United re-sold 27 month old's paid-for seat -- made Mom hold him for the flight.

[pnwmom]

Last edited Thu Jul 6, 2017, 01:39 AM - Edit history (4)

Only children UNDER 2 are supposed to be able to fly on a parents lap, and this mother had paid for 2 seats. United screwed up in scanning the tickets, and then insisted on having a stand-by passenger take the child's seat.

United doesn't seem to be learning.

ON EDIT: The NBC story below adds some appalling details (e.g., he spent some time just standing on the floor between her legs.)

https://www.faa.gov/passengers/fly_children/

Did you know that the safest place for your child on an airplane is in a government-approved child safety restraint system (CRS) or device, not on your lap? Your arms aren't capable of holding your child securely, especially during unexpected turbulence.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) strongly urges you to secure your child in a CRS or device for the duration of your flight. It's the smart and right thing to do so that everyone in your family arrives safely at your destination. The FAA is giving you the information you need to make informed decisions about your family's travel plans.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/national/ct-united-airlines-toddler-seat-20170705-story.html


United Airlines has apologized to a passenger who was forced to give up her 2-year-old son's seat and hold the child on a flight - until her leg and arm went numb.

Shirley Yamauchi, a middle school teacher from Hawaii, was bound for a teacher's conference in Boston last week, she told Hawaii News Now. Her traveling companion was 27-month-old Taizo, whose ticket she said cost as much as hers - nearly $1,000.

SNIP

But as Yamauchi and her son sat waiting for takeoff to Boston, a man walked up with the same seat number as Taizo, the mother told ABC affiliate KITV.

"I told him, I bought both of these seats," she told the station. "The flight attendant came by, shrugs and says, 'flight's full.'"

SNIP

"I was told if we refund you anything right now, we're going to have to cancel the rest of your flight arrangements to Hawaii," she told KITV.


http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/united-airlines-forces-mom-hold-toddler-entire-flight-n779731

After waiting more than five hours last Thursday in Houston to board, Yamauchi said she and her son were exhausted. Once they were seated, a United flight attendant came to see if Yamauchi’s son, Taizo, who was in his seat, was on the plane.

The Kapolei Middle School teacher said a man who was a standby passenger approached her and said her son was in his seat. She said she notified a flight attendant about the confusion but, “She shrugged and said the flight is full.”

Yamauchi, 42, said she hastily had to place her son, who is 25 pounds and half her 5’2” frame, on her lap. She said the standby passenger was one of the last people to board the plane. The flight quickly departed after he sat down and no other flight attendants questioned her about her son, she said.

The teacher claims for the entire duration of the flight, no one addressed her having her son in her lap despite her struggling to put the seat belt over both of them. Taizo had to stand or crouch on the floor because Yamauchi said he became too heavy to hold. “He’s tall child for a toddler. He comes up to my belly button. It was a three and a half hours flight,” she said.

[Shrike47]

1. More than an apology, they owe her the cost of the ticket and $10,000 or so.

Maybe more, for threatening her with losing the rest of her fllight if she got a refund. Terrorizing the passengers is not a good business plan.

What the hell is wrong with United?

[Catmusicfan]

2. This is disgusting. What other industry can treat paying customers like this.

[Flaleftist]

8. Insurance?

Maybe not as much now with the ACA, but the GOP is working on it.

[Catmusicfan]

10. True. But no company should treat paying customers like that.

[mythology]

9. Comcast and other major ISPs treat their customers like crap

And buy off FCC commissioners like Ajit Pai and Republican Senators like Marsha Blackburn to ensure there is a little competition as possible for consumers.

[Catmusicfan]

11. +10000

[Tiggeroshii]

3. Did they take his candy too?

Literally taking things from babies now.

[ProudLib72]

4. I remember when airlines would give kids

wings and toy planes and coloring books. Now they take away their seats. I'm surprised they didn't lock him in a cage and stick him with the dogs and cats in the hold. We have fallen far, very far.

[VermontKevin]

5. Sorry, have to post this.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

38. I remember getting to sit in the cockpit of a Canadian Pacific DC-8 inflight

back in the late 70's.

[ProudLib72]

61. I remember that, too

That was back when air travel was an "experience", not like catching a bus. They also used to serve meals on every flight. It didn't matter if the flight was only two hours long, you still got a meal. Now they throw peanuts at you and tell you to shut up.

[dalton99a]

6. They apologized five days later - because of the publicity

Fucking assholes

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

7. United should have gone straight into Chapter 7 in 2002

It wasn't worth saving.

Worse still, while under Chapter 11 the bankruptcy judge allowed them to smother start-up Independence Air at Dulles.

[HipChick]

12. Full story isn't being told...

The mom did not have a boarding pass or seat assignment for her kid...

The Mom did not get the kids ticket scanned properly...so his seat showed up as being empty and not being checked in..
The man was able to buy the seat for $75, and agent printed out the seat

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/07/05/united-airlines-apologises-giving-away-toddlers-seat-standby/

[pnwmom]

14. It isn't the Mom's job to scan the child's ticket -- it's the ticket agent's job. It is their most

Last edited Thu Jul 6, 2017, 12:27 AM - Edit history (1)

important job and they screwed up -- not the mother. That's why United apologized.

And the worst part . . .

"Adding insult to injury, she learned that the man had paid just $75 for his ticket. "


http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/united-airlines-forces-mom-hold-toddler-entire-flight-n779731


United Airlines spokesman Jonathan Guerin said in a statement, “On a recent flight from Houston to Boston, we inaccurately scanned the boarding pass of Ms. Yamauchi’s son. As a result, her son’s seat appeared to be not checked in, and staff released his seat to another customer and Ms. Yamauchi held her son for the flight. We deeply apologize to Ms. Yamauchi and her son for this experience.”

Yamauchi is unsatisfied with the explanation. “I saw them zap both tickets. There was no issue, no problem. They let us through. It just doesn’t add up. It’s very weird,” she said. She also doesn’t agree with the compensation. “It doesn’t seem right or enough for pain and discomfort.”

[csziggy]

16. Your link does NOT show that it was the mother's fault

"A spokesman for United said the mistake occurred because Taizo's boarding pass was inaccurately scanned at the gate so the airline's system showed him as not checked in."

No where in the link you provide does it say "The mom did not have a boarding pass or seat assignment for her kid..." Where did you get that information?

The Washington Post says, "A United spokesman told The Washington Post that Taizo’s boarding pass had been improperly scanned and that because the toddler wasn’t logged in to the system, his seat was released to a standby passenger." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2017/07/05/united-accidentally-gave-a-toddlers-seat-away-and-made-his-mom-hold-him-for-a-3-hour-flight/

That still does not make it the mother's fault as you imply.

From NBC:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
United Airlines spokesman Jonathan Guerin said in a statement, “On a recent flight from Houston to Boston, we inaccurately scanned the boarding pass of Ms. Yamauchi’s son. As a result, her son’s seat appeared to be not checked in, and staff released his seat to another customer and Ms. Yamauchi held her son for the flight. We deeply apologize to Ms. Yamauchi and her son for this experience.”

Yamauchi is unsatisfied with the explanation. “I saw them zap both tickets. There was no issue, no problem. They let us through. It just doesn’t add up. It’s very weird,” she said. She also doesn’t agree with the compensation. “It doesn’t seem right or enough for pain and discomfort.”
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/united-airlines-forces-mom-hold-toddler-entire-flight-n779731
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To add to the insult this woman experienced United's own guidelines prohibit a child as old as hers being held on a lap for a flight:
Once infants turn two years old, they are required to have a purchased ticket and occupy a seat.
https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/specialneeds/infants/default.aspx
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The mother complied with all the requirements and she got screwed by United. She is very lucky she did not end up with health problems from holding her child for so many hours - deep vein thrombosis or nerve problems.

[exboyfil]

17. The kid had a boarding pass

A spokesman for United said the mistake occurred because Taizo's boarding pass was inaccurately scanned at the gate so the airline's system showed him as not checked in. His seat was consequently released to a standby passenger.

Perhaps the mom presented both boarding passes and only one was scanned. It would have been the agent's duty to ask the mom if the child was riding on a lap. Given the size there should have been additional inquiry as well. Unless you think the mom intentionally tried to sneak the child onto the plane, this is on the airline. The gate agent is entirely at fault unless the mom lied about the child being a lap infant.

The simple solution was to buy back a seat. Someone on a full plane would eventually take an offer.

[WinkyDink]

81. Twice you said "unless," and twice you had no reason to. THERE WAS NO "UNLESS."

[LisaL]

23. It's not the mother's job to get the kids boarding pass scanned properly.

She had purchased a ticked for the kid. The kid did have a boarding pass. Agent at the gate is the one scanning the boarding passes. It was their job to make sure the passes are scanned properly.

[Blue_Tires]

74. +1

[Hamlette]

13. United didn't handle it well but it wasn't the end of the earth.

I've traveled with kids of all ages for years and yes, it sucks when they don't have their own seat but my arm and leg have gone numb watching a movie with them at home. I could tell you stories. . . .like my mother flying from Alaska with 2 of us, me in a body cast at age 1 and my sister at 2.5 years old, both in diapers (no disposable ones then), one seat and getting stranded in the Seattle airport for 3 days.

Buck up. Snowflake.

[pnwmom]

15. Well, I've gotten a DVT from a long plane flight, and it IS a big deal to have a leg go numb

while you're flying.

She wasn't being a "snowflake." She paid almost a thousand dollars for the ticket and she was entitled to the seat -- not some stand-by who paid $75 for a last minute ticket. He should have been made to wait for the next flight.

[csziggy]

20. Why are people in this thread blaming the mother?

She paid a high price for the ticket for her child, following UNITED's own requirements:
Once infants turn two years old, they are required to have a purchased ticket and occupy a seat.
https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/travel/specialneeds/infants/default.aspx
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She checked in as usual. United has stated that it was their fault the child's ticket was not correctly scanned:

United Airlines spokesman Jonathan Guerin said in a statement, “On a recent flight from Houston to Boston, we inaccurately scanned the boarding pass of Ms. Yamauchi’s son. As a result, her son’s seat appeared to be not checked in, and staff released his seat to another customer and Ms. Yamauchi held her son for the flight. We deeply apologize to Ms. Yamauchi and her son for this experience.”

Yamauchi is unsatisfied with the explanation. “I saw them zap both tickets. There was no issue, no problem. They let us through. It just doesn’t add up. It’s very weird,” she said. She also doesn’t agree with the compensation. “It doesn’t seem right or enough for pain and discomfort.”
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/united-airlines-forces-mom-hold-toddler-entire-flight-n779731
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

United violated the contract they made with her and ignored the ticket she had paid $1000 for her child to have his own seat as required by UNITED.

She is not a snowflake. She is a customer whose rights were completely ignored.

I expect Republicans to blame the victim. I do not expect it of Democrats.

[HipChick]

22. Price of ticket is determined by class of the ticket...

Strange why some are making this a partisan issue...when this is the SOP of how airlines sell tickets

[Igel]

26. Because we feel the need to blame and punish somebody.

The question is will we fault the United employee or employees or the mother? Because we have to be upset at somebody.

Saying we're upset at the corporation is foolish. It's not the corporation that did the mistake. It was a clerk who didn't scan something properly--which may mean it wasn't presented, to be quite honest, if they made a point of that detail there'd be even more hell to pay--and didn't finalize the kid's seat assignment. After that mistake, everybody did what they were supposed to, including trying to find a way to *avoid* having to kick a standby passenger who was given a boarding pass and a seat off the flight and make sure everybody who was supposed to be on the flight was on the flight.

(People are missing that last point. If they had given the seat to the kid, the guy who was flying stand-bye would be waving his boarding pass and saying he had an assigned seat and they were violating the new policy. If they did that, we'd still blame corporate and be irate at how the standby guy was treated. Because we feel a need to blame somebody and punish them.)

It was a makeshift. But it worked.

Don't know what the woman did, but when she got to the destination she should have made sure they had a record that her kid didn't get a seat and was due a refund for at least one leg of the trip. And if that couldn't be arranged until after the trip was completed, so be it.

[pnwmom]

31. It did not work. The mother paid for a full price seat and they acknowledge

the ticket wasn't scanned properly -- which is the ticket agent's job.

Having to hold a child on your lap for 3 hours isn't safe. That's why, according to FAA regulations, only babies and toddlers under two are allowed on laps.

Also, it is dangerous to have a limb go numb while you're flying; that's a good way to get a blood clot.

I think United needs to re-train some of its staffers and to stop deliberately overbooking airplanes.

[LisaL]

32. So if the mother was flying with another adult, and that boarding pass wasn't scanned properly,

would the mother be required to hold that adult in her lap?
The kid had a paid ticket, just like any adult would.
Why did airline think it was fine to require mother to keep the kid in her lap?

[pnwmom]

62. Best answer yet!

[narnian60]

79. Yes.

Thank you.

[Warren DeMontague]

76. But.. but... snowflakes! Buttercups! Millennials! Rock and Roll music!

I feel the need to virtue signal to the other calcified internet jerks, my membership in the tribe.

[WoonTars]

91. Because they didn't 'scan the ticket incorrectly', they chose to sell that seat SPECIFICALLY...

...because it was a small child that could be put in an adult's lap...i bet you...

United still hasn't learned their lesson it seems...

[csziggy]

43. The links I posted indicate that the mother did present the ticket for the child

At the same time and in the same fashion as she presented her own ticket. United has admitted it was their fault. The standby passenger should have been given a refund and asked to wait until a later flight. A passenger who had paid full price months in advance and who had followed the airline's own requirements (that a child over the age of two should have a seat of his own and is required to have a ticket) should get priority over a standby passenger.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I had bought both of these tickets way in advance. We did the two hour check-in time before boarding. I had my receipts. I had my boarding pass. Yet this happened," Yamauchi said.
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/35811846/hawaii-teacher-forced-to-hold-son-on-lap-after-united-gives-purchased-seat-to-standby-passenger
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As mentioned in several of the articles linked to, the woman immediately started asking for compensation as soon as she arrived in Hawaii.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the flight landed, Yamauchi informed multiple United staff members about what happened. “I was told four different things from four agents,” she said. One told her that she should have said something when she was on board.

United contacted Yamauchi Tuesday and told her that her son's ticket will be refunded and she will be sent a travel voucher.

United Airlines spokesman Jonathan Guerin said in a statement, “On a recent flight from Houston to Boston, we inaccurately scanned the boarding pass of Ms. Yamauchi’s son. As a result, her son’s seat appeared to be not checked in, and staff released his seat to another customer and Ms. Yamauchi held her son for the flight. We deeply apologize to Ms. Yamauchi and her son for this experience.”

Yamauchi is unsatisfied with the explanation. “I saw them zap both tickets. There was no issue, no problem. They let us through. It just doesn’t add up. It’s very weird,” she said. She also doesn’t agree with the compensation. “It doesn’t seem right or enough for pain and discomfort.”
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/united-airlines-forces-mom-hold-toddler-entire-flight-n779731
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Orrex]

69. Every plane in the United fleet should be crushed into scrap

Every employee should be fired, and the CEO should be boiled alive in the public square, his home razed and the ground salted.

[cwydro]

82. Lol!

Best post ever.

[HipChick]

21. Exactly...I fly a lot...

the mom could have negotiated much more than a sob story to the media..

[Hassin Bin Sober]

30. She took what they offered because she wasn't up for a beating.

[CreekDog]

42. You don't have to be insufferable about it

Nice victim blaming there. Sure hope your beat isn't consumer reporting.

[HipChick]

45. Seems like passengers that fly the least

complain the most, and don't get familiar with what they should be requesting...

Meanwhile a real victim today, is that a black female cop was murdered and lost her life...

[pnwmom]

58. Passengers who flew a lot would complain just as much.

And these days everyone has good reason to worry about what United's response would be if they failed to cooperate.

[LanternWaste]

68. I obviously missed the sign-up sheet for the Highest Gross Percentage of Victimhood.

"Meanwhile a real victim today, is that a black female cop was murdered and lost her life..."

I obviously missed the sign-up sheet for the Highest Gross Percentage of Victimhood Competition... that is, if we believe that victimhood is a finite resource, doled out only to the most worthy.

[pnwmom]

48. She was traveling alone with a small child and she was AFRAID.

Why shouldn't she be, after all the publicity United has been getting lately?

[narnian60]

80. +1

[LisaL]

24. The kid should have had his own seat. She paid for it.

[orleans]

56. oh yes...so if i buy a ticket for my 29 yr old daughter

and they resell her seat i should put my kid on my lap because your mom was stranded in the airport for 3 days?

"buck up. snowflake"???

way to have a fucking heart. actually i believe it's called empathy. i have no idea where you could acquire any at your age

[delisen]

59. The airline endangered her child. Aside from that glaring issue

she paid for a service she did not receive.

I don't see that your willingness to be discomforted should bind this particular customer, who paid for a services to be delivered and observed the child safety rules in place at this time.

The modern day child safety rules have been put in place due to research showing that other children have died without them.

[EllieBC]

60. Anyone over 2 must have a paid seat. Would she be expected to suck it up if the child were 10?

Or another adult?

United violated regulations and you're telling the mother to suck it up?

[Dorian Gray]

63. Seriously

the airline needs to pay major fines to the FAA for this, as well.

I am so sick of airlines and their greed.

[Warren DeMontague]

77. but but precious little snowflakes everyone gets a trophy culture is to blame!

Or something.

[Hamlette]

72. I'm weary of 24/7 outrage. But you are right, I'm irrelevant. As are we all.

[Pacifist Patriot]

73. I didn't say you were irrelevant.

I said your experiences and sensibilities were irrelevant. If she was miserable that has absolutely nothing to do with what you've had to endure. She paid a grand for her child to have a seat and was instead subjected to a flight of unexpected discomfort, a discomfort she had taken steps not to have to put up with. Sympathizing with her plight and thinking the company screwed up yet again is hardly 24/7 outrage.

[Warren DeMontague]

78. Ah, the old "deflect from previous inane statement with vague existential ennui" tactic.

Sometimes it works.

[Warren DeMontague]

75. Are you fucking serious? She PAID $1000 for the fucking seat.

"buck up, snowflake"? Why are you defending the incompetent airline employees or the jackwad who paid $75 to take a seat from a two year old?

Jesus fuck.

[WoonTars]

90. Snowflake? Seriously?

What kind of bullshit victim blaming is that?

[Laffy Kat]

18. They should have settled it by...

Making the dude who re-purchased the seat hold the toddler. You think for a minute they would have done this to a dad? No, they do it to women.

[exboyfil]

19. They should have bought back a seat

and gave it to the stand by. It wasn't the stand by's fault.

[pnwmom]

27. The guy who paid $75 for his stand-by seat should have had to wait for the next stand-by

seat, even if it was on the next flight.

[exboyfil]

33. Once he was boarded and in his seat

with a confirmed boarding pass, they are back to the other situation. It is easier and cleaner to get a volunteer no matter how much it costs.

[pnwmom]

36. He was only in that seat because he insisted on displacing the 2 year old who was ALREADY THERE.

He had no better right to that seat. It wasn't the mother's fault that the ticket agent screwed up with the scanning. Once the mistake was realized, the stand-by should have left.

[exboyfil]

41. Nope.

The airline should have gotten a seat for him by buying one back. He had a confirmed boarding pass. The child gets his (her?) seat back, and someone leaves with cash in their pocket.

[pnwmom]

44. Yes, if they could have found someone to do that, they should have. They should have offered

an extra premium to that person, until they found a willing volunteer.

That would have been the best solution. I would have thought United would have figured that out by now.

[LisaM]

84. The problem there is that the airline's idea of the next available flight

could be the next day.

Airlines should stop being allowed to overbook. That's the real issue. I think that the woman clearly should have been given the seat she paid that much for. It's ridiculous.

I don't know the circumstances of the standby passenger and why he couldn't/wouldn't wait for the next flight. He's stuck in the middle. I flew standby a few years ago and it felt so good to get on the plane to where I was going that it would have been awful to have to get back off, so while it wasn't really his seat, I can sympathize with his wanting to stay on the plane (I was standby due to an error I had made, so I would have gotten off the plane if I'd had to).

[pnwmom]

85. Except the difference is that he saw the child in the seat and made the mom get the boy out of it.

You didn't knowingly displace anyone.

[LisaM]

86. There were lots of wrongs in this story.

And a lot of things that could be solved by the airline itself by not overbooking!

It really gets me that they didn't honor the more expensive ticket, which is one of their usual criteria. I know that when I made my error (I had the wrong day; it was a 12:10 a.m. flight and I was in a frenzy at work that week), I at least got bumped up to the top of the standby line because I had a fairly expensive ticket. This guy only paid $75!

[pnwmom]

87. No, it appears they honored the wishes of the largest body. nt

[Igel]

29. No, it wasn't.

But what's the policy?

You don't remove somebody with a boarding pass and an assigned seat once he's in it.

Policy would be violated any way you look at it. The employees--you know, the workers--made some calls and get them through.

Without a video of some guy being dragged off the plane waving his boarding pass and saying he had a seat. That was sacred a month ago. Now it's just, "force the guy to accept a refund." An employee, not the corporation as a whole, made the mistake.

Strictly speaking, they were enforcing the policy that the "public" deemed to be the solution to the PR mess from that video a month or two ago. No we're saying we're outraged that they didn't do this time what they did that time.

[LisaL]

34. The kid had a boarding pass and an assigned seat.

So I don't get your point. If it were two adults, and airline didn't scan the boarding pass of one of them, would one be required to keep the other in their lap?

[exboyfil]

35. I am saying you pay what you have to

in the open market of 200? seats until you have a volunteer. No one is coerced that way. Tough luck United, you lose money on this flight.

[pnwmom]

37. The CHILD was already in that seat when the guy turned up, and they ejected the CHILD.

And it wasn't the mother or child's fault that the ticket hadn't been scanned properly.

The child with the fully paid for ticket should have been allowed to remain in his seat; and the stand-by guy with the $75 ticket should have been made to wait for the next flight.

[Dorian Gray]

64. Give the rider a free first class ticket on the next flight....

That would get a lot of people to be happy.

It's not rocket science.

[ellie]

53. My nephew

was traveling with his toddler son and he paid for two seats for both of them. The airline tried to take the son's seat away and my nephew gave them hell. He was able to keep both seats.

[Laffy Kat]

55. Good! Glad he stuck to his guns. Sounds like it might be a frequent practice. nt

[lpbk2713]

25. Fly the Friendly Skies of United

Their slogan looks like a sick joke. They have been going
out of their way so many times lately to piss people off.

[Proud liberal 80]

28. 27 month old?

United's poor service not withstanding. When do we stop saying a child's age by month?

[pnwmom]

40. I said that to make clear he was over the age even ALLOWED to sit on a lap.

A toddler has to be under 2 to be allowed on a lap; but this 27 month old was deprived of a paid-for seat and forced to sit on a lap.

[Proud liberal 80]

65. Wasn't a dig at you

I read the article and other articles about this incident and they all mentioned 27 more month old.

[brooklynite]

39. This is why I jealously guard my elite status (with Delta)

In the event of a situation like this, I would immediately be on the phone to the special customer service number.

[HipChick]

46. I maintain mine too...simply to avoid all these situations...last time I had an issue with United

They ended up putting me in first class for last leg of my trip to London Heathrow...and I have zero status with United..

[Barack_America]

47. What will the FAA fine be?

It is my understanding United broke the law by allowing a 2 year old to fly as a "lap baby".

[Meowmee]

52. True

And they should be held accountable.

[DFW]

49. The mother had a legitimate excuse for not raising a fuss in the plane

She had no reason to think United had stopped having steroid-addled thugs drag inconvenient passengers off of their planes, and she had her small child with her.

[pnwmom]

50. Exactly. n/t

[DFW]

67. The only incredibe part of the story is this:

Namely, that ANY United flight these days was fully booked!! What more proof does one need that Americans have not gone soft, but are still willing to put up with suffering and adversity?

[Stonepounder]

51. I still carry my American Airlines Platinum card embossed with a 2 Million stamp,

which entitles me to Platinum benefits for life. Only I don't fly any more. If I can't drive to my destination I don't go. Corporations (with a few rare exceptions) don't care about Customer Service any more. They figure they are doing you a favor by allowing you to use their services.

Supermarkets no longer have checkers or bag boys or bother to keep their shelves stocked. Retail stores rarely have enough help to wait on customers. Airlines only care about wringing out every possible penny from their hapless passengers.

Capitalism run amok is just as bad as any other -ism and we are seeing the results every day.

[SunSeeker]

54. United should be fined heavily for this.

They broke the rules on so many levels. They failed to properly scan the boarding pass of the toddler, creating the mess in the first place. Then they forced a large toddler over 24 months old to sit on his mother's lap (a small woman to boot) for the duration of the 3.5 hour flight. Then they failed to properly compensate the mother for their error. It was not until United was stung by the publicity that they apologized.

But judging by the number of people in this thread who chose to blame the victim, I can see why United thought they might be able to get away with it.

[DoctorJoJo]

57. I'm Sorry But...

... I have to blame the Mother here. She chose to fly United, "The You Carry On, We Drag You Off" airline. Just be glad you weren't dragged down the aisle. When will people just bury these cretins for what they are--a total joke. Fly them at your own risk.

[Vinca]

66. How can they sell a seat twice? And if they do, shouldn't the first buyer get the seat?

"Fly the Fucked Up Skies, United."

[malaise]

71. Ah well just another minority complaining

(because I have to put it)

[WinkyDink]

83. How COINCIDENTAL that the only Boarding Pass "not scanned properly" belonged to a paid-for passenger

who could be HELD ON A LAP the entire flight, so perfectly for that last-minute "Stand-By."

I'd like to know the tacit understandings by Boarding Personnel surrounding such "coincidences."

[Phentex]

88. Yes, to me this is the crux...

had the "mixup" been for a 210 pound person in a paid seat, I doubt they would have asked the person to sit in the lap of the person in the next seat.

[WoonTars]

89. Quite the co-inky-dink, eh, WinkyDink?

Sorry...couldn't resist...

[WinkyDink]

92. I should hope not!