Originally Posted by
Worldbuilder
so...let me get this straight:
UA requires themselves to stay committed to the contracts they make with their pilots, but could give a rat's ... about the contracts they make with their customers??? (which, when you think about it, is what a receipt for a First Class seat is)
Seems to me that without the customers, there's no need for a pilot.
You yourself said the customer was re-booked onto this flight.. it was not his original flight. If it were, he would not have been ousted from F by a pilot. In this case, the pilot likely already had a confirmed seat on the flight and this new guy came along and needed a seat but all of the F seats were already taken. He had the option to take another flight later I'm sure if he wanted F. He accepted economy.. and as I said will get downgrade comp if he asks for it.
A contract is a contract.. UA pilots have a contract negotiated by their union and the company is required to abide by it. They did not violate the contract with the customer in this case because he did not take his original flight..he was re-booked on a different flight that simply didn't have the class he paid for available. Also, even full F fares have provisions in the fare rules that allow for operational downgrades with appropriate compensation.
You can debate whether or not having confirmed F class for pilots in a contract is a bad thing, but it's part of their compensation package and the company has to honor it.