Ironically, the only time I've flown United is when my Delta flight was canceled and they booked me on United.

By now, I would have expected to hear some sort of "we're taking this very seriously" response from United. The silence is deafening. Especially given that the San Diego paper ran their story two days ago. United should have been out in front of this thing within 24 hours. If they don't care enough to comment on a screw-up of this magnitude? I can only imagine how much they care about the average traveler.

They richly deserve the massive boycott they are about to experience. And I'll help.

Not that I need to fly United (most of my travel is international), but here's to hoping Jetblue and Virgin America open up more flights.

This family wasn't overbooked, they were just plain booted.

@MercuryPDX: They already have "just because" - it's called "overbooking." Which is what happened to these folks. And bad P.R. isn't going to hurt too much when there's only, what, 3 airlines left.

I am officially boycotting American...

There is nothing that United can do for the OP... $$$ will not make up for the fact they will not be able to see their father again. I think we should take a stance against all airlines that consistently hold us hostage as they feel they are doing us a favor of taking our money.

-United had cancelled two of the remaining four flights to San Francisco that day.
-United's India-based call center had no idea what to do to get me to the west coast that day.
-United's 100-foot-long kiosks were staffed with three people each to handle to masses of folks who were stuck in O'Hare.
-United decided to send the 777 to San Francisco on time, even though it was less than half-full - most of the passengers for that flight were stuck in the air.
-Instead of holding the 777 on the ground for thirty minutes to complete boarding and give the delayed passengers time to get to their connection, United opted to fluff their "on time departure" stats at the expense of 150+ people who were then forced to try and find seat on the two remaining San Francisco-bound flights that day.

So it's entirely plausible to me that United would just send a flight off without paying passengers in order to meet some internal metric they can later advertise as a sign of "customer service".

My ordeal happened almost two years ago, and I haven't flown "Untied" airlines since.

Did they really "admit that they lied"? They were just forced into a corner where they could no longer plausibly deny it any more.

And the lawsuit should be a home-run/slam-dunk. $10K is a substantial amount of tangible damages and the "didn't get to say goodbye to a dying relative" angle should really bump up the punitive damages. You really can't put a price on being able to see a loved one one more time and juries know that. Of course, collecting your damages is going to be hard once United files for bankruptcy again.

Then we got on the flight, the plane was filthy, the toilet didn't work and
there was no air circulation-- it was broken as well. The flight attendant
said, he only had water. He brought out a cart. It said Swiss Air on the
side. I asked him and he said it was donated. Apparently the Europeans felt
some charity and gave United enough water for the flight.

It is without a doubt that United is suffering from mismanagement. I'm
scared to fly with them again.

Corporations like United should truly be boycotted for actions like this.

@: "I agree. I think there is certainly another side to the story, or at least more details that would reveal what really happened. While it's sad that the family member was sick, it's not really germane to the issue of what happened. I think kepler11 is right on in his assertion that it simply clouds the issue."

In principle, you may be right, but you missed one important thing: when the OP was called to be informed of the flight "fuck-you", they informed the CSR that: they had multiple family members flying together (which should take precedence over a couple of last-minute honemooners), that they had a relative who was dying at the destination and that they had a house rented at the tune of $10k. Those points may "cloud" the issue in some people's minds, but it should have rung a very VERY clear bell in the United CSR's tiny little off-shore brain that this was a situation they should resolve, not shrug off as "business as usual".

@: suggestions - lying that the flight was cancelled, still having a full plane when they had purchased tickets a year earlier? others listed in the article.

And they are now advertising this wonderful new service for international travel. If companies would spend less on empty marketing and more on services, what a change it would be. The word would get around who was really good. Why won't any company grasp this fact????

@Triborough: That's probably because the Northeast Corrider is the only profitable track and subsidizes the rest of Amtrak

@:

Are there any airlines that are actually worth flying anymore, quality-wise?

Yeah - international flights. The few times I've been the Europe, I've been treated like a king on British Air and was treated as slightly better than cattle on Delta. Now while I'm sure that BA has it's share of problems, I didnt see any of them.

Meanwhile Delta had the same in-flight movie mix tape on all the fights (and believe me, Hot Rod aint worth sitting through ONCE let alone four times), and they couldnt be bothered to focus the red/blue/green guns on the projector.

Another alternative is endorsing to Northwest by BUMP (like Rule 240, except that you do this before check-in and you don't need the airline's endorsement). You can take your ticket to Northwest and have them pull your ticket over to them.

United for the next Golden Poop award. That is just terrible.

Although I've heard Virgin provides excellent service while being more expensive.

@jswilson64: Yes and no. If it does play out that way there's no telling what the collateral damage to United's image will be. People aren't exactly going to book tickets on a airline that puts "Just Because" next to "Bad Weather" and "Equipment Failure" as "Reasons we will not be honoring your ticket today."

They won't lose tens of millions as quickly as overnight, but they would eventually. I don't ever plan on flying with them on the rare occasions when I need to travel.

@WolfDemon:
What "terrible" could happen to United? Even if they reimburse the family for the tickets, rental fees, heck even treble damages, we're talking less than $100,000 for a huge corporation. That's a drop in the bucket. That's probably not enough money to refuel one 737. Think they care?
If the family draws it out, suing for emotional damage, it's still not going to hurt United's bottom line, unless it's in the tens of millions, and that's not going to happen; plus, they probably have insurance for just such an occasion.
Face it: This sucks, but it's going to feel like a mosquito bite to United.

Eek! Must close tags.

@Japheaux: The guy may have had cancer and they could have chosen to go see him then, but I think the reunion had more to do with this trip than the hospice visit...so they need to lay off the guilt trip with the hospice.

I respectfully disagree. Six months out is certainly a reasonable time-frame within which to get a diagnosis of fatal cancer. I'll agree that the fact that he was in hospice was simply luck of the draw on timing (and bad luck for him, at that), but the reunion was undoubtedly timed for the kids to see their father before he died. A very relevant fact. He did in fact die shortly thereafter. Mentioning the fact that he was in hospice at the time of the trip just goes to show that the family was wise to plan their trip when they did. Pity they could not plan on United.

The whole situtaion sucks, but you can't bring the hospice situation into the argument. When they bought tickets six months out, there was no family member in hospice. Normally, hospice is an end-game scenario which may last a few days, but not months. The guy may have had cancer and they could have chosen to go see him then, but I think the reunion had more to do with this trip than the hospice visit...so they need to lay off the guilt trip with the hospice.

Back to the airlines.....what a bunch of maroons. I thought crap like this only happened to me.

How much does it cost airlines to deal with all the mistakes they make? How much does it cost THEM to screw around with the customer?

I honestly wonder if airlines companies would save money if they were more straight forward and honest about their business.

@ceejeemcbeegee: My former airline ticket agent family member tells me that United saw how far in advance the tickets were purchased and figured the family would be no-shows. Flimsy excuse in my book.

Are you kidding me? If anything, I would presume the opposite. I only make reservations that far out when it is imperative that I arrive at my destination on the day in question. That is the worst piece of "logic" I've heard in a very long time.

My heart goes out to that family. Confirmed seats or not, by refusing to write the letter to the insurance company, United has lost a customer for life, here. The lying was dispicable, but continuing the torment of this grieving family by refusing to own up to their part in this mess is inexcusable.

I highly encourage other Consumerist commenters to join the boycott!

@: Sorry, but the fact that the family member was dying IS pertinent. That's how much the trip mattered; that's what United screwed with. And yes, that's the kind of thing a jury could and should hear to evaluate damages. There's a legal name for this principle that I may be mangling here, but it's something like, "You take your victim as you find him." If you do something wrong, and it hurts that person far more terribly than might normally have been expected from your wrongdoing (i.e., you punch someone who turns out to have brittle bone disease and so suffers multiple fractures instead of a bruise), then you're still liable for ALL damages. You screwed up, you take the blame. United screwed up. Why do you keep trying to minimize the blame?

This is a classic customer revenge against United:

[www.untied.com]

There is a reason that there is a whole website dedicated to the idiocy of United Airlines:

www.untied.com

yes, that is
www.untied.com

Untied Airlines - Problems with United AirlinesCustomer complaints about United Airlines and its customer service. Includes a database for passengers to submit their experiences.

@:

"I'm just a dog chasing planes...I wouldn't know what to do with one if I caught it!"

Heeeee ha ha ha ha ha ho ho ho hooo!!!!

No, seriously. This sucks. Somebody needs to do something. It's gotten to the point where you just don't even expect any service, anywhere, and getting it is the exception, not the rule. It seems like as soon as they deregulate something, it just immediately goes to Hell.

"Weeks ago I contacted United's media relations folks seeking an explanation for this abysmal conduct. I never heard back."

The "weeks ago" indicates that he did, in fact, sit on this story for, well, weeks.

@: I agree, especially with this particular topic. The family obviously did nothing wrong.

US needs to step up here. They're costing themselves more in bad publicity than they actually saved from bumping this family from their flight.

@Triborough: Not if my experience with America's worst run Wal-Mart is any indication. I'm not telling where, other than the West Coast.

@Pylon83: I thought the insurance was on the house they were renting.

@mac-phisto: one owned by big business apparently

the very worst thing about this clusterf*ck: family might get $$ but they've already lost their goodbye time with the deceased.

As for the whole "booking everything 12 months prior" part, remember we're talking about Hawaii in June here. When I used to work in a bookstore, if I had a nickel for how many people I helped who were taking a summer vacation to Hawaii, I wouldn't have needed the bookstore job to sustain me. It's like booking a hotel room in San Diego around July, when Comic-Con rolls in. Unless you want to either pay through the nose (and other orfices) for a place to stay, or end up without a place at all, you should plan extremely early.

I'm thinking they probably felt they had the time to go and see their relative. Maybe they had been told he had more time than they were originally told he had. And for that reason, coupled with the high popularity of Hawaii in summer, they felt the need to plan everything way in advance so it would all be ready for them when they departed. In any case, I reserve a hearty "F You!" to United for their mismanagement of this. Had I done something this colossally asinine in any of my jobs (or even in my current internship), my ass would have been grass eight times over by now.

i accept that chartering a private flight for the family is unreasonable, but i also believe that overbooking flights is equally unreasonable.

what i don't accept is that this business practice is necessary. i'm not an apologist - i don't believe that united acted in any manner that could even be remotely construed as responsible. if they must resort to shenanigans to operate their business, than they really have no business being in business & the state should have a right to tell them so.

allowing them to continue in such a manner is abhorrent.

If you don't have that rule, then airlines oculd do this: Book passengers in advance. If costs go up, then cancel reservations and force passengers to book same seats at higher rate.

Here's an analogy: let's say that you told your Broker on Tuesday "Buy Coke at $100." On Friday, when Coke is at $150, your Broker can't say "Oops. Forgot. Here's your $100 back" -- they have to either give you the Coke Stock or $150. (Otherwise, the Broker can buy the stock with your money and, if it goes up, give you the money back and keep the stock.)

-- Julie A Frates
gc3160 --

a simple refund is not adequate compensation for the family. consider this - they purchased tickets at price x. at the time of travel (when they were denied their trip), the price of tickets was actually x+y, y being whatever it would cost to get the family to their destination as planned. whatever that cost is, even if it equals the cost of chartering air force 1, that is what should be paid to make the family whole - not what they initially paid 6 months prior.

is that unreasonable? perhaps. but then, with stories like these appearing more often, perhaps the problem is not the airline, but the standards we hold them all to.

God help airlines if a high speed rail system ever comes to be in the U.S. At least over here in east we'd be able to hop from city to city pretty easily.

I'll second that. Holy Fat Lawsuit for Emotional Distress (if they can prove that United intentionally lied to them), Batman!

Cheers!

FTA: It's funny how every story of airline misbehavior inevitably arrives at this junction - the point at which a passenger must debunk a blatant lie to learn the truth.

Perhaps airlines like being caught in lies, if only because of what follows: The passenger, now distrustful of everything the airline says, is inclined to walk away and make other arrangements.

It would be great if they didn't lie in the first place, but I hear in THAT alternate reality the flying car exists.
If the airlines think people will continue to meekly walk away, they are in for a VERY rude awakening. If this happens to me, you better have security standing by when you confess to screwing me.

It's a shame SOSD doesn't have a Digg button to give this story the visibility it needs.

@ceejeemcbeegee:

Yes there is such an animal. It is called competent journalism. How many journalists will sit on a story until they can verify some (or all) of the facts alleged by one party? The answer is very few. I see in my local media as well as national media. Everybody is in a hurry to beat the competition and most will cut corners to do so.

There are so many holes in the story it makes it hard to believe. A good journalist would have tried to fill some of the holes.

Start with the simple "fact" that a family member was in a hospice and the vacation plans were made one year out.

Hospice care starts when a physician has determined there is no hope for meaningful survival and the patient has only a short period of time before death is expected. I believe my state standard is 6 months. IMHO one year is a wee bit of stretch for a hospice patient. If indeed the ex-husband was determined qualified for hospice care, why wait for an extended period of time to make the trip?

MAYBE the ex-husband entered hospice care after the trip was booked or about the time the tickets were purchased. That seems a reasonable and possible event. But the story fails to mention that fact. In addition if a family member is given just months to live, does a prudent person wait to the last minute to travel to see the dying family member?

The journalist writing the story needs to fill the holes. Offering proof and explainations would go a long way to providing me with the bullets to shoot in the direction of UAL.

i agree that voting with our dollars sends a powerful message & can institute change, but unless we stand up & tell corporations that we're not going to allow criminal violations of our laws to go unchecked, allowing them to even participate in the market is unfair to competitors that choose to follow those principals.

Can't honestly say I'm a bit surprised. United really doesn't give a damn about their passengers.

On another note, I don't think that United owes these people anything for their "emotional distress". When they planned the trip, they clearly understood it was possible that they wouldn't make it there. This could have occurred for any number of reasons, from weather to mechanical errors to getting bumped. They bought insurance for this reason, and it's the insurance company that is causing the current problem.

Circuit City is not on topic.

Politics are not on topic unless they are involved specifically with regulation of airlines - generally free market vs protectionism is not on topic.

Thanks.

Is that efficiency? I notice that Circuit City has been on the slow decline for quite a few years, now. Probably from a declining shopping experience.

There's the free market working freely, and then there's this - a parasitic management class raiding corporations, and regular workers, for all that they can before they're paid (paid!) to move on to the next feeding trough.

There is a very disturbing trend here. Airlines are lying more and more to get out of paying restitution. From the fake "weather in Dallas" issues to this. This is illegal. Where are the FAA fines?

that's exactly what this is. & until we restore the state's (& subsequently, the people's) right to assert control over the companies that conduct business here, we can only expect the same to happen in every industry (as it does).

there was a time when corporations were constrained by a charter & that charter could be revoked at any time if a corporation were found to violate the laws meant to maintain morality. we must restore this kind of control - civil/class action lawsuits are no longer enough.

the lying is unconscionable, but it's secondary to the main abuse - theft by deception. if you or i acted in this manner, we could be held criminally & civilly liable. & if corporations cannot be held to the same standards as you or i, then what kind of society do we live in?

/rant

When I read the FAQ on vacation insurance websites I am amazed that *anyone* can collect.

Airline's way or tough luck and they'll keep your money for the hell of it half the time. Like I said in another post, they're fucking ridiculous. Don't excuse my French.

If she manages to make it onto the plane tomorrow morning, and the plane takes off, then we are 1 step better, because being stranded in this country is better than being stranded there.

I disagree. If I'm stranded in Europe I get an extra day of vacation. If I'm stranded on my way TO Europe I lose a day or more of my trip.

Yeah, I totally hate it when free labor markets work efficiently too.

Let me guess, if they raised their prices accordingly with the amount the higher priced employees were being paid, you'd wouldn't bitch then, right?

They should make United pay out the nose for being assholes and keeping them from seeing a dying family member.

rofl

true that.

Obviously what ought to be done and what will (if anything) be done are two different matters. But if United doesn't pony up and at least try to make amends, I hope they lose (due to bad press and people refusing to do business with them) many, many times the amount of profit they made by reselling this family's tickets for a higher price.

I must, however, congratulate United Airlines on the finest example of amoral corporatism and profiteering that I have ever read about.

I would almost sign up for Digg just for this article alone.

Reality check - as consumers we have to be judicious in where and how we spend our money, but big corporations simply don't care what we think - only if we pay.

How many airline stories do we hear every week and how many people ACTUALLY follow through boycotting airlines for what has happened to someone else, if people really cared they would donate some time or money to help instead of paying lip service through a totally passive boycott action (which I doubt many people stick to beyond the next time they need to fly and THAT particular company offers a better fare or flight than the others).

But...don't airlines make the most money on Corporate fares (I'm not talking about the full fares paid in this story, but the often and recurring fares most airlines get from corporate customers) why would they care more about a family who will likely only bring them a dozen more sales like this in their lives when a corporate customer might bring them that many fares per flight? I know who I would rather retain as a customer if I were the airline.

Sure they SHOULD care about every customer as if they were me, but they can't if they want to stay in business. Consumers demand, time and again, the lowest price and this is how they do it. Sell at the highest return, outsource everything which can save money or time, provide the bare minimum of service because people keep flying in any event, with price being the one big determiner of how much and how often.

Also, I keep hearing about these 'eager young lawyers' who love doing pro-bono work, is there a listing of them somewhere because I need to sue somebody real bad.

NOT BLAMING THE OP.

Since I started flying commercial aviation jets twenty nine years ago, NOT ONCE have I ever experienced the (dis)pleasure of flying the friendly skies of United Airlines.

Thanks to this story, I hope I never will!

Right now, my wife is in Europe, returning tomorrow on Delta. We are counting out blessings that she made it out with no problem, so her trip survived intact. If she manages to make it onto the plane tomorrow morning, and the plane takes off, then we are 1 step better, because being stranded in this country is better than being stranded there.

... but this is now how the airlines have reduced us to looking at things.

[finance.yahoo.com]

Althought the OP did accept a refund, she should still consult with a couple of lawyers to figure out if any other compensation will be allowed to her. The loss of $10k, plus emotional distress of not being with a dying family member can be a good suit. I'm not sure on which grounds, maybe a breach of contract, since United didn't honor their end, and even lied about it, therefore costing the family an EXtra $10k. It may work. It does depend though if they signed anything important and with lots of fine print when they accepted the refund.

However, in September 2002, in an effort to better serve my customers by participating in the FlyerTalk.com community to offer help, United Airlines fired me for misconduct by claiming I "was not a representative of the airline and therefore could not speak in such a capacity"

So there you go. United has (and had) people that care, unfortunately, they live in an environment where the dollar is valued more than the customer, and they fear for their jobs as a result.

Yeah, unless/until we get real (~200mph) high speed rail, Amtrak is irrelevant to most situations.

@EricaKane:

It's not clear whether or not they had confirmed seat assignments. Also, having seat assignments, while it certainly helps, doesn't 100% ensure you won't get bumped. If the flight's oversold, the airline asks for volunteers first. If they don't get enough volunteers (which is rare, they usually do get enough of the "take a later flight for a $400 voucher"), they can start bumping people, and who they bump is really up to the airline. They'll typically start with people who aren't frequent flier status holders; within that group, they will usually choose some combination of (a) no seat assignment, and (b) cheapest tickets.

You'd think with all the horrible news about airlines that some company CEO would put down his/her foot and say "screw it, we're going to kick ass from here on out. No bogus surcharges, no cancellations, treat people well, the whole 9 yards." Just the positive press alone would be worth it. Sadly, people over the last 20 years have been driven crazy with their obsession to always get the LOWEST. POSSIBLE. FARE! and then wonder why service seems to get steadily worse.

I wonder what would happen if an airline said "we're raising rates 30%, but you will absolutely love the experience when you book a flight through us." Probably go out of business, sadly.

In other news, this is despicable. These folks did everything right, including purchasing full fare tickets and buying insurance, and they STILL get screwed! All United has to do is acknowledge they screwed up and that will get the family their refund from the someone else's insurance. United won't be out one. damn. dime. Save for the cost of paper, ink, and a stamp. Oh, that must be there excuse... stamps just went up a penny. I smell a new airline fee!

@TVGenius:

Christ I am so sick of hearing about f-ing AMTRAK as an alternative to airlines. With exception to close urban corridors they're two ENTIRELY separate options.

Amtrak cannot get most people to another city in under four hours travel time. Period. I like weekend trips, and I live out west. Even as shitty as the airlines are, I can still leave New York or Chicago early Monday morning and be to work by 10am.

Amtrak is great - if you have ample time to spare. My mom is retired and loves Amtrak. I love Amtrak out in California. But for trips under 5 days of over 400 miles its completely worthless. (And that includs most business trips too.)

2. regarding people's comments about overbooking --

First, this story doesn't have to do with overbooking. They are claiming that their tickets were canceled before the day of flight (while overbooking refers to the process where a flight has too many passengers on the day of flight and someone needs to be denied boarding).

Second, if an airline does not give you seat assignments for a flight, that does not mean that you don't have a seat or that you are the one that is going to be denied boarding. It means that because of the price of your ticket/time of booking/etc, you will be given your seating assignment at the gate. And I emphasize will.

If a flight is overbooked, an airline must offer and ask and offer compensation to any volunteers who wish to take a different flight, before it does anything to a normally ticketed passenger.

My BF and I have flights (JetBlue) scheduled in December, and every time the flight time has changed by more than 10 minutes (it's moved a few times, from 4:35 to 4:55 and back) we get either phone calls (me) or e-mails (him) to notify us. I have written to them three times in the last year (once with a complaint horror story (almost entirely not their fault) and twice with praise for employees) and every time they have written back within a few days, with a personalized e-mail that shows they actually read what I sent. They can keep having my money.

Delta went on my personal shit list ten years ago, though, and the more stories like this I read about United, USAir, and American, the less likely I am ever again to fly any of them, either.

Full Fare tickets sold six months ago when gas was $2.50 a gallon instead of over $4 were a lot cheaper than full-fare tickets sold in the preceding 3 weeks. I'm usually a huge skeptic, but after everything else I've read recently, this doesn't need to surprise me.

Just booked a trip for my wife on Amtrak and it's less than half the cost of the cheapest flight.

I also have confirmed, paid, assigned seats on a flight in Dec. Since I got a good deal on them, I am also very concerned they will cancel on me now that fares have gone up. Doesn't having the use of my money for 8 months count for anything? Looks like all bets are off with the airlines nowadays. Very worrisome...

@Shrike70:

60 gates? Did you pass it the first time and make a big circle?

I think that there are more details that the columnist/reporter is not aware of/is not telling us in the article, or definitely we are not getting the entire story. I would be interested to know all the details.

If the tickets were full fare/not discounted, then their argument that United kicked them off to sell more expensive tickets does not make sense. Full fare tickets are the most expensive that you can buy.

Also, while I sympathize with their situation if true (which is yet to be fully detailed), all the side information about family members being near death, cancer treatments, etc. is a little bit pulling at the heartstrings. Regardless of what UA did or didn't do, that stuff is clouding the issue.

Is it possible the family is not telling us something? I have never heard of an airline outright canceling someone's reservations unless someone did something malicious/incompetent -- definitely not just to sell more tickets. If it were true, and they are trying to hose low fare customers, you would be hearing about this all the time -- most people fly on discounted fares.

What is the rest of the story?

We are reading one side of an event.

I for one would sure like to read an unbiased accounting of the event.

I think buying tickets six months out is kind of risky in the current business climate. Six months is more than long enough for an airline to go under, making your tickets worthless. I try not to buy tickets more than a month in advance.

I have only been screwed, in nearly a hundred trips, by one airline: United. Three overnights in Denver alone. Each time, a product of apathy and operational incompetence.

I am BOYCOTTING United until they are absorbed by a more competent airline or go out of business. Join me. Their policies combined with declining standards for gate staff are leading them to circle the drain. It's not about oil prices, it's about offering SERVICE. If they want to stay in business, they need to RAISE their prices so they can afford to DELIVER on their PROMISE.

@RStewie:

Basically, there's always some risk you'll be bumped. Airlines overbook - it's legal, it's in the contract, and it's not going to change. This is not to defend at all the way United handled this - there's no excuse for lying to people.

I'm surprised, though, that they bumped them the day before - usually, it's a day-of thing, and particularly surprised that they bumped someone with confirmed seat assignments. Also, I'm really surprised there were so few other flights.

My guess is, _their_ flight wasn't cancelled, but another one was, and United found itself needing to combine two flights worth of people onto one plane.

Still, no defense at all for how this was handled.

@Pylon83: Then a ticket is, what, just a suggestion that you might get on a flight?

Wow, they got hosed and they paid full-fare. Geez, if paying full-fare doesn't guarantee you service, what does?

I mean, do you have to pay a gratuity to everyone in the airline industry just to get on the plane or what?

"Here's a $20 big guy, and be sure to have a soft landing - my hemmroids are acting up."

Confirmed seat assignments won't help if the airline gives away your seat.

Since when does handing over money not reserve your seat on the airline, provided the scheduled flight leaves? Isn't that illegal? Isn't that something along the lines of theft?

I imagine attorney's fees are out of the question, since the family is already out $10K.

But surely, SURELY there is an eager young attorney out there willing to take this on contingency. Because it would be impossible to seat a jury that isn't 90% ticked off at the airlines. Any jury selected will want to send a little message to the industry....

In answer to someone's question above, yes, I do still find Continental to be a decent airline. They're struggling like the rest of them, but they really do try to make it less painless. They still serve food at mealtimes. In coach. And not just pretzels. It ain't great food, but it's edible and the gesture is much appreciated.

@kepler11:

If you link to the article, there are some comments there as well. The daughter of the woman posted several comments to clarify...they were full fare tickets purchased 6 months in advance for a group of 8. They actually chose United (and paid more) because it was a larger plane and one of the people going was a little claustrophobic. They were completely normal full-fare should not get bumped in any way shape or form paid-for tickets.

Yes this is a case where United should get the full brunt of the nastiest lawyer this family can find. I hope that United loses their shirt(s) on this one.

A last chance for her grown children to see their father before he died is gone. There is no just compensation for this. People need to lose their jobs IMMEDIATELY AND PUBLICLY.

But at least the father got to spend his last days in Hawaii. If I ever need hospice, remind me that there is one in Hawaii. I might not get to see my family, but hey... some tradeoffs are worth it.

Reading the source article, it sounds like the insurance or airline did refund the cost of the plane tickets, but the $10k for the property rental is the remaining issue. Truly a sad and disturbing turn of events for this family.

@Ahoatam: LOL! That's an awesome smartass response...

Feel so bad for them... money is one thing but being able to see someone that was dying for the last time is horrible.

Shame on you United...

@TomCruisesTesticles: What I mean to say is-working for or owning an airline is a sociopath's dream

But then again, why should they care? I'm convinced, if you're a sadist, and nothing thrills you more than causing frustration and making everyone's travel a living hell, work for or start an airline. I bet the Joker was based on airline executives. Tell the flight attendants and gate agents and ticket counter employees to be surly, make mistakes, cancel flights, screw with people. Videotape it all and get your kicks

Losing the tickets doesn't even sound like a huge deal. It's the lying to them and not admitting fault that's the slap in the face, especially since they (presumably) were told about the dying family member

That's all just horrible. I can only imagine the amount of frustration, stress and heartbreak involved in a situation like that.

Are there any airlines that are actually worth flying anymore, quality-wise?

I suspect no one at United who has had contact with the requests even knows how to deal with it and as it is passed along it's been sucked into some black hole of red tape.

What i want to know is, who told those CSRs to lie? seems unlikely that they'd just do it on their own volition to help the company. what seems more likely is that they were told to lie. if so, by whom? is this a company policy- to lie and claim a flight cancellation or 'computer error' in situations like this? and is that illegal?

Can we just hand them the golden poo for 2009 right now and get it over with? Forget the EECB, a good old-fashioned CB might be in order.

This is also, just plain horrible dispicable.

Wow, even for an airline, that is just bad. At this point, there's nothing they can do to make it up to the family.... pay back the money and admit they f-ed up BADLY. My sympathies to those folks.

Well, it's true. They shouldn't have relatives that die so easily.

Everything else though gets a swift visit from a certain Mjolnir weilding god.

@Nick1693:

Or you need to get from the east to west coast in under five days. sheesh Amtrak is NOT the answer for every airline woe.

Anyway this is one reason I check and recheck in the weeks leading up to my flight. I know you shouldn't have to - but I do it anyway and am always anticipating a problem

They used to not give a crap, but would reluctantly sort it out when the PR shit hit the fan. Now they just don't give a crap PERIOD.

And the reason Amtrak is good, unless it requires you go over an ocean...