ermintrude

I was sent this article this morning

http://www.nj.com/essex/index.ssf/20..._stranded.html
I'd like to know more details, but on face value there appears to be negligence by UA.

aacharya

United offered a hotel to her and to get her there and back, but she refused.
Absent the logic of bumping someone in a wheelchair (let's not get into the common-sense approach of ignoring a computer for IBD), I don't see negligence.

Kacee

Not just a wheelchair pax, but a 77 yr old wheerchair pax.

EWR. That pretty much says it all.

jsloan

According to the post-Dao policy, passengers with disabilities are expressly excluded from being IDB'ed. I really hope there's more to this story.

RandomBaritone

The whole story just sounds incredible, not least the son who let a mentally incapacitated parent -- one incapable of using a mobile phone or contacting a United agent (?!) -- take an international flight with a connection alone.

Still, if UA really did IDB a confused, wheelchair-bound woman against its express policies, it had better refund the full amount of her ticket.

LondonElite

Can you summarise the article rather than just posting a link please (as per FT policy).

enviroian

Mom got bumped off a LHR bound flight
UA offered hotel, Mom refused
She wants an apology

Artpen100

Another article said that she was mentally confused, and unable to use a cell phone.

While UA may have handled it badly (the update to the article seems to indicate, though, that the woman refused their help, and they periodically checked up on her), I would at least equally blame the relative who put an elderly family member, wheel-chair bound and incapable, on an international flight with a connection by herself. That is borderline abusive. Who would do such a thing? And it is not as if there are not multiple IAD-LHR direct flights every day.

fly747first

It's a pretty humane thing to bump off a 77-year old wheelchair pax, even for the standards of a disgustingly underachieving company like UA.

fightingsioux09

Could also be titled: "Man abandons impaired, wheelchair-bound mother at airport."

porciuscato

That point is disputed:

ermintrude

You would have thought the GA would have been aware of that (although I wasn't).

Thread title was copy + pasted - I was rushing - the fact that she is a mom is irrelevant. A better title maybe is:

77 year old wheelchair bound lady was IDB'd and left at gate for 12 hrs?

I read another article which said that she was offered a hotel room but was not offered assistance to get there (which she apparently required).

spin88

in the comments section for NJ.com, someone was calling the report - despite UA already apologizing and saying it would investigate - fake news.

The pithy response was: "another person was victimized by United Airlines, of course its true"

But you really have to wonder about UA's EWR staff. Where does United hire people who IBD a 77 year old woman in a wheelchair? Then make no arrangements to help her get to a far away hotel? Put aside that its a violation of UA's own published post-Dao policy, its just ghastly.

jsloan

Not really. She would have gotten a wheelchair to the taxi / shuttle, and presumably once she got to the counter in the morning (or possibly even at the shuttle door). That's as far as I would reasonably expect UA's requirement of care to extend. Once any on-property hotel options are exhausted, the distance away doesn't really matter if she's not able to get herself in and out of a hotel shuttle.

Neither an apology nor an investigation (nor a $1000 voucher, which the linked story says was offered) is an admittance of guilt. Everyone is speculating that she was IDB'ed, despite the fact that it would be against policy (and heartless), but that's based upon an assertion -- and even the guy making the assertion (the son) says he "doesn't know why" she was bumped.

What if she was "bumped" because the flight was cancelled? That's the only interpretation that really seems to make sense to me, barring additional information.

(And, yes, if she is "easily confused" -- the son's words -- why on earth would you have her connect through Newark, of all places?)

spin88

I would have thought United wised up after they bumped a Pearl Harbor Survivor on the way to the annual commemoration. That was a real dozy. For those who forgot about that classic:

http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/2...u-bound-flight

I think this story will get more coverage, any good UA shafts customer story gets lots of press these days.

Are you seriously suggesting that when Mutliple media outfits/bloggers contact United United would just - gee wizz - forget to say that the flight was cancelled? Come on.

United has made very clear that this was an IDB: See e.g. http://viewfromthewing.boardingarea....hair-12-hours/

I also don't for one second think a woman would have sat in her wheel chair for 12 hours if United had offered to help her get to/from a hotel and took care of her.

The reporting unfortunately rings true of the worst hub airport in the United States.