Pax putting phone on speaker mode throughout flight and ignoring crew requests

[Capricornus]

Many years ago brother was the FSD on a Virgin Atlantic flight. One of the celebrity passengers had his rotten feet wedged between the seat and bulk head in front of him. The smell was offensive to the other passenger who had to draw attention to the issue. The passenger with the offensive body odor was asked to remove his feet to which the celeb told him to F off. My bro immediately said, 'I will count to 10 and if you have not complied, the police will be waiting for you on arrival at our destination'. He got to 9 and the feet came down. ...............

That’s textbook de-escalation technique. De-escalation is not “being nice”. It’s about assertively communicating what options are available and letting the other person choose the path to take. The crew in the OP case were either a bit lazy (didn’t want to engage) or need a refresher. (But could also be cultural differences at play).

 

[anat0l]

The crew in the OP case were either a bit lazy (didn’t want to engage) or need a refresher. (But could also be cultural differences at play).

I don't think this applies necessarily to Virgin Atlantic, but that might be something.

Although the "count to 10" sounds like textbook de-escalation, it sounds like something that you only do to children. OK, let's paraphrase that for adults: "Sir, you have 10 seconds to comply, otherwise I will arrange to have the police to meet you on arrival. The choice is yours."

I wonder to what degree that people who are "in the wrong" (but not breaking the law, except perhaps disobeying crew instructions) may file complaints to airlines if they are mistreated, humiliated, harassed or what not, whether or not they comply or not and whether or not the authorities get involved. Some airlines may take such complaints and impose measures on the crew implicated before an investigation is launched or questions are asked; some airlines might just outright put the black marks on the crew without question, which could be more immediate if the person complaining is one of status or celebrity (e.g. politicians). For example, I can imagine in India that crew are extremely mindful of who they "talk" to; one errant comment, although directed at a deserving a-hole, may mean the end of their job at the hands of the legal and sociopolitical powers wielded by the aggrieved passenger. (Yes, I'm well aware that the case of the OP is not in India or of an Indian airline)

 

[jb747]

"Oh, your phone is having a thermal runway. Quick, drop it in a sink".

 

[Rich]

I haven't heard this before but in my little MEL to ADL QF flight that I am on now, it was announced that voice and video calls are not permitted.

 

[Himeno]

I haven't heard this before but in my little MEL to ADL QF flight that I am on now, it was announced that voice and video calls are not permitted.

They've been doing that for a while. Since there is internet available on many domestic flights and voice/video calls can be made via wifi.

 

[Jennifer Cook]

What has worked for me is getting up, standing right next to them with a huge smile on my face and asking in a friendly, chatty way - using hand signals to overcome language barriers - for them to turn it down. I smile non-stop, laugh, say sorry, say please, excuse me and maintain nonstop eye-contact, but DO NOT leave until they comply (even if it gets uncomfortable). Has so far worked 100% of the time and overcomes any language barrier (although I have not, and probably would not try, with openly belligerent or drunk passengers).

 

[OzzRod]

Not just on planes but in life as well, we see this sort of person in the public eye every day. But don’t worry, kharma will catch up with them eventually

 

[outthere1000]

From a passenger's perspective - correct.

It is in the same category as an unconsolable child.

I disagree. The boorish passenger with phone on speaker is old enough to know better (but likely chooses not to). The inconsolable child is not at fault (I'm assuming a parent is doing all they can to quiet it - though from experience this is often not the case, especially with unruly small children).