Artpen100

joe_miami

I think most of you people have got this all wrong. Not only does United not have to go overboard in accommodating Sheila Jackson Lee, but it could probably undo all of the Dr. Dao damage and more if it announced it was banning her from its planes for being the obnoxious cretin she's long been known to be. Half of her own party can't stand her, and she's in the minority anyway, both in the House and in her home state.

greg99

I hope she files a DOT complaint. I can't imagine something that Elaine Chao would rather ensure was handled throughly than a complaint involving Rep. Lee...

joe_miami

I take a back seat to no one in my dislike of Sheila Jackson Lee, but the fact pattern here suggests the passenger accidentally canceled her last segment or rebooked herself. If this was a GA engaging in shenanigans, he would have dumped the lady back to E+. It makes no sense that the GA would have canceled the ticket in its entirety, when he knew the passenger was going to be his problem as soon as she showed up.

greg99

That may, in fact, be the case. We don't *know* that it's the case, though.

Many of us have had seats pulled out from under us by UA (and other carriers). I haven't seen anyone involved in this threat admit to having canceled their flight accidentally while looking at flight alternatives. Doesn't mean it doesn't/can't happen, but my Occam's Razor hunch points me towards an airline with a fondness for bumping people out of seats on behalf of a favored politico, given their multiple apologies and $500 voucher.

The Department of Transportation ought to look into it. There are processes and procedures for that to take place. UA has the ability to demonstrate that their story was actually what happened.

That the Secretary of Transportation might be pleased to know that this particular investigation would be handled thoroughly is just a side remark.

joe_miami

Have you ever used the United app during IRROPS? It's easy to change an itinerary accidentally, or at least begin a change and leave the reservation in limbo.

There's no way this was some sort of conspiracy within United to shaft a ticketed passenger. At worst, it was a rogue GA, and if that's the case, United is assuredly investigating already.

The $500 voucher means nothing. Airlines pass them out all the time as a p.r. move, even when the pax was wrong.

greg99

I have. Numerous times. Never once accidentally canceled my flight. I'm sure it's possible, though - stranger things are happening.

That said, I've also seen very experienced UA agents completely foul up a PNR.

I don't think the GA had anything to do with it, but I do I think it's entirely possible that some GS concierge, in (i) trying to figure out what was happening with the loads on the flight, to (ii) fix a problem with a known difficult VVIP, (iii) looked at the person in the F cabin traveling on an MP ticket and (apparently) no status, and (iv) deliberately or accidentally canceled out her record. They have authority to do things that GA's would get fired for, and in this context, it might actually have been the commercially advisable thing to do, but for the fact original pax decided not to play ball and went public.

I'll leave it to you to decide which scenario is more plausible.

Candidly, I don't trust UA to tell the truth on this one. They're going to throw SJL under the bus and say that she got a perk she shouldn't have received? No freaking way. UA would much rather take the PR hit.

That's why the DOT ought to look into it.

raehl311

I suppose it's possible that an agent - perhaps a GS agent - tried to downgrade the passenger and mucked up the PNR and left the passenger without a reservation on the flight instead of in E+, only to be discovered at the gate, and the GA may have only seen when the reservation was cancelled and been incorrect about how it was cancelled.

United certainly has the prerogative to force people back to E+ if they want, and there's a contractual remedy available to them should they choose to do so.

I also wouldn't assume the $500 voucher means anything - even if PAX accidentally cancelled their ticket, when it was reinstated, it was indeed a paid F ticket, and if the PAX ends up in E+ instead they are due downgrade compensation, and $500 sounds about right on an international ticket (even if not an international flight).

tuolumne

raehl311

I don't think the system does automatic upgrades within 90 minutes, but an agent can certainly process the upgrade list.

And you could have situations where someone with an F seat on a different flight (even an upgraded one) convinces an agent to move them to open inventory on another flight. (Been there, done that.)

DJ_Iceman

Here's another question: if the passenger in question had not accidentally cancelled her reservation thereby freeing up seat 1A, what would they have done with the cranky VIP passenger? Left her in economy and dealt with a hissy fit? Downgraded someone else?

denver19

I don't know if that is "knowable", but it would really be interesting.

The passenger in question didn't accidentally cancel anything. Hence the downgrade comp. UAL did what they needed to do.

greg99

It's absolutely "knowable" but we won't know it.

cova

I read the same thing as well.
If SJL is a difficult passenger, then UA should put her on a watch list and have a supervisor check her reservations and make sure she gets no special treatment. I hardly consider a congress person that makes less than $200K per year to be a special celeb. I doubt she is Global Services.

We seen similar on AA forum. Retired football player takes F seat and an upgraded Concierge Key member gets the boot to Y.

PaulMCO

100% correct. Not easy to cancel and rebook it was a FF miles seat especially using the APP. Rewards seats are the lowest on the totem pole when it comes to invol downgrades. They gave her the 500 miles which was by their rule book.