United kicks off cheapest ticket holding passengers

[Flashback]

United Takes "No Ticket" Scene from Indiana Jones a Step Too Far, Kicks Off Cheap Ticket Passengers - This or That

First United breaks guitars, now they kick you off their flight if you paid for a cheap ticket. According to Jaunted.com, a United Airlines flight traveling from Burlington to Washington D.C. oversold its cargo capacity and ended up with too much weight to fly. Since United was apparently reticent to hunt down its portliest passengers and ask them to lighten the load (presumably in fear of another Kevin Smith debacle), they decided to do the next offensive thing on the list and kicked off passengers who paid the least for their ticket.

I would assume the airline was then required to accommodate them at their own expense. It makes sense to offload pax rather than the cargo, as the cargo is most likely earning them more money anyway.

 

[Dave Noble]

They are required to ask for volunteers and if that fails they can involuntarily deny boarding based on whatever their general selection criteria is. Those involuntarily denied boarding will likely be entitled to cash compensation, plus of course being taken there on a later flight

Picking the cheapest tickets seems as reasonable a method as any; though I wouldnt be surprised if they also tok into account whether the passngers have checked luggage due to the time needed to get the luggage offloaded

 

[samh004]

Picking the cheapest tickets seems as reasonable a method as any; though I wouldnt be surprised if they also tok into account whether the passngers have checked luggage due to the time needed to get the luggage offloaded

Is it likely they’d also take into account frequent flyer status?

 

[NYCguy]

Is it likely they’d also take into account frequent flyer status?

At United? Unless they are UGS, or possibly 1K, anyone would be fair game!

 

[anat0l]

Picking the cheapest tickets seems as reasonable a method as any

Using that logic, if weight is the issue then a more sensible method would be to pick those passengers who are the fattest!

 

[samh004]

Using that logic, if weight is the issue then a more sensible method would be to pick those passengers who are the fattest!

Discrimination laws might have something to say about that, regardless of how sound an idea it is.

 

[Dave Noble]

Using that logic, if weight is the issue then a more sensible method would be to pick those passengers who are the fattest!

iirc, it would make no difference in that the weight of passengers just uses a set value rather than weighing each passenger, so 1 male adult counts the same regardless. Also the effort in identifying these passengers would be a lot higher than simply selecting passengers based on fare paid ( and maybe whether they have UA status or checked luggage ). These can just be done with a simple bit of coding on a computer rather than studying every passenger

 

[drron]

I think this is a case of the wrong headline.Here is another report(with same headline)-

Bruce, founder of travel company Gap Adventures in Toronto, said the airline threatened passengers again when no-one volunteered to leave.
“(Gate agent) said if we don't get two more (volunteers to get off the flight)... I am going to get a list of the last people that checked in! All passengers sitting nervously!” Bruce said.
“Panic set in and no volunteers. She comes back on the mic and starts with names. These people will be asked to leave unless we get volunteers."
Passengers were said to have eventually cooperated with the airline and the flight took off.

United Airlines removed 20 people from the flight United kicks passengers with the cheapest tickets off the flight - eTurboNews.com

I think the link in the OP is being very selective with quotes.My understanding is in the USA last checked in is used if no volunteers for being bumped.

 

[Flashback]

I think this is a case of the wrong headline.Here is another report(with same headline)-


United Airlines removed 20 people from the flight United kicks passengers with the cheapest tickets off the flight - eTurboNews.com

I think the link in the OP is being very selective with quotes.My understanding is in the USA last checked in is used if no volunteers for being bumped.

As with any form of media, selective information is always given to purvey a particular POV

 

[StevePER]

Discrimination laws might have something to say about that, regardless of how sound an idea it is.

Having recently completed an "Appropriate Workplace Behaviour" course, I'm pretty sure that weight-based discrimination is not illegal (except in Victoria). Unless you classify it as a disability.

 

[Dave Noble]

Having recently completed an "Appropriate Workplace Behaviour" course, I'm pretty sure that weight-based discrimination is not illegal (except in Victoria). Unless you classify it as a disability.

United does have to comply with US regulations rather than AU . Is it permitted in the US?

 

[Reggie]

Using that logic, if weight is the issue then a more sensible method would be to pick those passengers who are the fattest!

Why not kick off those with the heaviest checked in luggage? As has been said, pax weight based on an average?

What about kicking off the pax with ony carryon, saves lots of time finding the checked luggage of those removed?

 

[serfty]

It's being discussed on FT: "Big Story" sez "UA Kicks Off Passengers" BTV/IAD - FlyerTalk Forums

Here's a useful post on this topic from a UA gate agent who is active on FT:

Not in this case. The 2 people who are legally responsible for a flight meeting the safety requirements are the pilot, and the dispatcher, neither of whom were UA employees here.

Where UA gets involved is the policy of who gets taken off, and the procedure of doing it, but in the end, with 20 people, no mater what procedure UA has in place, everyone stood a big chance. That is 40% of the capacity, assuming there were (the maximum) 50 people checked in.

UA is legally (and DL just got fined 40k this past week for not doing so) required to tell, upon booking, who the operating carrier is.

One could argue, and I guess you are, that it isn't the people responsible for the safety in making the operational call, that are the focus, but rather the marketed carrier that determines who of the people get to stay and who gets to go, but is that really the issue here, or is it the fact that a plane had a huge weight penalty requiring 20 people to be forced off, or the order in which they are selected?

Is "fare paid" listed as one of those policies when you have to involuntarily deny boarding?

Indirectly, yes. Next to handicapped individuals that removal would create a significant hardship, it is.

C) BOARDING PRIORITIES IF A FLIGHT IS OVERSOLD (MORE PASSENGERS HOLD CONFIRMED RESERVATIONS THAN THERE ARE SEATS AVAILABLE), NO ONE WILL BE DENIED BOARDING AGAINST HIS/HER WILL UNTIL UA PERSONNEL FIRST ASK FOR VOLUNTEERS WHO WILL WILLINGLY GIVE UP THEIR RESERVATIONS. IF THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH VOLUNTEERS, OTHER PASSENGERS WITH CONFIRMED RESERVATIONS WILL BE DENIED BOARDING INVOLUNTARILY, IN ACCORDANCE WITH UA'S BOARDING PRIORITY PROVIDED BELOW. PASSENGERS WITH CONFIRMED RESERVATIONS WHO HAVE NOT RECEIVED BOARDING AUTHORITY WILL BE PERMITTED TO BOARD IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER UNTIL ALL AVAILABLE SEATS ARE OCCUPIED:
1) PASSENGERS WHO ARE PHYSICALLY HANDICAPPED TO AN EXTENT THAT FAILURE TO CARRY WOULD, IN UA'S OPINION, CAUSE A SEVERE HARDSHIP, UNACCOMPANIED CHILDREN UNDER 12 YEARS OF AGE, WHO WOULD SUFFER A SEVERE HARDSHIP IN UA'S OPINION.
2) PASSENGERS PAYING FIRST CLASS FARE. 3) PASSENGERS PAYING BUSINESS CLASS FARE. 4) PASSENGERS PAYING FULL ONE-WAY COACH FARES. 5) PASSENGERS OTHER THAN NOTED IN 1-4 ABOVE (INCLUDING TOUR CONDUCTORS ACCOMPANYING A GROUP


These rules are for oversales though,and in this instance, if any part of the blog is accurate, it wasn't an oversales issue, but rather a weight restriction, which the DoT has exemptions in place that don't financially penalize an airline for operating safely by reducing capacity.

Although once you get eliminate full fare tickets, it gets more complicated...time of checkin, and/or time of boarding. I've seen agents improperly go by booking class. It sure is quicker, as the systems we have to determine who checked in last, who presented themselves for boarding last are extremely time intensive. Also, I would venture most agents have never read the CoC, and those that have, either it was years ago, and changes have been made, or they don't recall what they read.