There’s simply no way around it — U.S. airlines have gotten entirely too comfortable disrespecting passengers. But a recent United Airlines incident is, in some ways, a new level of airline audacity.
Typically, it’s the coach passengers who are treated like cattle, and they certainly were in this instance, too. But it was the high-paying business class passengers whose tickets cost thousands of dollars that were most impacted by United’s latest debacle, and it’s left passengers furious.
Passengers say United threatened them to get business class passengers to give up their seats so flight attendants could sleep.
The incident occurred during the boarding of a 10-and-a-half-hour long-haul transatlantic flight from Los Angeles to London. Any flight to Europe is a schlep, but when you have to fly clear across the United States first before you even get out over the ocean, it’s a whole other ball of wax.
So imagine the outrage that was sparked when flight attendants announced they needed three passengers in United’s much-vaunted Polaris International Business class to “volunteer” to give up their lay-flat seats and move to economy so that flight attendants could sleep.
Federal law requires flight attendants to be given lay-flat beds during required rest periods, but the plane’s facilities were broken.
To be fair, if a long-haul flight is miserable for us passengers — and it usually is unless you have the gazillions of dollars it costs to get a business or first-class seat — imagine how much worse it is for flight attendants on their feet the whole time.
Not only is that unpleasant, but it’s unsafe.
It’s hard to do your job correctly when you’re that exhausted. That’s why the government and unions have rules about flight attendants’ rest periods, and planes designed for long-haul flights typically have sleeping quarters for crew — almost like literal bedrooms or sometimes bunkhouses.
Unfortunately, those facilities were in some form of disrepair on this particular flight. So in order to comply with laws and union rules, the flight crew needed access to three lay-flat seats.
But since first and business class were both full, the situation quickly got dicey.
Passengers say flight attendants threatened to kick everyone off the plane if three business class passengers didn’t surrender their seats.
As you might imagine, people who paid thousands of dollars to be able to sleep on a nearly 11-hour flight from L.A. to London were not at all enthusiastic about being moved back to coach, of all places.
So, no volunteers presented themselves. United’s frankly ridiculous offer was no help either. They offered 75,000 frequent flyer miles and a $1500 payment, likely just a fraction of what those customers paid for their seats.
So flight attendants announced that if no one volunteered, they’d pick three passengers themselves — which would involve everyone deplaning. Passengers reported that the discussion felt and sounded combative.
As one Redditor put it“It came across as a threat, both in their wording and tone.”
And it seems the threat is what eventually worked. The flight attendants also raised the offer to $2500, but that’s still likely well below what the business class passengers paid. United’s current round-trip Business Class price on a similar LAX to Heathrow flight in the low-season month of January is just a few bucks shy of $4000.
For their trouble, the three volunteers were given premium economy seats — better than regular economy where the rabble sits, but still a far cry from the comfort of business.
It’s important to remember that if this ever happens to you, you are entitled to negotiate with the airline.
On social media, many who have been in similar situations speculated that the passengers will likely be given at least a partial refund for their trouble as well. But even that feels wildly insufficient. They should be given back every penny after paying through the nose for comfort and ending up in economy. This shouldn’t even need to be said.
However, it’s likely that as rich people, the passengers knew their rights as customers and passengers and that they absolutely did not have to take the airline’s offer at face value, as many assumed.
First of all, these rewards aren’t out of the goodness of the airline’s hearts. They’re required by law to pay you when you get bumped. And that means it’s time to bargain. Experts say you should always try to drive the price up as high as you can before taking the airline’s paltry offers.
Airlines are also empowered to offer passengers more than money and miles to compensate for these mishaps. Things like seat upgrades, free or better replacement flights, meals, hotel, and lounge passes are all on the table, too. Of course, they’ll all be subject to availability, but they’re there for the asking.
The bottom line — do not ever allow an airline to walk all over you like this. You paid your fare and their mishaps are not your problem, and their threats don’t negate the leverage you have over them. Use it!
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice, and human interest topics.
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