[speculation thread] ORD -> SEA family kicked off plane
 

Probably for a good reason. I'm sure it's within policy, still seemed harsh. From what I could see it was an adult and three kids. Kids ages probably ranged 9-14. It was 2-3 rows back but this is what I heard:

Flight attendant (maybe a gate agent? they were communicating via radio) asking family where Megan was. Was told by the traveling party that Megan was not there and would not be there. Alaska employee relays on the radio that there is no Megan. The party booked a companion ticket (Megan's credit card, from what I assume) but Megan was not in their traveling party. Person radioed back they must be removed from the plane as Megan must be traveling in their group.

I guess I mostly felt bad because there were three kids involved. But a couple things didn't make sense, so i am turning to you all.

My best guess is Megan booked a ticket for herself plus a companion fare. Then one of the kids took Megan's ticket since they were young enough that they wouldn't need ID going through TSA. Still the child would have to have been told by her parent/guardian to lie to the TSA agent about their name, right? I've traveled with my daughter a few times (10yo). She doesnt' need ID but the agent usually asks her her name and/or a couple other questions.

If they made it past tsa AND they made it past the gate agent to their seats on the plane, I'm sure they would have figured they were in the clear. How did they get caught at that point?

*speculation*

​​​​​​​the missing PAX was the one with flight benefits?

Right. I mean, they were telling the travelers "Megan has to be here". I can't be 100% certain but my interpretation was it was Megan's Alaska card, she booked a flight + companion fare (they mentioned "companion fare") a few times. Hmmm I suppose everything was on the up-and-up and the rest of the family made it to the airport on time and Megan simply missed her flight (the plane was fully boarded at this point). But if that's the case, it seems unnecessary to kick the whole family off.

I will not assume anything.

But if it was indeed a companion fare, and the person with the benefit was not there, AS was within its rights to DB.

Although it was sad to see children were involved, the parents should have made a better decision.

Really - nothing to see here.

I was mostly wondering how it might have happened since you'd have to make it past TSA and the gate agent

TSA?? Easier than you think.

GA?? Scanned the BPs only without asking questions.

If Megan and the adult were on the companion ticket, the adult could not have flown without Megan, but the kids should have been allowed to continue, either by themselves or as UMs if there was time to do the paperwork and pay the fees. Depending on AS's rules, the kid of about 14 probably could have flown alone and might have been able to take responsibility for the two younger siblings.

Since we don't have all of the facts, we don't know exactly what happened or whether indeed the kids could have (or the adults would have allowed them) to fly alone.

But, if the scenario is as suspected, not only could AS have given the two adults the boot, it should have. The fact that parents choose to commit fraud in the presence of their children simply makes them all the more despicable. But, no reason for others to bear the costs of their actions through higher fares.

My best guess is that Megan booked the companion ticket, no-showed, and in the process of off-loading her they found that it was a companion ticket and thus the companion needed to be off-loaded, too.

I see no evidence that someone else boarded with Megan's BP. If they did, how would anyone have noticed?

From as.com:

Next time perhaps ask the folks what happened rather that starting this speculation that draws all this high horse talk...

maybe megan got sick at the last moment and couldnt make it, the family was not familiar with cert rules and AS ruined a family vacation...

Just speculation, but it could also be a non-rev situation where Megan listed the party as her traveling companions. If Megan wasn't there they wouldn't have been allowed to travel. TSA wouldn't have been an issue, but the gate agent normally would have caught it before assigning seats and issuing a boarding pass. Who knows though.

Yeah, I was confused by the idea that this was because of a credit card companion fare--do multi-person tickets actually get voided if one of the people on said ticket is a no-show?

I wonder if this has to do with the employee positive space pass program. I believe that in some cases, you can bring others with you if you have accumulated enough special passes, BUT, the employee *has* to be with the guests traveling with them.

Buddy passes, registered guest, etc -- none of these require or mandate the employee is with them, I believe.

And UM children 12 an older are exempt from fees, if they are non-rev'ing.

Assuming Megan is an AS employee or spouse and listed them as companions and didn't show it would definitely void all the tickets. They would have to go through a completely different process of acquiring tickets which is more expensive and would give them a lower boarding priority.