A tough way to earn 5,000 bonus miles

Why do flight attendants have reputations for rudeness? Perhaps it's the tight, cramped quarters of an airplane, or the public visibility, or the inability to please everyone. Or maybe, just maybe, it's stories like this.

Travel guru Christopher Elliott brings us the story of an American Airlines passenger, John Buschman, whose encounter with an ill-mannered flight attendant results in his being pelted in the head with snacks, napkins, and water. His understandable anger is matched only by his bewilderment: Why did the flight attendant keep throwing stuff at his head? He writes:

"During the rest of the flight I was attempting to justify to myself what had occurred here. I knew that I did not provoke her. In fact, I didn't even make eye contact with her prior to this occurring."

He writes a letter to American Airlines that details what happened, and the airline responds with profuse apologies and by adding 5,000 additional bonus miles to his frequent flier account. They don't, however, try to explain their employee's bizarre behavior.

One commentor conjectures that it was a jilted ex-girlfriend or a "relative psycho," which, if nothing else, is better than a full-blown psycho.

Whole thing here.

Filed under: Food and Drink, United States, Airlines, Transportation