The dust has barely settled on the massive controversy that rocked the airline when they forcibly removed passenger David Dao from a flight.
Now a young couple, en route to their wedding, have come forward to express their dismay at the way they were treated.
Michael Hohl and his fiancé, Amber Maxwell, were on their way to Costa Rica to celebrate their wedding, were flying United Airlines from Salt Lake City and had a layover at George Bush International Airport.
Speaking to a local TV station Hohl said they were the last to board the plane and when they approached their seats, in row 24, they found a man sleeping in them.
Hohl said they decided to move up to the 21st row so as not to wake the man,
“We thought not a big deal, it’s not like we are trying to jump up into a first-class seat, we were simply in an economy row a few rows above our economy seat.”
The couple said they were then approached by a flight attendant who asked if they were in their allocated seats, when they explained the situation they were told they had to return to their seats which they did.
A US Marshal then approached them and asked them to leave the flight as they were being “disorderly and a hazard to the rest of the flight”.
In a statement, United Airlines said the couple repeatedly tried to sit in the “economy plus” seats. Michael and Amber say they won’t be flying with United again,
“I think customer service and the airlines has gone real downhill,” said Hohl. “The way United Airlines handled this was really absurd.”
Despite the flight delays the couple will still be able to make their wedding this week.
United has just announced they will be changing their booking policies on board all flights; Fox News reports they will no longer be able to displace seated passengers.
It’s reportedly an initial step in a review of policies that’s meant to ensure situations like Dao’s never happen again.
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