2022. The issue was related to meals chosen by certain passengers traveling via a codeshare connection. IndiGo is cognizant of the needs of its customers and it is our constant endeavor to provide a courteous and hassle-free experience to our customers. We are looking into the incident and would like to assure that customers’ comfort has always been our top priority.
My take on this IndiGo confrontation
I have a few thoughts on this video and incident.
First of all, the passenger may have very well had a legitimate gripe. It sounds like maybe the correct kind of meal wasn’t loaded because the flight was booked as a codeshare, and some request got lost in the process. That’s of course frustrating, as this isn’t a short flight either.
That being said, any mistakes in catering a certain type of meal are not the crew’s fault. This guy comes across as a complete jerk. The flight attendant claims he made her fellow crew members cry, so he must have really been acting ridiculously toward them. The fact that he tells the flight attendant to “shut up” and says she’s a servant is sickening.
Despite what a jerk the passenger was being, I think it’s also fair to say that the flight attendant lost her cool a bit, and wasn’t doing an amazing job deescalating the situation. Don’t get me wrong, I 100% think the fault here lies with the passenger, but yelling at a passenger to tell them to stop yelling at you, and responding with “you shut up” when someone tells you to “shut up” doesn’t usually make a situation better.
We all reach a breaking point, though, and it’s clear that this flight attendant reach her’s. We’re all human, so that’s bound to happen sometimes.
Bottom line
A confrontation between an IndiGo flight attendant and passenger escalated to the point that the two were yelling at one another, and a flight attendant sort of had to restrain her colleague. While I think the flight attendant could have handled the situation better, the passenger here sounds terrible, telling the flight attendant to shut up, and calling her a servant.
What do you make of this IndiGo incident?
The passenger seems to be a Pysco..should have handed him over to the police…
Why don’t do that??? No word from the Indiglo CEO?
No I do not agree with customer. He created scenario because customer had bad time. Crew at flight offers whatever they are advised and have no idea who eats what .That is the duty of flight chef to distinguish and concern if meal was not made without explanation.Each country has own supply , cook and reboard for passengers.
No need to get made on any flight attendant Lunch refund may be granted if airline thinks
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Few years ago I was in airline doing wet lease for IndiGo. As white and male purser I was treated completely different way by passengers, but what Indigo Girls were coping every flight…. I never experienced such a rude behavior towards crew like on these flights.
It is the Indian caste system that makes people think that in their society, they have a right to treat women as servants as oppose to you as a white male.
@Jeffrey
Your are very misinformed and have very little grasp on a topic you claim to know about. As an Indian mother, wife, sister and daughter who has worked in the corporate industry, with experience overseas and in India, I can claim that the treatment and subtle sexist comments from male colleagues were worse overseas than in my organization at home. For the record, no male who I associate with seems to treat women the...
@Jeffrey
Your are very misinformed and have very little grasp on a topic you claim to know about. As an Indian mother, wife, sister and daughter who has worked in the corporate industry, with experience overseas and in India, I can claim that the treatment and subtle sexist comments from male colleagues were worse overseas than in my organization at home. For the record, no male who I associate with seems to treat women the way you think Indian males do. I am not saying that Indian men are perfect by any means, but your grasp on this topic is thin, at best. Also, treatment of women is no where depicted in the caste system, good or bad. Sure, we Indians don't tip and we don't have the habit of thanking everyone superficially, since those are not common in our culture and many cultures across the world. Seems like white westerners (especially men) have an inferiority complex against Asians and find it difficult to deal with the receding importance of the west on global affairs and economy. Don't make a gross generalization from a singular incident about an entire population. I also shudder when I imaging that my children being raised with the expectation that they would be thanked for doing every little task as part of their duty. What a narcissistic upbringing.
She did exactly what these people deserves. Service industry don't tells you to get bullied or Harrass. There should be zero tolerance against such passengers. Further to the people saying it could be handled better guys go drink water close your service manual you are in your own paradise. Secondly airlines charge for the seat only rest services are complimentary so know your limits you fall in either buy a charter plane.
Sorry for...
She did exactly what these people deserves. Service industry don't tells you to get bullied or Harrass. There should be zero tolerance against such passengers. Further to the people saying it could be handled better guys go drink water close your service manual you are in your own paradise. Secondly airlines charge for the seat only rest services are complimentary so know your limits you fall in either buy a charter plane.
Sorry for hurting a lot of stupid individuals but that's the bitter truth
A few facts about this story have come to light , the passenger booked with Turkish Airlines(TK) from London to New Delhi via a code share agreement on Indigo (6E) . TK should have given some option of booking a meal and more information on the codeshare. ( I tried booking and while selecting a fare, it did say ‘meal service’ later after filling in my details , it said “ Your trip includes flights...
A few facts about this story have come to light , the passenger booked with Turkish Airlines(TK) from London to New Delhi via a code share agreement on Indigo (6E) . TK should have given some option of booking a meal and more information on the codeshare. ( I tried booking and while selecting a fare, it did say ‘meal service’ later after filling in my details , it said “ Your trip includes flights on a carrier other than TK ……….. catering , cabin baggage allowance may vary according to the airline operating the flight ” ) . IMHO this is also the fault of TK and 6E in not being more clear about their code sharing agreements. A normal passenger who may not understand code shares etc , may opt for TK as it is a full service carrier, and would expect to be served accordingly. I can’t understand why two carriers whose policies and service levels are completely opposite get into a code sharing agreement.
However, that being said , the passenger had no right to behave the way that he did . The crew are there primarily for the safety, and not to serve .
Bravo. You have put the finger on the problem. I believe that the airlines (both marketing and operating carriers) should have communicated and made it more clear regarding their policies and how codeshares work in order to have prevented this sort of misunderstanding from happening.
She is not a servant, she’s the host. Anybody behaving badly in my home would be treated similar to their behaviour. Specifically if they would a cohost cry.
I will not recommend Indigo,During my journey with Indigo j asked for Bottle water and they don't provided until I pay.
They are treating the paid passenger as their Servant.
Please choose another flight we have lot of choices
That's not the fault of IndiGo. There are some passengers on LCCs who complain and refuse to pay so it's actually wise for the airline to ask for advance payment. I have seen once in Spicejet where my neighbor refused to pay for the meal he asked, leading to lengthy argument between the passenger and the crew.
Amen.
@Muhammad
Have you flown in the US? Good luck getting that bottle of water from any of the major airlines. If you want water, the FAs will serve water in glasses. No ULCC airline will give you a bottle of water for free. You simply lack the experience in flying ULCCs. It's not the airline's fault.
Many in India are used to flying on full-service airlines. ULCCs are relatively new to the industry. Therefore, they are unaware that meals and beverages come at a cost.
The passenger must be punished. He had no business to disrespect her. Flight crew are not anybody’s servants.
Agreed. But I doubt the airline would back her up for this matter.
Don't really get the fuss. Europeans are genocide-loving racists who can't even tolerate each other, Americans are gun loving simpletons who love fighting despite never winning anything, the Chinese are xenophobes who love to annoy the West and the Indians are rude who don't care what anyone else thinks. If you don't like a place and its people, don't travel there! The whole world isn't going to behave according to your notion of etiquette.
...Don't really get the fuss. Europeans are genocide-loving racists who can't even tolerate each other, Americans are gun loving simpletons who love fighting despite never winning anything, the Chinese are xenophobes who love to annoy the West and the Indians are rude who don't care what anyone else thinks. If you don't like a place and its people, don't travel there! The whole world isn't going to behave according to your notion of etiquette.
I am sure the Indians never needed nor wanted the westerners 200 years ago and they seem to be doing just fine without bowing down to the west today. What a fuss over nothing.
I think the poor woman had a gut full and just lost it - I feel sympathy for her . It’s definitely a cultural thing ( ask any airline crew about the mis-use of wheelchairs by them) and the disrespect shown is out of line by the passenger
It is passanger mistake,
passanger should not think that crew members are their sevant.
That passenger should be band from ever flying on a plane!! The flying public should bring their one food if they have special dietary requirements!
Hmm... the woman in this video certainly doesn't look Indian. I am confused. I guess she must have gotten plastic surgery and speech therapy to look and talk like an English woman. Maybe the English should learn some manners and how to handle their liquor. Definitely down to the caste system. :P
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9-A2YomMH_c
I have been in the airline business for many years, both on the Ground and Air and unfortunately I have to say passengers of today all nationalities (not all) are a total disgrace both on the ground and in the air. They think they buy a seat and own the airline, sorry to give them the bad news, no you don't , behave or get thrown out, those are the only two options. Even a...
I have been in the airline business for many years, both on the Ground and Air and unfortunately I have to say passengers of today all nationalities (not all) are a total disgrace both on the ground and in the air. They think they buy a seat and own the airline, sorry to give them the bad news, no you don't , behave or get thrown out, those are the only two options. Even a pack of dogs would not behave in a despicable manner. This just shows the level of up bringing and standard of education. Yes, there are also lovely and kind passengers who became my friends and kept in touch for a very long time. The disgraceful behaviour at check-in, departure gates, boarding a flight are something I would not put up with. Sitting at the rear of the plane is not my cup of tea. I don't want to see nasty humans close to me.
I commend the flight crew , they are there for safety and comfort, not your personal maid or servant.
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I applaud her for standing up for herself for not putting up this crap from rude entitled customers like an Indian male who doesn't like women taking charge of them
Ban such passengers who does not know how to behave. Period.
I think the way this man speaks to a woman, is part of their culture, they are brought up disrespecting females, and is very childish, always speak to others as you would want them to speak to you, WITH RESPECT. Yes I was raised in the UK, and we are raised to say please and thank you, that's not too hard, IS IT .
I am an English man and I have lived in India for almost a decade. I also read your comments below. You clearly misunderstand the caste system or don't know beyond what's on the tin regarding it. If you think that the culture teaches a man to speak in such a way to a woman, you are grossly mistaken. There is much more complexity in both these topics than what you think you know and...
I am an English man and I have lived in India for almost a decade. I also read your comments below. You clearly misunderstand the caste system or don't know beyond what's on the tin regarding it. If you think that the culture teaches a man to speak in such a way to a woman, you are grossly mistaken. There is much more complexity in both these topics than what you think you know and the treatment of women (good or bad) isn't related to the caste system. By the way, we English also have a caste system.
Yes, we are raised to say please and thank you, insincerely. That is not a mark of respect either, except if you are in England and the US. In many cultures across Asia, thank you is taken negatively. May I also remind you that we, the English, are perhaps the most condescending and racist population to walk the earth. So, I really wouldn't claim the moral ground on the basis of our English propriety. It is exactly due to this that BA has horrid customer service and on-board service.
You too are a racist crybaby living in denial.
Few years back, I was travelling in Etihad from Mumbai to Abu dhabi, the fellow passenger mistakenly lost hold of his juice glass and some of the quantity fell on the crew member serving it and rest on floor. The hostess replied " So Sorry Sir, What juice you prefer to have now" I was surprised, inspite of spill on cloth & floor, she had not make any face, calmly shows how professional she is.. Hats off to Etihad...
30 years ago you would NEVER have seen this exchange because no matter how bad any given passenger’s behavior, flight attendants would have diffused the situation by remaining calm. These days they are 1000X more confrontational, almost to the point it seems sometimes they seek it out.
She did exactly the right thing .
I know right. They are humans and they have their breaking point too.
Even if the passenger didn't receive the meal he requested, he must remain calm and respect the crew. This kind of behaviour and the way he insulted the crew member in front of 130 other passengers cannot be tolerated. The flight should have returned of landed at the nearest airport and deboarded him. In the future he should be denied to board any flight if this is how he behaves on board.
Indigo is a budget airline .
If the passenger booked meal A ) He has the right to get that.
If later he says he want to change , sorry not possible bcos they carry limited items of other varieties .
Passengers must be very clear of what they going to eat.
Its not a hotel to change item last minute .Remember ones at 36K feet in the air.
Crew is definitely not...
Indigo is a budget airline .
If the passenger booked meal A ) He has the right to get that.
If later he says he want to change , sorry not possible bcos they carry limited items of other varieties .
Passengers must be very clear of what they going to eat.
Its not a hotel to change item last minute .Remember ones at 36K feet in the air.
Crew is definitely not a servant.
Passenger if he book a meal A & does not get meal A ,then its crews fault.
But just for a meal whole atmosphere is spoiled .
I know this didn’t happen in the States cause there was no blood involved, no airport security and no one got shot (considering what we learned about loaded guns earlier this week).
You can ask any Flight Attendant working for any airline in the world what their most dreaded route is - it will be India.
The behaviour and expectations of Indian passengers can be absolutely appalling. They have zero patience, no concept that there are four or five crew to serve 200+ of them and are rude.
I guess a lot of this comes from typical indian family life. Whilst a cook and housekeeper is something...
You can ask any Flight Attendant working for any airline in the world what their most dreaded route is - it will be India.
The behaviour and expectations of Indian passengers can be absolutely appalling. They have zero patience, no concept that there are four or five crew to serve 200+ of them and are rude.
I guess a lot of this comes from typical indian family life. Whilst a cook and housekeeper is something someone more upper class would have in most parts of the world in India almost everyone has domestic staff. As one of my Indian colleagues once said 'of course I have a cook. Even my cook has a cook'.
If you visit India you will also see why this behaviour is common onboard flights. It generally gets customers what they want. I have seen customers in hotels, restaurants, shops in India yelling and screaming at the top of their voices calling staff names and generally the staff just give in.
Some of the comments are hilarious and clearly distinguish the people who have never traveled from those who have. I’m sure people like to claim moral superiority to make themselves feel better, but their own probably also have an equal proportion of douchebags - and somehow a few have found their way on to the OMAAT blog. I work in the hospitality industry in New York, the capital of self entitled snobs where such behaviour...
Some of the comments are hilarious and clearly distinguish the people who have never traveled from those who have. I’m sure people like to claim moral superiority to make themselves feel better, but their own probably also have an equal proportion of douchebags - and somehow a few have found their way on to the OMAAT blog. I work in the hospitality industry in New York, the capital of self entitled snobs where such behaviour is unfortunately common and the norm. We have to have a thick skin. I’ve also worked at hotels in other parts of the world, including Mumbai and Delhi. Hate to break it to ya, but self entitled douche bags who treat service providers like servants are everywhere. So before commenting, maybe get a perspective and consider your own backyard before making gross generalisations. I’ve found that Indians are generally kind and soft-hearted people. Can’t wait for responses to my first comment on OMAAT!
Haha @HHLoyalBoy - +1. This assessment is way too dramatic and exaggerated.
Ignore this self-proclaim douchebag. This HHLoyalboy.
What’s your point? I’m an Indian in the states and I have a cook, maid and a driver. I wouldn’t consider myself “upper class.” I have the same in India. No one in my family acts rudely or disparages the staff. We are not an exception in any way. If you think this is an Indian problem, then you seriously need to broaden your perspective.
Apparently, this caste system is still prevalent in your country. That is why women are being disrespectful such as the crew on the plane.
As a Flight Attendant for more than twenty years I get a LOT of perspectives. And I stand by what I said. Flights to India are hugely unpopular because of the way Indian passengers treat the crews. So much so, that in the past my airline used to give us an additional payment for operating Indian routes in an attempt to reduce the sky high number of crew calling in sick.
Any Flight Attendant at...
As a Flight Attendant for more than twenty years I get a LOT of perspectives. And I stand by what I said. Flights to India are hugely unpopular because of the way Indian passengers treat the crews. So much so, that in the past my airline used to give us an additional payment for operating Indian routes in an attempt to reduce the sky high number of crew calling in sick.
Any Flight Attendant at any other airline I know - Emirates, Virgin, Qantas, Lufhansa - they all concur. Indian flights are hugely unpopular to work.
Take a poll!
Taken many polls Duck Ling, including perspectives with people who match your experience of having operated flights. They just happen to have more rounded perspectives.
I LOATHED working DEL flights. Thank God they were rare for me. I worked in P & J Class and they were still demoralizing experiences.
I think this is all because of 7 hours in a single aisle on that horrible 6E seat--- anyone can get anxious
I am so sad about this all situation.
1. She is a woman, show some respect
2. She is your life saver on this flight not your servant
3. With this kind of people if you don’t show authority they can throw you under the bus
4. When you don’t have more arguments: “Why are you yelling at me?”
5. Costumer service is always a priority but your employees are there on front line so give them some credit and defend them.
the comments about some Indian tourists are hillarious!
Apparently in Thailand they don't tip in strip bars, yet oggle and pester the dancers for hours, while ordering two drinks between four males.
It isn't racism, HHLoyalBoy. Every nationality has negative traits -- it just happens that these stand out lol
Sorry this is all we have! Enjoy and walk away! Byeeeeee
I was flying as a crew for Middle Easter carrier and can say that this profile of passengers is very common here. They will let the hell loose if their veg or non veg meal is not granted. They are treating crew as kettle and servants and you need nerves of steel to deal with them. The amount of ridiculous requests I got from them is a different story telling. Feel sorry for the crew because I know it will be at the end their fault because customer left unhappy.
Clearly the passenger thought he is travelling onboard a TK flight when in reality he was traveling on a TK marketed flight which was code shared and operated by 6E.
And this led to the misleading impression (to the passenger it was misleading as he isn’t aware of codeshares marketing / operating carriers) that he was actually supposed to be travelling on a TK operating flight which has a full service meal.
Having said that,...
Clearly the passenger thought he is travelling onboard a TK flight when in reality he was traveling on a TK marketed flight which was code shared and operated by 6E.
And this led to the misleading impression (to the passenger it was misleading as he isn’t aware of codeshares marketing / operating carriers) that he was actually supposed to be travelling on a TK operating flight which has a full service meal.
Having said that, the conduct of this passenger onboard should be condemned in it’s entirety.
The crew could have easily reported the law enforcement agencies once the aircraft reached the ground. He is lucky if they didn’t do that.
Or else he could find himself on 6E’s no flying list soon in the future.
It has nothing to do with the caste system and all. But the general behavior of Indian passengers are pretty much the worst. I say that as an Indian who has traveled around a bit. But part of it is that Indigo now operates a lot of codeshare even with Qatar airways and many people in India still book through an agent or aggregate sites and they are unware of it. I almost booked a...
It has nothing to do with the caste system and all. But the general behavior of Indian passengers are pretty much the worst. I say that as an Indian who has traveled around a bit. But part of it is that Indigo now operates a lot of codeshare even with Qatar airways and many people in India still book through an agent or aggregate sites and they are unware of it. I almost booked a QR with one flight from Europe to Doha and then with Indigo pretty much at Qatar prices before I realised its operated by Indigo on Qatar website. How they manage special meals, mobility passengers that too almost 6 hours on single aisle. I read a story many years ago in Singapore when a man traveling with his young daughter said to her that if you dont study you will end up like the cabin crew right in front of the female cabin crew who was mortified. Sadly that attitude still exists in India. One highly upvoted comment on a local website was if you serve me drinks in a bar you are a bar girl so what is so special about you? My God the attitudes sometimes..
Once they get a Good Job, Indian Passengers are the worst of the Bunch. you can always spot them at Airports on "Wheel Chairs" to avoid long lines at Customs. as soon as they get out, they Run to their Friends & Family without Tipping. L.A., NY & SFO are the worst. Middle East countries have caught up to their scam.
2) Caste system also comes into Play, they think of Flight attendents as of "Lower Caste".
"2) Caste system also comes into Play, they think of Flight attendents as of "Lower Caste". ------ aaah, that might explain it. I mean, Indians (and I don't mean it as a generalization, I'm referring to the few entitled) aren't worse people than others, yet this in-flight behavior is unique.
Indian or Arabian country customer for sure. Nothing more to say.
Since so many are writing about the "caste" system. All societies follow a socio-economic hierarchy and segregation. The caste system is just one severe misinterpreted example of this. Indian and Asians are just very transparent in its use whereas other societies hide behind social constructs or other etiquettes. I don't condone segregation on the basis of caste just like I don't condone marginalization on the basis of socio-economic welfare or race. Just pointing out that...
Since so many are writing about the "caste" system. All societies follow a socio-economic hierarchy and segregation. The caste system is just one severe misinterpreted example of this. Indian and Asians are just very transparent in its use whereas other societies hide behind social constructs or other etiquettes. I don't condone segregation on the basis of caste just like I don't condone marginalization on the basis of socio-economic welfare or race. Just pointing out that modern day societies are literally built upon a hierarchy.
Oh IndiGo! What about a statement on dignity of labor and the protection of rights for all involved? Your bias is showing!
Its not ok to film people in the workplace which should be a safe place then spread it over social media.
Watching the video it is clear that there is excessive background aircraft noise which may have led both parties to accuse each other of shouting.
Mainly though, I think it was the passenger asserting his perceived higher-caste status, and male gender, against a hapless female in a service role. All very much a deeply ingrained part of the Indian culture and psyche and unlikely to change anytime soon.
And yes, FAs (except AirIndia's...
Watching the video it is clear that there is excessive background aircraft noise which may have led both parties to accuse each other of shouting.
Mainly though, I think it was the passenger asserting his perceived higher-caste status, and male gender, against a hapless female in a service role. All very much a deeply ingrained part of the Indian culture and psyche and unlikely to change anytime soon.
And yes, FAs (except AirIndia's maybe) hate servicing flights originating or terminating at any Indian airport.
Most passengers look down on cabin crew. Not sure why this mentality is there. Well done cabin crew. She tells “my crew is crying because of U”. I am assuming she is the head of the crew. Nice way to stand up to your team!
Should give her a promotion & best employee
Indigo flight is no better and even the indigo crew definitely needs good customer service training. I am not in support of customers who thinks that they have the power to behave anyhow or speak rubbish but indigo services are not up to the mark for sure and the staff is always rude by experience I can say. Hence I have stopped flying by indigo. The passengers may have to travel directly after office or...
Indigo flight is no better and even the indigo crew definitely needs good customer service training. I am not in support of customers who thinks that they have the power to behave anyhow or speak rubbish but indigo services are not up to the mark for sure and the staff is always rude by experience I can say. Hence I have stopped flying by indigo. The passengers may have to travel directly after office or after long connecting flight or long lay off time and after that anyone would need is a peaceful journey but Indigo fails to provide good customer service most of the time (I am not in support of this scenario, let the righteous win).
I'm a flight attendant also. When passengers talk like this, which is often , I just remember I have 2 ears. Let it in one and out the other. We can't take it personal.
For those of you saying the flight attendants career is already over couldn’t be further from the truth. I’m a flight attendant, and she has in fact lost her cool but all the company will do is have a chat with her, or the worst that will happen to her is she will attend a training class about her behavior. It wasn’t fair for the customer to abuse her that way and make the other flight attendant cry, he’s 100% at fault but she should have walked away.
Sadly, I have seen this few times while flying domestic in India. Most passengers seem to have this mentality that the flight crews are servants, and few passengers can be very rude. How hard it is to treat a fellow human being nicely? Doesn't cost at all.
I totally side with the crew member, ban this flier for lifetime that will teach him and other rude fliers a lesson.
He is typical of literally millions of Indians with that exact same mindset!
How can you ban that number?
+1 to KK13’s idea.
@Glenn -
A. Regulations aren’t based out of broad judgemental generalisations or stereotypes but tangible evidences like these
B. Not sure how much you know about India’s population but a few million is a drop in the ocean.
I am behind the FA.
Passenger behavior was nasty, aggressive and unwarranted. I feel sorry for the FA - I probably would have lost my cool as well.
Indian male here having lived a couple of decades each in India and the US -
Hate to say this but objectively viewed, across modes of transportation in high stress situations that brings out the worst of people, this is disappointingly common in the north of India (Delhi is the biggest hub of course). Caste system is awful but this happens across castes and more due to the patriarchy on steroids. I see the...
Indian male here having lived a couple of decades each in India and the US -
Hate to say this but objectively viewed, across modes of transportation in high stress situations that brings out the worst of people, this is disappointingly common in the north of India (Delhi is the biggest hub of course). Caste system is awful but this happens across castes and more due to the patriarchy on steroids. I see the 30k ft broad strokes view on India but you were to look regionally, you'd see this a lot less on a flight to Mumbai, Bangalore or Chennai. Lucky - while I get that she stepped over the line in 'yelling back', from my vantage point it is also hard to separate the stress the employee must be under if this isn't a one off occurrence. She's probably been made to feel like a servant indirectly so, several times before. With the weight of the cultural norms bearing down on her, she has raised a voice against a vicious, well oiled machine working against her kind. It's tough to not side with her.
Contradictory, but I think this is endemic across most cities in India - especially Mumbai where I observe that people feel entitled and superior for no reason. Having said that, I have not personally observed such incidents on hundreds of flight into/out of India. Indians do not go out of the way for small talk or to fake sincerity like in the US, but Indian passengers are also not intentionally rude in my experience. They...
Contradictory, but I think this is endemic across most cities in India - especially Mumbai where I observe that people feel entitled and superior for no reason. Having said that, I have not personally observed such incidents on hundreds of flight into/out of India. Indians do not go out of the way for small talk or to fake sincerity like in the US, but Indian passengers are also not intentionally rude in my experience. They are demanding.
I have observed such incidents on flights out of the Gulf though, where the native literally treat FAs and service providers as servants.
If this were the US, punches would have been thrown for sure.
Oh for sure we at an aggregate level have so many opportunities to be better in situations like these and no question very very demanding, but the aggression is hands down the worst out of North. That's why it's amusing to see all the caste references here - when it comes to behaving like this they're just bad across the board. The ill treatment also extends to people who have...no caste. I think it's just...
Oh for sure we at an aggregate level have so many opportunities to be better in situations like these and no question very very demanding, but the aggression is hands down the worst out of North. That's why it's amusing to see all the caste references here - when it comes to behaving like this they're just bad across the board. The ill treatment also extends to people who have...no caste. I think it's just convenient to blame castes because it's just the most popular social evil from India internationally.
Agree to disagree on the regionality of it, but besides the point here but agree on both points made about Gulf and US.
Full support of the crew member(s). The flight being long or short distance should not really inconvenience the passenger. All he has to do is place his rear on a seat for the duration of the flight and looking "only" after his own comfort.
The crew would have been running up and down serving over a hundred customers, and there's a very high possibility another customer(s) was being a minor nuisance as well.
...
Full support of the crew member(s). The flight being long or short distance should not really inconvenience the passenger. All he has to do is place his rear on a seat for the duration of the flight and looking "only" after his own comfort.
The crew would have been running up and down serving over a hundred customers, and there's a very high possibility another customer(s) was being a minor nuisance as well.
I do think the captain should have walked up to the passenger and given an ultimatum, aircraft returns to base (like any other international carrier) or he keeps quiet remainder of the flight.
Doubt he would have starved just because he didn't get exactly what he wanted.
Good for the stewardess!! She stood up for herself!!!!!
The travel to date I find so disgusting, frustrating, customer service is closed to none,then comes the behaviors/ not all of passengers are TERRIBLE
NASTY. From their choices of
travel outfits to mental health, makes me to think why travel...doing local adventures. Much appreciated .
She should be sacked with immediate effect. That would never happen on Singapore Airlines. How rough have they become. Customer is always right and need people trained to calm people not stir them up. Bad looks, bad training and last thing one wants to see on a flight.
Oh yeah, “Dr Singh”!!!! You just emphasized everyone else’s comments here, with your high-browed, entitled, MISOGYNISTIC mindset. Look in the mirror! You are exactly the A-Hole Indian passenger everyone is referring to.
And secondly, Indigo Airlines is certainly not Singapore Airlines, where there would be male FA’s to shut you up and tie your sorry ass to your seat if you ever behaved that way!
Shut up Mr. beeyotch!!!! Entitled creep!!!!
I am a 100% with the FA, even though the way this situation was handled is not very professional. The problem with this kind of videos is that you don’t see what happened before the recording started. In German we have the word Knallzeuge (bang witness) to describe someone who’s attention to something was only forced after the main incident happened. That’s probably a good way to describe this kind of videos. Personally whenever I...
I am a 100% with the FA, even though the way this situation was handled is not very professional. The problem with this kind of videos is that you don’t see what happened before the recording started. In German we have the word Knallzeuge (bang witness) to describe someone who’s attention to something was only forced after the main incident happened. That’s probably a good way to describe this kind of videos. Personally whenever I think I should get something on tape it’s already to late and that happens here as well I think.
As someone that spends A LOT of time in India, I know this type. For her to lose it like that (and unleash a mild Kali on him) good for her. He most probably deserved it!!.
Unfortunately, she might lose her job over this, but I hope not. Some of the men over there are disgusting and think everyone is their servant.
Flight Attendant is withing her rights to demand respect. It's an Idividual will not provide respect to anyone that doesn't show respect for me, don't matter under any circumstances and She doesn't deserved any kind of punishment.
She is human and also deserved be treated fairly. That passenger fits the image of a Bullie.
INDIGO, She's withing her rights to respected.
Flight attendent is completely justified here she is not his servent by any means and passengers should understand this..and such people who misbehave should be kicked out of the plane midair and set an example to headless fools..
I agree with multiple others who have pointed to the cultural issues with India that lead to situations like this.
India is a lovely country with many lovely people, but due to centuries of the caste system and also a huge amount of incredibly low cost labor in a country of 1 billion+, this sort of attitude is unfortunately incredibly prevalent. And thats not even considering the disrespect for women.
Someone in the US,...
I agree with multiple others who have pointed to the cultural issues with India that lead to situations like this.
India is a lovely country with many lovely people, but due to centuries of the caste system and also a huge amount of incredibly low cost labor in a country of 1 billion+, this sort of attitude is unfortunately incredibly prevalent. And thats not even considering the disrespect for women.
Someone in the US, who is a middle manager or normal professional making the equivalent of $75-100K would never dream of having staff. In India, at that level, you likely have a driver, a cook, a housekeeper, and at least 1 nanny. So the volume of people who have staff and view them as below them is much higher than just a CEO or finance bigwig type in the West.
I have Indian professional/business associates, who are otherwise lovely people, who don't even look at servers or staff when placing their order, rarely say thank you, much less please. And those are nice people. Not even including people like a customer who once called an employee into his office to tie his shoe or the one that moved his housekeeper into a converted utility closet in the basement cause they wanted her room for an arts and crafts space for their kid.
I’m Indian and can confirm that most have a horrible attitude towards service workers, and many often see it as a sense of pride.
I’ll never understand why it brings satisfaction to one when they insult service workers.
Having said that, you would find that the younger generation are much nicer and respectful in my opinion, and they even say ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’ now which has actually made me look like the...
I’m Indian and can confirm that most have a horrible attitude towards service workers, and many often see it as a sense of pride.
I’ll never understand why it brings satisfaction to one when they insult service workers.
Having said that, you would find that the younger generation are much nicer and respectful in my opinion, and they even say ‘thank you’ and ‘sorry’ now which has actually made me look like the rude one since I got used to not saying ‘sorry’ myself when I was there.
If someone is so concerned of his meal...simply book it online while booking a ticket.
They will provide what they have unless the meal is booked well in hand.
Remember Indigo is a budgeted airline and not a luxury airline.
Hence, can't expect much from them.
Having a nice and peaceful journey is more important and expecting more from the budgeted airlines.
This is normal behaviour for many wealthy Indians, due to the caste system, who see airline crew as servants and treat employees with disdain.
Nothing to do with caste, moron. Caste and class are different. Uneducated Americans commenting on things they know nothing about. Typical western framework of reducing to simple buzzwords. Caste! Yes, there you go!
I wonder how the comments would be if this was Jetblue flying in America.
The poor flight attendant would have had the flight diverted and that passenger arrested because he was a threat to safety. Even a junkie with feathers triggered that.
If this was Jetblue or any US flight then it would be fists and blows in the aisle.
Not true @Edgar, not all the time violence is involved in America. Some of us are civilized (depending on gerrymandering), but just having too much fun on a power trip or too much addictive drugs.
That high junkie was tickling people with feathers. He was considered a threat to safety.
You may not be aware, however it’s not just a US thing. There are aggressive passengers on flights globally, from all countries.
@Icarus
It's not just the aggressive passengers but ALSO the authoritarian flight crew abusing absolute power in the air, which is specifically frequent in America.
My sympathies are with the staff. Passengers feel and believe the hostesses are " servants" at their beckon call. Am sure he would not have the guts to behave like this with an international crew.
The tweet from IndiGo and their priority being customer comfort lowkey tells us about what's going to happen to the crew member :/
She was screaming at him. She should have had the experience to defuse the situation before it got to this stage.
I have watched the video twice, and had a really hard time understanding the passenger, because he barely got the opportunity to speak. The FA however did not shout, she screamed on top of her lungs and hurled wave after wave of screaming on him. This is frankly quite unacceptable. This is not her first flight, she should have the experience to handle passengers with potential Demi-god complex more professionally.
Absolutely correct!!!
The video started midway through. I can guarantee he had said many things prior to escalate that.
A typical entitled P.O.S.Leave your caste system in the 16 th century. And treat people with respect if you want it sent back to you.
You must be that rude flier, otherwise, no way you'd support the guy!
You sound like an absolute delight of supposed frequent flyer.
As per usual, you don’t see the start. Someone started filming mid-way and base your response on that. What prompted her to raise her voice ?
I'd love to know the delicious meal he ordered that caused so much anger. And true, FAs aren't servants, they're there for our safety.
Ah, an Indian male who cannot accept a no from a woman…
..or male in general...coming from a woman...
Code share tkts can be problematic. The PNR is issued by the airline which issued the tkt. We showed up at IAD but UA could not find the reservation issued by Swiss. UA gave me the requested meal on board but Swiss had not been looped in. In any case keep your own snacks in case of issues arising during flight. There is no J/ upper class in 6E that MAY have extra meals possibly.
Emily, how is your comment any better than sexist comments like “females in general are such and such”?
Because she's not a female... she's actually an Indian male pretending to be a woman in the name of "EMILY" and only posts in India-related news. Keep watching him post, you will realize.
@David - I admit that my comment isn't any better. It's supposed to provoke and point out prejudices and gross generalizations. My wife and I travel a lot due to our professions. Regardless of where we have been, being a same sex multiracial couple always raises eyebrows; and that's discounting our work in a male dominant industry. We have been living in Bangalore for the last six years, on and off, and actually find it...
@David - I admit that my comment isn't any better. It's supposed to provoke and point out prejudices and gross generalizations. My wife and I travel a lot due to our professions. Regardless of where we have been, being a same sex multiracial couple always raises eyebrows; and that's discounting our work in a male dominant industry. We have been living in Bangalore for the last six years, on and off, and actually find it a lot easier to live a normal life here than in many places where we have visited, including my home in Ohio. Therefore, I do find the initial comment incredulous, since maltreatment of women is a universal problem and not singular to any culture.
@Emily - well played on selecting the comments to respond to. KK13 is a recent troll and clearly some juvenile with too much time on their hands.
It’s partially cultural. But I guess we aren’t suppose to say that.
It is partially because of old caste systems. Pan Am used go provide special training to F/As working India flights to help them understand how they may be peceived by some as servants because they are serving food, and how to handle those situation. I saw several F/As lose it on flights in and out of Dehli.
It is partially cultural. In a country where servants are common, people tend to confuse the boundary between a service provider and a servant. Of course, it's not only endemic to India. Servitude is common across most of Asia and, especially, the Middle East and the Gulf.
Having said that, I have never first hand observed a situation even remotely close to this flying into/out of India frequently. Obviously I don't fly the routes (such...
It is partially cultural. In a country where servants are common, people tend to confuse the boundary between a service provider and a servant. Of course, it's not only endemic to India. Servitude is common across most of Asia and, especially, the Middle East and the Gulf.
Having said that, I have never first hand observed a situation even remotely close to this flying into/out of India frequently. Obviously I don't fly the routes (such as IST), which cater significantly to laborers or low-skilled workers.
Still no where near as entertaining as the fights one sees in the US!
sounds like klint didn't get status-based priority on his meal again
It will not end well for the poor crewmember. I expect her career is already over. IndiGo has made it clear that "customer comfort" is their top priority and the dignity of their disposable employees is secondary.
Remember, this is the airline that will not hire cabin crew above the age of 27 and has never hired male cabin crew, because they want to portray a subtly sexualised image (even their IATA code choice of...
It will not end well for the poor crewmember. I expect her career is already over. IndiGo has made it clear that "customer comfort" is their top priority and the dignity of their disposable employees is secondary.
Remember, this is the airline that will not hire cabin crew above the age of 27 and has never hired male cabin crew, because they want to portray a subtly sexualised image (even their IATA code choice of "6E" aka "sexy" reflects this).
IndiGo does a lot of things very well, but standing up for their staff is not one of them. Perhaps Pieter Elbers will help modernise the thinking on that front, but I'm not holding my breath.
If this crew member gets fired because of a moronic passenger, than the management of Indigo need also to resign and call it a day. The board members should replace with competant people who know how to run an airline and take care of the staff. If they don't this could happen again and again. Stamp out these moronic ppassengers they are not worth the time of day. The cheap fare is not worth them to be customers of Indigo. Shameful behaviour.
Unfortunately, management always have the right of way as opposed to the crew.
I think what sums it up perfectly: some random blogger, who may have a name of Ben, comments on how people should behave, having never been in the situation where someone has called him a "servant".
I think what sums it up perfectly: some random commenter, who may have a name of “James,” comments on how people should blog, having never been in the situation where someone has called him a "blogger". So he writes vapid comments because he has nothing to blog about.
The flight attendant lost her cool a bit?
She totally lost it - she was not de-escalating at all.
Okay, it is always easier to judge others…and there are situations, where regret what I said.
Only looking at this video and not knowing what happened before or afterwards, I see a attendant that yells at a passenger and that is hysterically pointing her finger at him (I cannot judge what happened before). At...
The flight attendant lost her cool a bit?
She totally lost it - she was not de-escalating at all.
Okay, it is always easier to judge others…and there are situations, where regret what I said.
Only looking at this video and not knowing what happened before or afterwards, I see a attendant that yells at a passenger and that is hysterically pointing her finger at him (I cannot judge what happened before). At some point, the passenger asks why she is yelling. She starts getting louder and louder.
Not trying to defend the passenger (well, actually I am): maybe English isn’t his mother tongue and he didn’t know what else to say other than „shut up“ and „servant“. In the end, he is the customer. And she is a flight attendant that (objectively?) lost her control.
Once again, I do not know what triggered her and if it can be excused that she lost her control…
“In the end, he is the customer.”
Nope.
In the end, he’s a boorish entitled man screaming at a woman and her female crew about an airplane meal. He has the power, he knows it, and he takes advantage of it. He’s preying on the weak. He is a parasite.
There is no justification for the passenger to call her a servant in any situation
Point taken.
But is there justification to behave like the FA?
Two wrongs do not make a right. We have to be better than what we oppose.
"In the end, he is the customer."
...."in the end" he would've also been an arrestee, in several countries.
do it with international crew his bum will be red by the time he gets down and forget flying the rest of his life..
English is the lingua franca of India so...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6EtsgD6AmA
0:42 onwards sums it up perfectly.