World War II veteran en route to Pearl Harbor ceremony booted from flight

FOXNEWS ^ | 12/08/13 | FOX

[freedumb2003]

>>If that’s the real reason, than it was necessary even if it was unfortunate.<<

Anyone else could have been selected. Also, they should have taken volunteers.

They would probably have had a hundred or more who would give up their seats (had I been there, although I fly AA, I would have done it in a second).

[freedumb2003]

>>I have NEVER heard of someone getting booted off a flight because of weight and CG issues because of additional fuel, where a paying passenger needed to be booted off...<<

Unless you have flown over a million miles (I am at almost 3 million), your experience is probably not a useful measurement.

I have indeed been on flights where people were taken off the plane for fuel and weight.

[stevie_d_64]

Fair enough, I may very well not be as commercial a flyer as yourself, but still...

Everything presented (so far) in this article smells really bad...

[B4Ranch]

United, in a statement to Hawaii News Now, said, “Inclement weather in the path of United flight 1226 required the flight to carry additional fuel and, as a result, reduce the number of passengers on board by 41.

[erlayman]

I realize the ticket agents are low level but whether they knew the veteranship or not...you don’t turn a partially blind elderly passenger in a wheelchair from what was supposed to be a direct flight from Los Angeles to an all-day, all-night trip that involved two different airlines and a layover in Kahului, Maui. It is consumer service 101 and United fully deserves all the trashing that is coming their way.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

I avoid United and the Chicago airport at all costs.

[Seaplaner]

Excellent comment, J4F, and I as well.

[nvscanman]

Can’t afford to leave behind any of that cargo.....
lets boot a real American hero off the plane instead.

Another example of corporate hubris, greed and incompetence.

[stevie_d_64]

No argument from me...

[Jane Long]

Same here. I wonder if anyone who got to board knew what was going on. It seems that someone could’ve stepped up to assist this vet, and try to get him on this flight.

[Talisker]

If that’s the real reason, than it was necessary even if it was unfortunate.

If you really thing that was the real reason, I have an Obamacare exemption I can sell you, cheap.

[texas booster]

here is the flight in question from Flight Aware:

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/UAL1226/history/20131204/2054Z/KLAX/PHNL

First, I see that it took over 6 hours to fly there - the average is just over 5 hours.

Second, a 737-800 is usually operating at the edge of its design envelope to make this flight if bad weather is around. The jet stream alone could slow flights down enough to create problems. A Quantas flight from DFW to Sydney has had to refuel a few times due to weather and headwinds.

Even though Southwest Airlines also has 737-800’s, they will not fly to Hawaii until more fuel efficient engines and plane configurations are available in 2016/2017.

I can't blame United for this one, except that the gate agents should have ignored ticket cost and class, and kept him on the flight.

[Intolerant in NJ]

...United Airlines flight...ah yes, United - the same airline whose agent handed me my boarding pass in the SF airport on my way back from Okinawa in 1966 with a sneering "Here's your ticket, babykiller" - and on a later flight which I had boarded on a space-available basis presented me a cold boxed lunch instead of the standard meal with a strange "I'm sure you'll understand" - I thought they were anti-military back then, and apparently nothing has changed in going-on fifty years.....

[erlayman]

United apparently does have a policy against booting anyone with a disability or special need so hopefully there will be some small recourse for this gentlemen in the end. It certainly is a well-deserved Pr nightmare for the company.

[Sherman Logan]

With the current rules on involuntary bumping, the compensation is based on the price for that one-way portion of the trip.

If passengers arrive at the final destination within one hour of the originally scheduled time, there is no compensation.

On domestic flights, the compensation is double the one-way ticket price if you get to your destination between one and two hours of your original arrival time, up to a maximum of $650, and quadruple your one-way ticket price, up to $1,300, if the airline can’t get you there within two hours of the original arrival time.

http://www.dallasnews.com/lifestyles/travel/columnists/tom-parsons/20130712-know-your-rights-if-youre-bumped-from-a-flight.ece

Most times, I’d be more than happy to take 4x the ticket price for a two-hour delay.