Well, everyone, we have yet another example of how truly messed up the airline industry has been lately. It seems like every day there’s another story about someone not being able to get on their flight even though they had the tickets, seats, AND reservations.
What is going on? Has the airline industry always been this bad? Or has it taken a turn for the worst since the pandemic? Today’s case study involves a young woman who goes by the account @baiweeeeee and the name “baileebaileebailee” on TikTok, and boy does she have a story to tell. Buckle your seatbelts everybody because this one is going to make you want to scream in rage.
To make things simple, we are going to call the main character of this story Bailee. On Aug. 7, Bailee posted the video from inside San Diego International Airport. She is worked up, but once she gets going it seems like she should be more worked up than she already is.
“So I just wanted to put it out here on TikTok that don’t trust United Airlines for anything because even if you do have a seat and you have bought it months in advance, your seat doesn’t exist, and it will never exist.”
Wait… what?!
Bailee and her boyfriend arrive at the airport at 1:30 p.m. for a 2:30 p.m. flight, she explains. She has “basic economy seats” for a flight from San Diego to Denver to Bozeman, Montana. The flight then (of course) gets delayed an hour to 3:30, and our heroine becomes concerned because she and her man “kind of have a tight connection.” She then talked to a supervisor at the gate to “double-check” that she was going to be able to still make her connecting flight.
She is initially informed that all is well and eventually she is called to board the plane as a part of the last group. But when she gets up to the gate to have her ticket scanned, the gate attendant tells her that she is “not on the list” and needs to “step aside.” Not wanting to cause a scene, Bailee does as she is told, while internally freaking out. As the clock ticked away in front of her, she got more and more upset. Could the situation can get any worse?
Unfortunately yes, as Bailess then overhears one of the flight attendants talking on a walkie-talkie about “standby people” taking up her and her boyfriend’s seats, the ones that they booked months ago. Who wouldn’t lose their sh*t? How does one stay calm in a situation like this?
So, what does the supervisor say when they arrive? The assurance to get Bailee and her boyfriend on another flight. Another flight! “Hold on,” she says. “I have seats on this flight. I bought this months ago. Why is someone from standby in my seat? What is going on?” She understands that losing her cool and being a “Karen” would not really help her situation, so she stayed relatively quiet. Then the door to the gate is closed and the plane backs away from the gate in preparation to fly to Denver without her.
So what did the airline do to rectify the situation?
“He gave us 15 dollar food vouchers.” What a lousy consolation! Who should she contact? No one, apparently, because she’s told to “make a complaint online.” Eventually, she’s given a different flight on Delta that gets in the next day, almost a full 12 hours after she was supposed to get to her destination.
On Aug. 30, she posted another video with an update “on her United situation.” Someone from customer care said her case was transferred to the “complex research team.” What does this mean? She’ll get a resolution by “Sept. 18.” Failure to resolve their mismanagement on time and then further delaying proper closure?
Is this even legal?
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, “bumping” a passenger is not illegal. Airlines typically oversell a flight to compensate for people who don’t show up, but they generally have to reimburse you and also have to ask you first, which isn’t exactly how the airline tackled the situation here. They are also required to provide a written statement to the passenger, which again, didn’t happen.
If someone has: A confirmed reservation, checked-in on time, is at the gate on time, or the airline can’t get you to where you’re going within an hour of your original time, then you are eligible for compensation after being bumped. Airlines are also required to provide compensation or another flight, which is the only regulation the United Airlines followed in this case.
Unfortunately, this type of thing happens fairly often (with the name of American Airlines thrown into the mix by disgruntled past passengers), as evidenced by the almost 3,000 comments on the video. “THIS HAPPENED TO ME,” one person commented. “… THEY GAVE MY SEAT AWAY!” Another said: “They owe you 400% of your ticket or $1550 whichever is lower per the DOT.”
Despite finding solidarity amid the TikTok population, it remains to be seen whether Bailee finds proper compensation for the unnecessary troubles she had to face because of the airlines or is sent home with another lame, dissatisfactory response.
Published: Aug 31, 2024 03:37 pm