Discrimination on race, color, national origin, sex or ancestry
 

Flight Number: UA 1226
Date of Flight: April 22, 2014
Origin: Los Angeles (LAX)
Destination: Honolulu (HNL)

My wife, an older Asian woman aboard flight UA1226, was waiting in the cabin for the delayed flight to depart LAX to HNL. She went to a flight attendant in the tail end alley of flight UA1226. My wife approached her with a cup to get some drinking water, and she rudely and abruptly told her to get it from the bathroom. It was my wife’s understanding that water from airplane bathrooms is not potable. My wife then informed her that she was planning to drink it and therefore couldn't get it from the bathroom. She proceeded to ignore her and another flight attendant handed her a water bottle to fill my wife’s cup. She filled the cup barely half-full. When my wife asked her to fill it more, she huffed, rolled her eyes and reluctantly filled it. My wife was so shaken from the execrable experience she barely made to her seat.

My wife forced herself hard to calm down and then approached some other flight attendants to get her name, but no one would give it to her. So she reluctantly approached her to get her name. She then told my wife to get it from the other flight attendants. When she told her that she already had approached them, she reluctantly gave her name. Afterwards, she sarcastically profusely thanked my wife. As she had no reason to be thankful, it was evident that she was enjoying her insidious offenses of discrimination and flouting at my wife.

One of our family members uploaded this treacherous act of derisive customer service, rather offenses, by the United Air employee to Facebook. Within few minutes, a passenger on the same flight UA1226 from LAX to HNL responded and confirmed that the incident did indeed happen. The person stated that once my wife had left the presence of the same reviling flight attendant, she made flagellating rude remarks about my wife’s level of English skill within earshot of other passengers.

In the meantime, my wife made a complaint to one of the flight attendants. Then, one of the United Air employees wearing a United Air uniform but not a flight attendant’s uniform, who did not identify himself when he approached my wife demanded my wife to explain to him what happened. She explained then she asked his name for the record but his blunt and bluff reply to my wife was “I don’t have to give you my name, why? I am NOT going to give it to you.”

These two United Air employees both seem undoubtedly a thorough reprobate conducting their duty that went well beyond reprehensible into the intolerable.

My wife and I believe she had a double dose of gratuitous discrimination on race, color, national origin, sex and/or ancestry as well as of deformation of character. The whole family, especially my wife is devastated emotionally and psychologically out of these offenses to this moment and and my wife is having insomnia, loss of appetite, loss of balance, loss of concentration, restlessness, having difficulties in making decisions and having difficulties in participating conversation with family members and others.

I am afraid this miasma of nefarious United Air offenses against its passenger based on the unmistakable gravamens of discrimination on race, color, national origin, sex or ancestry will stay strong and pungent with my wife, myself and friends and family for a long, long time.

Please advise.

Indeed, the attitude of the FAs on the flight seem reprehensible based on your description of the situation. It looks like they were unprofessional at best and unethical at worst...culminating in an overall, horrible experience for your wife.

That said, I don't see any reason or case of discrimination (race-based or otherwise). In fact, if I were you, I would steer away from jumping to such a conclusion. I would rather focus on the facts in this instance and follow up with a formal complaint to United. You would end up clouding the issues if you mention discrimination since you don't have evidence that those FAs behaved well with all other passengers.

Anyway - that's just my 2 cents