[ChrisH]

It sounds like this woman was rude, but you have to take responsibility for your actions, as well. Cursing at her, and calling her names did not help the situation at all. I don't know how it works on Qantas, and in other countries, but in the U.S., if you act up, and curse at an airline employee, they CAN, and WILL remove you from the flight. I've seen it happen, and the airline, also, does not have to rebook you. They can remove you, refund the ticket, and then you are responsible for finding a way to your destination, whatever the cost.

I'm not saying this was all your fault, just to be careful, because depending on where you are, cursing at an airline employee can also wind you up in jail. The problem that occurs all to often, is that passengers think they can talk to airline employees however they wish, and that the employee has to just take it, with a smile on their face. Not true. Be careful with what you say, and who you say it to. All I can say, is based on your story, if you had done this to an airline employee, in the U.S., you would probably have been escorted out of the airport, by those security guards, and possibly thrown into jail, not to mention, your whole family removed from the flight.