Over the Pacific on United--May 16, 2006

On the flight, 10 1/2 hours from Shanghai to San Francisco on United, I wasn't expecting much. After all, United doesn't have a great reputation and is in bankruptcy. Unfortunately, not even my very modest expectations were met.

The plane, a Boeing 747, was old and showed its age. The interior was drab. However, I wasn't prepared for the pathetic cabin service. I was traveling business class, which was staffed with about six cabin attendants. Their average age must have been close to my own 67 years. Nothing wrong with us oldsters working; I, for one, don't require a beauty-pageant crew in their 20's. In fact, I admire older people who continue working, or who seek new employment in their retirement, and I've seen many fine examples of really great older workers (e.g., my local Safeway, my bank). The key, however, is to work. These United ancient ages just didn't want to work; it was clearly a bother, an annoyance to them. All but one was overweight, and one of the biggies was actually obese and spent most of the flight sitting on a crew jump seat in front of me, eating. Some didn't bother to wear makeup or groom their hair. Yes, sorry for this comment, but they looked like a bunch of old hags. Yet, this would have been okay with me, if their attitudes didn't mirror their appearances.

Early on in the flight, they let it be known, not so subtly I thought, that they didn't want to be summoned by the call button. I think they were recalling lessons learned in flight school a generation ago, that their main function was to provide for the passengers' safety (I supposed that, if there were an emergency, I'd end up taking care of them), and that serving coffee was only of secondary importance. In other words, it was sufficient for them to know the location of the life jackets, not the coffee maker.

When, maybe 1/3rd into the flight, one of them came around to pour water, and I didn't have a glass, she chastised me and told me to make sure that I kept my glass throughout the flight, because, she said, it was "hard on her old bones" for her to walk back to the galley (maybe 10 feet away) to get a glass. Up to now none of them smiled; now, neither did I.

As for the food, it was your typical coach class meal, nothing more, served in the familiar TV trays, except that they did put a cloth cover on the seat tray (big deal!), and provided us with a printed menu, which, I thought, was classy until I actually viewed the food dropped in front of me.

By the end of the flight, I felt sorry for them, for United, and for America. It's sad to see people working without any enthusiasm, beaten by the system so to speak, just putting in their time "retired in office." I know they've lost their pensions, health benefits, and taken substantial cuts in salary. Still, as long as they choose to work in this job, they have the ability to be professional and do a good job. They have alternatives other than taking their disappointments out on the passengers. As for United's management, I'm sure they're spending countless hours and lots of money trying to honestly resuscitate their airline. Little do they realize that it's hopeless with cabin crews like the one on flight 858. Finally, as a loyal American, I like to think that we excel at anything we do, that we are the leader, the model for others to emulate. Why can't the U.S. have either the pre-eminent, or an eminent air line, flying across the Pacific? But, we don't, and anyone who has flown the trans-Pacific route a few times, knows that such Asian carriers as Singapore Air, Cathy Pacific, and Thai Air, are super flying experiences that United passengers can only dream about.

What I like about the free market system is that I have a choice. I don't have to fly United again, and I won't. I don't wish anyone ill, but it wouldn't be such a bad thing if United were liquidated by the bankruptcy court and joined the history books with such carriers as Pan American and Eastern. Some new U.S. carrier should be given the chance to fly United's routes to the orient. It can only do better. One thing I'm sure of: none of the cabin crew from my flight 858 will be found on any new airline.

I like to be balanced, so here's two really good things about the flight: the business class seats were very roomy, far apart, and comfortable, and there was no turbulence during the long flight.