Originally Posted by
iahphx
I imagine you're not in a customer service business. It's obvious the person had a ticket and, through no fault of his own, somebody pulled it (almost certainly a previous gate agent). I assume UA will get paid for the first ticket and now for the (more expensive) second ticket.
I suppose it's a good idea for every pax travelling with a paper ticket to review the remaining documents after each check-in, but do YOU want to hold them liable for the full loss if they don't do this and an agent makes a mistake?
I don't think UA did the right thing here. Do you?
A paper ticket is like cash and should be treated as such.
If your friend put a reservation on hold and went to the airport to pay for it, but found that is wallet was empty would you expect UA to give him the ticket anyway because it is obvious that he "meant to buy it?"
Paper tickets are awesome if you know what you're doing and may need flexibility in your schedule. Most people who request paper tickets do so for very specific reasons, but they're also aware of the value of said ticket.
While it is certainly unfortunate that your friend lost his ticket, it is completely wrong to say that he was treated "unfairly," "poorly" and "rudely" siimply because UA required him to purchase a ticket to travel on the next flight out.