Couple removed from flight to Costa Rica
#151
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I wonder if there was alcohol involved. That would explain repeated poaching attempts after being told no. That also might explain why UA would allow them to fly on a different flight the next morning.
#153
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As someone who lives in a popular vacation destination, that statement is just about 100% false. You assumption is wrong. A small portion of the flight might fit in the categories you listed. People actually take vacations without it being tied to a life event. Residents of vacation destinations actually travel to on business or to visit relatives or to take vatations, too.
Last edited by WineCountryUA; Apr 17, 2017 at 4:49 pm Reason: merging consecutive posts by same member -- please use multi-quote
#154
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Do we know they snuck into E+? I haven't flown UA since I believe 2014, but I know Delta has First, Comfort+, and about 236 different varieties of "preferred" seats that are indistinguishable from "non-preferred" seats, and my first impulse was that they stumbled into a "preferred" seat. If they snuck into E+ or the exit row and didn't either pay or slink back out when challenged, they knew what they were doing.
The "didn't want to wake the seat poacher" is absurd, so I tend to disbelieve all their claims. I gather they say they gave up their ill-gotten upgrade when challenged, but I don't know if that isn't true and they got thrown off the plane due to their own obstinacy, or if a power-tripping FA made up a justification to throw them off.
The "didn't want to wake the seat poacher" is absurd, so I tend to disbelieve all their claims. I gather they say they gave up their ill-gotten upgrade when challenged, but I don't know if that isn't true and they got thrown off the plane due to their own obstinacy, or if a power-tripping FA made up a justification to throw them off.
And if they were drinking too much, that is if --- , then another reason you don't want them in the emergency exit row.
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#156
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I've never seen a self-upgrader slink back to E- without first challenging the flight attendant. Usually something along the lines of, "What difference does it make? No one's sitting here anyway!" or "I fly this airline all the time and I've always been allowed to do this!"
#157
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The only assertion I find blatantly dubious or questionable is that a 'marshall' removed them after they complied with the FA's instructions to move back to their seat.
#158
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Well, the difference between E- and E+ cabins can be vague is you're on B739 that has E- seat rows between the E+ rows at the front of the economy cabin and the exit row seats. So if you're sitting in row 25 (E-), row 14 would be "within the ticketed [E-] cabin", but row 11 or row 20 wouldn't. I wouldn't expect regular E- travelers to understand that rows 14-15 and 12DEF are okay, but row 11 or 12ABC are off-limits since they're not "within the ticketed cabin".
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No. The announcement on UA is always that if a pax wants to move to seat that's designated as E+, they need to talk to the FA about paying for an upgrade.
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Well, the difference between E- and E+ cabins can be vague is you're on B739 that has E- seat rows between the E+ rows at the front of the economy cabin and the exit row seats. So if you're sitting in row 25 (E-), row 14 would be "within the ticketed [E-] cabin", but row 11 or row 20 wouldn't. I wouldn't expect regular E- travelers to understand that rows 14-15 and 12DEF are okay, but row 11 or 12ABC are off-limits since they're not "within the ticketed cabin".
#161
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I am not a rookie at air travel, but it was certainly not intuitive to me on this particular flight that the seats we choose at first to move to were E+ as I did not notice anything special about them or the pitch to make me think their were in a different "cabin".
But I completely get the rules, quickly complied without comment to the FA and moved to two seats next to one another a row or two back.
But for those who rarely travel or spend time on FT, I could see one's perspective of asking what the big deal is?
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Did this seat issue for the flight to Costa Rica even come up after the plane doors were closed? Or was it before the plane doors were closed? And when was that "always" General announcement made? You do know that the removed passengers said they were the last passengers to board? If that statement about being the last passengers to board is true, then their story sounds more credible than it would otherwise be to me.
Last edited by GUWonder; Apr 17, 2017 at 3:09 pm
#163
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If the FAs are required to call moving within the cabin an "upgrade", then management is making their jobs really hard. The only movement within the cabin they should be required to monitor is for an exit row being occupied with someone who isn't ready, willing and able to help during an emergency.
#164
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What other marshalls would be around the airport, or is a Marshall in Texas (old TV show?) sort of like a sheriff?
Still, to me the mystery is how UA was able to get some sort of Marshall other than a FAM to the aircraft within a few minutes of the FA telling the couple to move back to their own seats.
ADDED: Sorry, I was thinking of a Texas Ranger, not Marshall.
BTW, don't marshalls lead parades and commencement ceremony marches?
Last edited by MSPeconomist; Apr 17, 2017 at 3:25 pm
#165
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