Another man who had already been allowed to board on a flight and was seated in first-class with a ticket he paid for was threatened with handcuffs and downgraded because a last minute first-class flyer was “higher on their priority list” than he was.
While unlike Dr. Dao, he wasn’t physically assaulted and was allowed to fly…albeit in Economy-class stuck between a couple who argued for practically the entire flight, this incident further illustrates the abysmal customer service and management which allowed this situation to occur in the first place.
Also, a FB friend posted a recommendation that considering these two incidents, United’s management is in such a state that even hiring Colonel Klink and Sergeant Schultz from Hogan’s Heroes would be a marked improvement.
Ugh, that’s horrible. I was mad enough once when a flight attendant said it was OK for me to sit in first class because a guy wanted to sit in my seat, next to his friend. I got all settled in, when this obnoxious employee came on the plane and said I had to move. I told her I had switched with the guy, and she said we had no right to do that. I explained that the FA had said it was OK, but she said somebody had higher priority and would be upset if he didn’t get to sit there. I said, “Well, I’M upset,” but of course that didn’t matter. I’m usually a very polite person, but I wasn’t too nice that day. It’s humiliating when there are so many pairs of eyes on you!
ML, that is terrible. We have been offering our first class seat (if only one of us gets upgraded) to others on Alaska and have never ran into the issue! The FA usually calls the gate agent, and they quickly reprint boarding passes to reflect the swap.
Here’s hoping this leads to change. Remember back when there was a rash of planes sitting on the tarmac and passengers stuck? Limits were placed on how long that could happen.
I think United employees have been screwed over so many times by management, bankruptcies, etc., they no longer give a damn. They just go through the motions to do their job as management dictates and there is no initiative to do better for customers.
" I never imagined that if I paid for a first-class ticket, I would wind up in a middle seat in coach, on a long flight. This is ridiculous! "
I agree completely. To overbook economy and then kick someone off the airplane is bad. To overbook first class, or to sell a first class seat at first class prices and then say “never mind”, is just not acceptable under any circumstances.
Sadly American and United airlines are both so lousy as to be hardly usable.
I’m a former travel writer, and have spent a lot of time on planes. I have always, always, had much better experiences when flying on foreign airlines (except for good old Pan Am, back in the day!). There is a world of difference in how passengers are treated… more like valued guests, rather than as annoying cattle.
I have been moved from first class to coach, after an upgrade and another time with a paid for first class ticket. If there is an equipment change (like what happened to this customer), there are fewer seats. Not everyone can sit in first class, you can’t sit on each others laps.
However, it makes all the difference in the world if you get a sincere apology, a voucher for the difference and some sort of compensation like miles or money, and a big effort to give you a decent seat in the back or an offer to get a first class seat on the next flight out. People who can add and subtract understand that changing to an aircraft where there are 16 first class seats to 12 first class seats means that someone is going to get bumped, the lower priority passenger or the ones who bought their tickets last, whatever the criteria. It is more painful to be bumped to the back when you’ve already settled in, as there is the tendency to think that if you have made it to your seat, you can call “base” and you’re safe.
This man was treated very rudely, and inappropriately threatened. I think if they had treated him with respect and apologized, got him a decent seat in the back (and not loaded the airplane until the seat situation was worked out), we never would be hearing about this. They usually talk about equipment changes before they load the airplane, and make announcements (to which the frequent fliers start groaning, because we know we could lose our decent seats). Last time my family took an international flight together, they did an equipment change and scattered us all over the airplane, putting the kids in center seats, though we had paid for upgraded exit row seats. It’s a big deal on a 10 hour international flight. Fortunately I noticed ahead of time and was able to fix it.
The same used to be said about China Airlines(The national carrier for the ROC(Taiwan)) by older relatives who experienced what they considered abysmal service(rude flight attendants/crew) back in the '60s and '70s.
However, after a few decades, management changes, and a few PR disasters due to a series of crashes including the well-publicized Nagoya crash in the early-mid '90s, the experience we had when flying on them in the late '90s for a family gathering in Taipei was a marked contrast as far as they were concerned. Polite attentive flight attendants, great service, great food*.
Incidentally, some of my older relatives’ friends tried to get them to book the extended family on United because of those crashes. However, due to great cost savings and deterioriating levels of customer service a few experienced a few years before on United, they went through with booking us all on China Airlines and ended up with great customer service and substantial cost savings**.
Rice porridge for breakfast complete with a great selection of side dishes was a great touch....and far better than what my older relatives experienced when flying with them on the same class seats a few decades back.
** China Airlines dropped their ticket prices drastically in this period as part of a PR move to win customers wary because of those crashes.
Wow! This is really bad! When I pay to fly 1st class, I can’t imagine being threatened with handcuffs if I don’t vacate my seat for someone who at the last minute wants to board but outranks me! If I fax to be moved, I would gave serious issues being placed between a bickering couple.
Once, for a very long flight Hawaiian Airlines from SKorea to HNL (8+ hours), H and I paid for an upgrade to economy plus and pre-selected seats. The flight attendant told me I couldn’t sit in the seat I had purchased (due to their rules). I said fine, reseat H and me in regular economy and give us a refund. They said they couldn’t issue a refund. I said fine, get me another pair of economy plus seats H and I can sit in and we will be happy to swap.
After some consternation at my difficult request for the full flight, the flight attendants were magically able to get two passengers to swap seats for the flight (we had an aisle and middle seat in economy plus). We moved without incident. At no time was I ever threatened. They did repeatedly ask me to move but I quietly but firmly insisted on a fair swap, which I eventually received. The plane was NOT delayed.
I would be appalled if I was subjected to the awful treatment mentioned in the article. A full refund of the ticket and $25k donation is cheap compared to the PR damage!
I think it’s a mixed review about the changes that came after 9/11. It used to be that the flight attendants were hassled, harassed, and they had no power to do anything about it. Companies wouldn’t back them up, wouldn’t confront the customer as they didn’t want to make anyone angry or cause a fuss. The flight attendants (mostly women), felt compelled to put up with a lot of garbage, and that was really wrong. Now, any little issue and many people start calling for security. They don’t want to have to deal with anything.
On one hand it’s good for people to feel empowered to not have to put up with demeaning or threatening behavior. On the other hand, there are things that are totally inappropriate to call (or threaten to call) security about.
I was never threatened with security and was calm, polite but firm the whole time. I believe it was 3 years ago. I don’t think it’s unreasonable for passengers to get the seat they paid for on the flight they paid for.
If security is going to be called or used, they need much better training than it appears they currently have.
Back in the day, I used to fly Eastern and Air Florida (great student rates. free drinks within the state) and never had any issues. I had to fly American often when my d was a toddler and I was pregnant with S18 and when S18 was an infant due to my mother’s health issues. I always paid for a seat for D even when she could still be a ‘lap child’ I can’t count the number of times I was told she was a lap child and could not sit in the seat I paid for her or that they might not have an “extra” meal for her. The worst was when for whatever reason we were not given seat assignment together. They kept telling me they would fix that before boarding but then they told me they would fix it on the plane. The man that had the seat next to her refused to move! I finally buckled her in and handed him her diaper bag and thanked him for babysitting for the flight. He changed his mind very quickly when he saw me take my seat without her!
They are allowed to bump people when they have an “equipment change” for a smaller aircraft but WWHHYYYYYYY did they board anybody before resolving the issue? That was mistake #1.
If Joe Fabulous showed up LATE and they had already boarded people thinking that there would be no conflict then he was TOO LATE for that seat and he can sit somewhere else or on the next flight. That is mistake #2.
They probably only made one of those mistakes but who knows, they are capable of making both!