COSPILOT

Agree, but seat 1B doesn't exist on any three cabin UA aircraft.😄

spin88

that article says she used 60000 AmexPoints and $$$ to upgrade to "premium economy" which we all know United does not have...

something happened, but none of the facts in either story matches what would normally happen.

matrixwalker2012

if I was at corporate and I found out front line agents are trying to play these games, I'd tell them to knock it off. Sometimes back at Corporate, they do try to do some of these things that are technically against policy, but if it can generate incremental revenue, it's worth a try. All the front line folks should do is simply flag it so it comes to our attention that they saw it. What use is it to go back and downgrade pax at the gate? Nothing! This is something for corporate to deal with and not for front line agents to get involved with.

Asaq

What are "American Express MileagePlus points"?

Beltway2A

The article references a civil suit.

fly18725

I would point out that there are no credible reports of a United incident post-flight 3411. There are plenty of reports of alleged incidents that happened in the past (e.g. the topic of this thread) or of passengers who appear to be milking the system (e.g. the couple going to Costa Rica who strangely disappeared from the media).

The timing of this lawsuit is fishy, as are the alleged circumstances. Regardless, it's probably good enough for a quick, small dollar settlement.

laxmillenial

Either the passenger or the news outlets need to fix their stories, because if this is what they submitted for the lawsuit...I would wager it'll last for all about five minutes in court, if even.

UA doesn't have premium economy...
It doesn't cost "American Express MileagePlus points" (What are those?! UA isn't a transfer partner for AMEX) as well as $500 in fees for an Economy Plus and/or "Premium Economy" seat
1B on a 3 class plane doesn't exist

In the Dao case, Chicago "police/authorities" forcibly removed Mr. Dao. I have never ever seen a UA GA or FA touch or forcible remove a passenger by "ripping her out of her seat". While I suspect it's possible, there are gaping credibility holes that need to be filled first.

Beltway2A

I pulled a copy of the complaint. It does in fact refer to "American Express MileagePlus Miles" multiple times.

It does not refer to Premium Economy, but does refer to both "Economy Plus" and "United BusinessFirst."

I expect it to be amended shortly.

Edit: Both boarding passes are attached as exhibits. 21B was apparently a middle economy exit row seat on this particular flight.

spin88

I don't know about fishy, the type of treatment the girl received is sort of standard operating procedure by UA at Newark.

On the first point, I did not claim any post "United beats up Chinese Passenger" events, just noting that it is open season on United. I would assume competent management would have made this clear to line employees, and told them in no uncertain terms to use their common sense to avoid escalating CS issues. But given that such a communication would likely have leaked by now, hard to say.

laxmillenial

I'm asking cause I'm curious:

So you're saying it's SOP for UA employees to forcibly grab and move passengers from one seat to the other if the passenger doesn't want to downgrade?

I know there are lounge employees (I believe SFO GS club) who search for double upgrades and downgrade passengers since they're technically not allowed, but this is the first I've ever heard of UA employees using force to accomplish their means.

In my experience when a seat change occurs not in my favor (for example, E+ aisle to E middle or BF to E+), I always ask for the supervisor to come onboard to explain what occurred and I ask for it in writing. I have never once been touched by a UA employee, even at EWR when a downgrade occurred on a PS flight.

Red259

I can't imagine the reporting on this is correct. Some of these things do not make sense. I am suspicious of these claims and why we are just now seeing this suit filed.

spin88

(a) my guess is the "hey, lets find a double upgrade and mess with them" game, it is SOP for certain agents, and (b) I am taking much of what the complainant says about being "ripped" as verbal fluff. Agent comes, tells you to move or else, the reports say agent "touched her arm"

The post article gives you an idea of the girl, she is clearly dumb enough to use 60,000 miles and $500 for E+.

Artpen100

Yes, 60K miles and 498 to go to E+ sounds odd, but if she did buy a cash upgrade at T-24 into business and then got bounced back to E after boarding, that would only make sense if they needed the seat for a last minute accommodation (FM, deadheader or the like) and she was the last one to get upgraded. But this says there were other empty seats in J, so something does not add up. I'm not going to defend UA for being too eager to bump back someone after an upgrade has cleared, but sometimes it is necessary, and then the last to get an upgrade should be the first to give it back.

Red259

I don't see how it would be appropriate after she was seated. If it was a deadheader they would kick someone out of their business seat instead of having the deadheader in economy? This is different from what they claimed in the Dao situation which was that the plane was totally full and there were no other seats for them to sit in. Even more bothersome is the idea that she paid all this extra money and did not get refunded. I don't think we have all the facts though, because the story does sound odd. I don't think anyone should be moved once they are boarded without their permission. All this stuff should be sorted out before boarding is allowed, which really does not seem like too much to ask.

trk1

This non-sense article is why flyer talk is going down hill.