Singled out for document verification on an international flight?
 

I would be quite interested to hear everyone's feedback on the following minor incident (this was in May 2014, but did not think of starting this topic until posting about another issue with UA on FT recently).

- Would the following annoy you if you were in my shoes?
- Would you bother to complain?

Ticket: EWR-YYZ-TPE-SIN (first segment on UA regional partner ERJ-145 / next 2 segments on BR) / J class redemption using UA miles

Status in UA prog: 1K

"incident":
- boarding EWR-YYZ (group 1); upon seeing my passport, the gate agent said "country name, please step aside", while the rest of the pax continued to board
- I have a passport of one of those countries that qualify for visa free access to 173 countries:
http://www.straitstimes.com/news/sin...he-world-20140
- went to adjacent ticket desk to explain the issue
- the lady there told me to present passport + paperwork to enter SIN
- after a cursory check, she shouted to the gate agent that I was ok to board
-...and I was able to board among the tail end of the queue
- a/c was ERJ-145 (ExpressJet?)

Issue with this:
- basically group 1 boarding "privileges" not applicable to this traveller as a citizen of this European country (Canadians, US passport holders, a German passport holder seemed to be ok...)
- Losing bin space on ERJ-145 (I recall I had seat 2A)
- I felt the gate agent and the agent checking my papers were rude (and at US airports, one needs to shut up and not say anything in these situations)
- Paperwork is already verified at check-in, so why this issue at the gate?
- I also felt a little bit humiliated being sent away from the gate like someone trying to sneak in

"compo":
- this was my first complaint to UA and 5k miles given
- UA sent the standard response + miles within a few days, so fair enough

I do appreciate the gate agents are under a lot of pressure to make sure there are no issues with folks being sent back by Canadian immigration - presumably heavy fines to UA would follow and I guess not an ideal situation for the gate agent either if a passenger is sent back. I can also imagine that being a gate agent at EWR has its own pressures - so being friendly and polite at all times might be asking too much.

On the other hand, surely common sense would say that someone with 1K status, flying on a J ticket, holding a passport of a pretty decent country and on a flight from the US to Canada would not need to be singled out like this?

Hmmmmm, I have also taken the UA EWR-HKG flight twice this year, but my citizenship has not caused any delays there.

Your thoughts?

When I am traveling international I always ask if I need my boarding pass stamped (to verify that I have met any visa requirements even if there aren't any) at the club or the gate way before boarding. I think even when as a US citizen traveling to Japan they stamped my boarding pass.

Why do you need to be stuck in that erj more than needed? Is there really any overhead space?

I would let it go. I've travelled across the globe many times. Every once in a while, whether in the US or aboard, I am asked to step aside. Usually it's because of some strange routing.

One time, when boarding in EWR for MAD, my boarding pass signaled to GA. She said to the police standing close by "here he is." They took me aside and asked a few questions. I was a bit nervous. Something must have gotten me on a list. (I think it's because I had a one way ticket to Turkey - via a 6 month stop in MAD).

When you travel, these things happen.

No, they should not have been rude to you.

I once almost missed a flight to Rio due to agents in FLL not knowing the visa free entry status for UK passport holder.

They didn't care one little bit that they would be doing all those checks in IAH later down the line, nor did the visa stamps from 8 previous trips to Brazil convince them. The only thing they were prepared to believe was the computer screen in front of them - that was down at the time.

You don't mention which country that is.

Oh, come on. That's a bit of an exaggeration. The GA wasn't sure and erred on the side of caution.

Disagree. Common sense says the airline follows the rules and if there are any doubts they make sure before proceeding.

You have a valid complaint that apparently the GA didn't know all the rules. Doesn't seem to go beyond that.

No and No.

I find it interesting you specifically omit the country your passport belongs to.

In regards to your comment about being a 1K on a J ticket, keep in mind anyone booked on an award ticket with a 1K's miles inherits the 1K's status. Thus, the person my not actually be a 1K.

It's really quite irrelevant, and not everyone likes to spill their whole life story on an anonymous Internet forum.

On any international itinerary, you should always go to the desk and ask if they require a doc check.

All you needed was a passport check stamp on your boarding pass.

[QUOTE=........
I do appreciate the gate agents are under a lot of pressure to make sure there are no issues with folks being sent back by Canadian immigration - presumably heavy fines to UA would follow and I guess not an ideal situation for the gate agent either if a passenger is sent back. I can also imagine that being a gate agent at EWR has its own pressures - so being friendly and polite at all times might be asking too much.

On the other hand, surely common sense would say that someone with 1K status, flying on a J ticket, holding a passport of a pretty decent country and on a flight from the US to Canada would not need to be singled out like this?

Hmmmmm, I have also taken the UA EWR-HKG flight twice this year, but my citizenship has not caused any delays there.

Your thoughts?.........[/QUOTE]

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How were the gate agents rude or there was any embarrassment ??
They are doing their jobs; Timatic checks, etc., Maybe at check-in something was overlooked that they caught at the gate. It has nothing to do with citizenship or the fact that someone is 1K status or flying on a J ticket. Over-reaction on your part.

The GAs did it right. They pulled aside a passenger needing a doc check - yes, you passed easily but they have to do it - and didn't stop everyone else from boarding while dealing with your case. Once your docs checked out they put you back in line and on the plane. Neither the status of the passenger nor the class of service have anything to do with visa/passport requirements and that is a completely irrelevant part of the discussion. Except that perhaps someone who travels that much should know that the GAs will make sure to check docs just about every time.

That's 100% right by them IMO.

I never understand why GA has to check passports again. Maybe you don't look like someone from the (your so-called decent) county?

This seems to be at the cross-section of Bad things about the USA and UA. The former tends towards regarding all foreigners as criminals (and the lower down the food chain people are, the more that takes hold) and UA tends towards treating its customers as criminals (and the lower down the food chain the staff are, the more entrenched that position is).

But it's not worth complaining as they'll all rally around the concept of an alien behaving strangely and they don't want another 911. What's the remedy? None if you're not prepared to switch loyalties to an airline with a customer service ethos.

If I read the OP correctly, he already complained and got 5K miles. So I'm not sure where he is going with this. Perhaps the tread title should be, "UA listened to my complaint and gave me compensation. Thanks, United!"

:rolleyes: What a load of baloney. Had you made the effort to read OP, you would have realized that the issue was Singapore's entry requirements, not leaving the USA or boarding a UAX plane. UAX agents did their jobs correctly.