What surprised me is that the ticket one purchases is not a contract. You'd think it would be, and the airline is obligated to provide the seat you booked and paid for.
This is a perfect example of corporate power run amuck.
“What surprised me is that the ticket one purchases is not a contract”.
And another commenter says this:
“It’s unclear from United’s contract of carriage how either its rule regarding “refusal of transport” (Rule 21) or “denied boarding compensation” (Rule 25) applies to a passenger already seated and instructed to deplane to make room for a company employee rather than another paying passenger.”
If it is true that United’s contract of carriage is unclear, possibly meaning that they can remove a passenger any time they want after they are seated, because they want the seat for a different passenger- then we are crazy to EVER FLY ON UNITED!
Airline passenger associations need to go after United for this and go to Congress and demand that any airline fix this or they should be made to post this warning in large letters everywhere and in large letters at the gate! Everyone needs to quit acting like an airline can do whatever they want because it is THEIR airline- there are regulations and laws in place to protect passengers.
Apparently if you’re under two hours late they have to put you on the next available flight. If more than two hours, good luck.
It is a contract, but like Vegas, the odds are in favor of the house. Read the fine print.
Who’d take a lame $800 offer to skip Sunday’s flight — if it means missing work Monday and possibly get FIRED & jeopardizing thousands in your income?
Airlines act like we’re all Jury duty participants - and for 25 bucks a day are eager to ‘show up.’ INSANE.