- A man has accused United Airlines of treating him and his wife rudely during a long-haul flight.
- Uttiya Basu said a flight attendant got annoyed at the behavior of his son, who has special needs.
A man has accused a United Airlines flight attendant of shaming him and his wife because of the behavior of his child, who has special needs, during a flight from New Delhi to Newark, New Jersey.
Uttiya Basu wrote about his experience on the airline in posts on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday.
Basu said the flight attendant approached them after his son started crying and making noise during the family's 16-hour flight. The family had paid for "a FULL PRICE (USD 23K) business class ticket on their Polaris class on UA83 - DEL-EWR," Basu said.
Basu said that he and his wife had let their son play with his toys and that his son had made "a few small squeals and laughs due to excitement of finding his shows" on the in-flight entertainment system.
"This is when a flight attendant comes over and starts rudely rebuking my wife," Basu wrote.
"Ma'am, your child SIMPLY cannot be making any noise. This is rest time, Everyone is sleeping. You are DOING NOTHING to keep him quiet. You need to keep him silent," Basu said the flight attendant told his wife.
Basu said the flight attendant refused to listen to their explanations.
He wrote on X that the flight attendant told him, "I have two children and I know how to be a mother to them. You need to do SOMETHING."
Basu said that the flight attendant later told him to let his child walk around the plane to calm him down but that this excited his son further instead of calming him down.
Basu wrote on X that he reached out to United's customer-service head and the US Department of Transportation but said that he was disappointed when United offered him a brief apology and a $100 travel voucher.
"Well, I asked for an action taken report and an apology to my wife for the rude and condescending behavior of this FA. I did not ask for the voucher and a form letter," Basu wrote on Friday, adding that he wanted to return the vouchers as they were "an insult adding to the injury."
United Airlines' customer service later reached out to Basu via X on Friday.
Basu said on Saturday that he had a "long and detailed discussion" with a United representative and was "assured of a detailed investigation on the incident."
"I was offered another apology and was requested to pass them on to my wife. I am grateful for that," Basu told Insider.
"The person who called me was well informed about the case so at least that is a good sign," Basu added. "I am not sure of what more will happen in this case."
Representatives for United Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.
Editor's note: August 7, 2023 — This story has been updated with responses from Basu.