United Airlines: blackmail for seating assignments? - Page 3

momof2inca · 06-23-2008, 04:10 PM

Just booked flights with Alaskan/Horizon to drop off D in Seattle for college. Two round trips and one one-way ticket... does that mean D will get the third degree? We're flying out of Burbank. (I did get to choose our seats online for no extra charge... however, the 2nd bag costs $25 now).

ucsd_ucla_dad · 06-23-2008, 05:08 PM

My D just purchased a one way ticket (on United) and the United agent actually helped expedite getting her through security since time was getting tight. Buying a one way fare doesn't guarantee a third degree.

sevenhills · 06-23-2008, 05:39 PM

My third degree was at San Francisco airport with United. Going in the other direction with a one way ticket through Frontier I had no problems.

teriwtt · 06-23-2008, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Actually, DH read that United is charging more if you do NOT have the minimum stay. He is a frequent business traveler who does a lot of day trips. He will no longer fly United.

I guess that's kind of what I meant. If you don't stay over on a Saturday, or the required number of nights, they aren't going to deny you a ticket, just charge more.

I do remember this policy being common many years ago... when possible, we'd always try to plan a trip that included a Saturday night stay because the fare was always the lowest.

The latest airline news is that United is laying off 950 pilots. It seems as if they are just digging themselves in deeper and deeper.

Sequoia · 06-23-2008, 06:10 PM

Sometimes stuff happens. Stuff you have no control over and where you just need to let it slide after you've gotten through it with no adverse effects.

Many years ago I was "deported" from the US whilst in transit from a Caribbean holiday back to where I then lived in Canada (trips I'd often taken before). Transit point was Miami where I happened to be bumped off the flight home. At the time I had no status in the US, and was promptly taken to a room with a bunch of souls from Central America and interrogated for some hours while the authorities informed me I could be taken to a detention center if they failed that night to arrange for a flight to my birth country in Europe where I hadn't set foot in some 15 years but where I still had citizenship.
After much pleading etc to let me get on the next any flight to where I worked, lived and held immigrant status, they found a remaining first class seat on another flight. I was escorted by two burly police onto this flight in full humiliating view of all the passengers while my papers were handed to the flight attendant, not to be returned till I was out of the country.
A couple of stiff Bloody Marys did much to finally calm my nerves and get me home. Sort of a Kafkaesque experience since none was really my fault.

alipes07 · 06-23-2008, 06:14 PM

had to post this:

Funny Commercial

ebeeeee · 06-23-2008, 06:29 PM

Years ago I was traveling to Beijing with DH. He was taken away from me at Customs upon arrival. It seems they were suspicious of some electronic equipment (work related) in his luggage.
I can tell you there were some tense moments. I do not speak Mandarin and had no idea what was happening. I finally convinced someone to let the colleague who was meeting us at the airport into the customs area so that he could translate.
They ended up releasing DH but keeping his luggage.
Same as above..a bit Kafkaesque...none of it really anyone's fault..just had to breathe and hope it all turned out right.

thumper1 · 06-23-2008, 06:30 PM

OT...My favorite travel story. I had broken my leg...it was in a cast with a hinge at the knee. I was wheelchair restricted and couldn't board the plane alone. Believe it or not, I was "selected" for the full frisk. Where did they think I was hiding things...in my cast? Oddly, two other wheelchair confined folks were lined up with me. They had been in a small plane crash and had BOTH legs broken. We just sat there and chuckled. It took them a LONG time to frisk the three of us and wand us and our belongings. I had a huge pin in my leg that kept setting off the metal detector...I kept showing them the letter from my doctor...they didn't care.

Then I got on the plane and they took my crutches away (wouldn't let me put them under the seat...they were too long). They swore that if the plane crashed, they would get the crutches to me. Sure...

The only good thing I recall is that they gave me three seats so I could put my foot up...but they buckled my cast in.

I couldn't wait to get home.

LongPrime · 06-23-2008, 06:47 PM

If you have to pay to get a good seat, then I would imagine that enterprising people could and will sell their seat assignment after boarding. I am slight build and I am sure that some one of larger stature would gladly pay for sitting next to me or a small stature person to pay me not to sit next to someone of largess.

What is good for the airlines can also work for me.

BunsenBurner · 06-23-2008, 07:09 PM

Sequoia, have you seen The Terminal with Tom Hanks? I though of this movie when I read your story.

Sequoia · 06-23-2008, 07:12 PM

^ Yes I have haha. I actually pleaded that I simply stay and sleep on the chairs if they couldn't get rid of me, but they wouldn't allow it.....not enough "resources" aka guards to make sure this alien didn't bolt out the doors.

thumper1 · 06-23-2008, 07:38 PM

Hmm....I like this idea. My whole family is pretty small. We don't take up the width of a seat at all. We are short. We don't have broad shoulders (or broad anything else). The airlines should be charging folks more to sit next to us, and us less because we are small.

Oh...and this goes for the luggage thing. Total family weight for four people....500 pounds...no kidding. And we still have to pay for our baggage.

ucsd_ucla_dad · 06-23-2008, 07:50 PM

Sequoia:

To balance you out, I've traveled to many countries but one of the most difficult countries to enter was Canada. On a business trip I made the mistake of saying the purpose of my trip was 'work'. That set them off and sent me to the back room where the agents were in very rude and accusatory tones accusing me of "you Americans taking jobs away from Canadians", acted as if they couldn't believe that I, an American actually didn't have a criminal record. In the end they confiscated my 'tool' (a small plastic/metal probe smaller than a popsicle stick for scoping IBM mainframes) and let me in. They returned the tool to me when I was returning back to the states and sent a customs person to 'escort' me to the gate. Luckily, she was nice, thought it was ridiculous, and only escorted me halfway back. From then on I used the term 'business meeting' instead of 'work' when entering Canada.

Sequoia · 06-23-2008, 08:15 PM

ucsd_ucla_dad,

Funny you should have that experience to do with "work". During my studies and work life there, many of the profs we had were refugees from Hungary who had escaped in 1956, accomplished people who came to Canada to build a new life. They related that they needed to "callous and roughen up" their hands because at the time Canada was more welcoming to farmers and labourers than professionals. Apparently immigration officials looked at their hands.

As for crossing the border, countless times I'd cross into Vermont to go skiing with friends, where we had a weekend ski shack. The border guards didn't care about papers and always waved us through. They did care about booze though. Wines being cheaper in Vermont we'd hide under the seats. Once in a while we'd get caught and the guards would just take them (probably to add to their own wine cellars). One thing you learned though, is that if the guard wears his hat, he's new, a rookie, who was prone to exert his authority and we watched out for those.

Sequoia · 06-23-2008, 08:34 PM

Speaking of United, story today of a pilot too upset to fly ..due to a union/management issue apparently.

United Flight Canceled Over Upset Pilot - AOL Money & Finance