A United Airlines passenger thought he was having a horrible travel day. He didn’t know how good he had it – because he was flying United.
The man was connecting. His first flight was delayed for maintenance, but he made it through the airport while his next flight was still boarding.
However he found that someone else had been given his seat – a standby passenger. United thought he wasn’t going to make the connection, and proactively assigned the seat to someone else. The standby passenger had a meltdown when he realized he wasn’t going to be flying, after all.
[T]he standby guy started getting mad at me telling me I should have been there on time (geez sorry, I wasn’t flying the plane?). he was bickering and yelling at me as he was leaving the plane. I think he was drinking before he boarded.
[United] staff was pretty good about it and told him to shut up but it was very uncomfortable to be blamed for something that wasn’t my fault. I called the 1K line to provide feedback on my experience, not to get any compensation but just to tell them that they should be boarding these standby folks last so they don’t put the customer in an awkward position.
Funny thing, the passenger whose seat was given away called United to complain. He should have said thank you? United let him fly. American Airlines wouldn’t have given him his seat back.
United made a judgment that the passenger was going to misconnect, and that it was better to process the standby earlier rather than taking extra minutes right before boarding and potentially delaying the flight. They bet wrong and found themselves in a tough situation. They’d already boarded the standby passenger. But they made sure that the customer who was supposed to be there still got to fly.
American clears standbys into seats of passengers still trying to make their connections as a matter of policy.
They have a new system for automatically rebooking passengers when their flights are delayed or cancelled. If their computer predicts you’ll miss your connection, they will take away your seat and give it to someone else, putting you on a later flight. You may luck out and get to your connecting gate in time, but your seat is already gone and this is by design.
American’s AURA system, the “AUtomated ReAccommodation” tool, rebooks passengers predictively when their flights are cancelled or delayed. It identifies passengers that they believe are certain to misconnect and gives their seat to other passengers. They take passengers off of flights who haven’t missed them yet, but where the airline is believes they will misconnect. Only sometimes they do not misconnect!
I’ve written about passengers having their trips upended – without compensation – because American has given their seats away to someone else. And the passenger gets nothing for American’s mistake. Here’s another case:
So I land 5 minutes behind schedule. @AmericanAir cancels my flight and now is making me spend 10 hours at ORD when I can make my original multi city stop.
They also won’t compensate for a flight I paid extra money for. pic.twitter.com/pPVmidQfZN
— Adam Piper (@adampiper) May 15, 2024
The passenger has met the conditions of carriage to fly. That is an involuntary denied boarding and under DOT rules they should be paying cash compensation. I’ve never heard of their doing so in this circumstance, however.
American Airlines, by the way, had more involuntary denied boardings in the first quarter of 2024 than all other US airlines combined. Delta didn’t have a single involuntary bump during the quarter. United had 75. American had 3,061.
I was flying out of LA last night on United and they held the flight for 30 minutes for late connecting flights.
As for myself sitting next to very sick pax who should not be flying and getting home at 1 AM
I cancelled every united booking I had for this year and next all refundable fares so easy cancel.
I’m happy for their late arriving passengers however my take away is I want to go when scheduled to fly when reasonably possible and two I decided I will pay to fly non stop and not be subjected to whatever they think works best for them.I will do what works best for me.
Re-booked end of story no conversation with United necessary
Not a bad airline otherwise about the same as all of them really.Liked their gate agents very professional
It happened to me connecting through miami .American decided i would miss my connecting flight and they gave my seat to someone else even though I made it. They rebooked me for the next day as all the flights on that day were sold out. They refused to provide me a hotel voucher because the delay in arriving was billed as a tarmac delay .The reality is that they arrived at the assigned gate but had to wait half a hour for the plane already there to leave so it was completely their fault however the code they assigned it made it seem as it was not their fault. As a exec plat I stood by and cleared for a flight that day but my original flight was a paid first class flight and I received no compensation for the fact that i flew economy middle seat home.
Like every current flyer, I expect the airline to
1) not give away my seat until the very last second after,
2) holding the flight to give me the time to connect,
But of course they need to
3) clear my standby early, and
4) shut the doors 10 minutes before scheduled departure if I am on the plane (even if some have yet to board), and
5) never hold a flight for delayed passengers if I’m on board.
Funny, as United Airlines did the opposite to me and another Sailor. Our flight from my hometown was late departing, so we were late getting to our connecting flight to Norfolk. We made it before boarding ended, but they had given our seats away, and then while we were explaining that we were there, they closed the doors and ended boarding. I was ticked off and would have arrived much later than planned, but the other Sailor was frantic because he was going to miss movement (his ship was going to leave without him). On our original flight, he would have been fine, but the laer flight was too late. The attendant presented as if she didn’t care, and sent us to the service desk to be rescheduled. United and Chicago O’Hare can always bite me as this wasn’t the only time I had issues with both. I’ll do my best to never fly Unied if I can help it.
I have flown Standby in the past as a crew member. And if you’re not working when you arrive at your destination, paying passengers. Should be held In high regard, and Standby should get off the plane.
After all, that’s who pays for the fuel, right
The “late connecting flight” has happened to me often in the past, but Delta always held my seat. Recently, they’ve stated offering the “rebook flight option”, but you have to select it; it’s not forced on you (unless you’ve already missed the flight).
Not true, plenty of standby passengers have been taken off AA flights when paying passengers show up as long as the flight isn’t already closed out. The flight still has to depart on time
I use to work at airport and knew I could not fly out unless there is a seat but flew first class. But here the passenger should have asked the flight or gate attendant to let the united agent that there on their way he got lucky
This article should be re-titled “I hate American Airlines and will make up reasons to justify it.”
I don’t think you truly understand the complexity involved with decisions like this. The biggest question I have is did this passengers luggage make the flight? Answer 100% doubt it. So now they’re stuck waiting at the airport or coming back the next day to retrieve it. Also the standby customer may have been delayed from a previous flight and now is delayed till the next day.
Part of the issue is passengers booking impossible turn times in major hubs. However you seem to constantly want to throw shade on AA due to a personal vendetta, which makes me not want to read or visit your website.
@dwondermeant So you “cancelled every united (sic) flight this year” due to your sociopathic inability to empathize with travelers who, through no fault of their own, were late boarding but still allowed to board. Apparently ‘there but for the grace of God go I’ is not part of your vocabulary, which sadly seems to be the new normal. On the plus side, perhaps your fuming raised your body temperature enough to help ward off illness passed from your seatmate who was ‘too sick to travel’. (Hopefully you shared that diagnosis with them, doc!) I pity the next airline you reduce to cinders and ash with your (3? 5?) cancellations after a 30 minute delay. Good luck!
4 of my last 4 United flights were delayed 1.5- 6 hours. No way was anyone on any of those flights making a connection. The airlines need to allow some wiggle room on their part, so as to not screw their customers. They can’t keep adding to their multitasking and expect to be on time.
One flight they were inspecting the plane, servicing the plane from the left and boarding only the right side at the same time. They then let the left passengers on as the service crew left on the right aisle. It was a stressful mess. Then after sitting in the plane for 45 min, they made us all get off because they found a mechanical error!!! 6 hours later we re-boarded the same aircraft, that still had the same garbage in the back pockets that it had when we originally boarded, from its previous flight. (And then once we landed we had to wait on the ground another hour for a gate)
Another 6 hour delay we were told was due to mechanical issues, it would be an hour. Then 2, then… airline later said it was weather!!!!(weather in all “hotspots” was clear that day)
I’d rather book an inconvenient flight that I had a relatively sure chance of getting where I’m going when I expect, so I can plan accordingly. The past 6 months I missed a big family event, the first day of my first big vacation in years, a business meeting, and a medical appointment due to United.
I already will only fly non-stop when possible, because of lost luggage and missed connection issues.
I’m not sure what the big deal is. I was upgraded to a better coach seat. I left to visit the flight deck and when I came back, there was a new boarding pass in my seat. When I queried the purser, the explanation was that the original seat holder showed up after I got my boarding pass and after my new section was called and was “seated” with my carry on in the overhead but before close out. OK, my bad luck.
re: Impossible connect times.
I work in the industry and I see passengers in a panic over a connection when we have arrived at the gate EARLY. The fact that the airlines allow these to be booked on their websites is unfortunate.
Re: standy vs non rev. I think it would be OK to accommodate revenue stand by “early” but hold off on the non rev seats until it’s certain the passengers won’t make it. There HAS to be SOME defined cut off time that allows the flight to get out on time.
While it’s easy to complain about American, AA also has the largest passenger volume on the planet with the most complex route map. Of course it will have more complex issues. As others have stated, you don’t know the details of the standby passenger or the ticketed passenger’s baggage (If checked). Airlines as a policy do not want to separate passengers from their baggage if they know it will not make a connecting flight. This is the reason why the passenger may have been reassigned to a later flight. On the flip side (As a former AA employee), American does seem to shoot itself in the foot by overbooking by greater numbers than its rivals.
This is why you should never book flights with tight connections, certainly never less than an hour between legs (90+ minutes should be safe). Don’t just seek the shortest total travel time, which is often the #1 mistake made by people booking online.
I’ve been flying standby for most of my adult life. You should know that you are not “on the flight” until the door closes and the plane pushes back! This is a given. This guy has some nerve getting into a revenue passenger’s grill about losing his seat. Hey, the agent doesn’t like bumping you any more than you like it, but that’s the game, man. Suck it up and get on the next one!
Alternative title: Tell me you’re flying in the States without telling your flying in the States.
Frankly astonishing you guys put up with this from airlines.
This isn’t normal with EU carriers, consumer protection laws require compensation and remediation if your travel is delayed.
E.g. BA flight to POS last year my brother’s family got overnight accommodation and Eur600 for each of them (1800 total) after a 6 hour delay on the way down missed their inter island transfer. Got in quite late so staff were trying to leave. Took some complaining to the ground agents to sort out taxi and hotel but achieved without a lawsuit at least.
anything to bash AA. For reference, last year I was seated on the plane as a standby on AA. Ready to go! The agent boarded and removed me. Because it was international I then had to be escorted out through passport control, and escorted back into the terminal area In order to wait for the next flight
These things are not always absolute consistent truth.
You only mention in passing that the guy that got his seat back has 1k status. That is the real reason he got his seat reinstated, not because United is any better than AA.
We have never had a seating problem.
We arrive 2 hours early, prior to departure and have 2 hours between connecting flights, especially in an unfamiliar airport. If you don’t know where you are going, it will cost you valuable time getting to your gate and possibly losing your seat. Fly smart, not rushed.
Southwest might have implemented similar automated software algorithms in their flight booking/manifest system as American. Last week Southwest automatically re-booked me on a later connection even when the first segment was originally delayed but then was changed back to on-time status. We took off per the original on-time schedule and easily landed in PHX to make the connection flight. However, at the gate of my connection flight I had to explain that I didn’t request the change, it was Southwest that changed my connection. The female agent was not friendly in my opinion since she seemed I was bothering her but she re-booked me on my original flight. Southwest operations and “LUV” has degraded the past few years so much that I now avoid as much as possible.
American Airlines is terrible to it’s customers. Rhey are infamous for claiming nothing is there fault.
They change the reason for missed flights to their advantage and kindness is a word they have never heard of. My daughter along with her dog was supposed to fly from El Paso airport to Dulles. Weather problems caused the plane to rerout to Ronald Reagon airport. Passengers were told they had to figure out how get themselves to Dulles. American took her dog off the plane and set his crate down in the baggage area. My daughter could not find any transportation to Dulles. That would also take the dog and crate. In desperation she finally decided to take a bus to Dulles, rent a car and drive back to get the dog. She went to American and asked them for a safe place to leave her dog. Mind you, he was in an airline crate and no threat to anyone. Every American employee told her it was not their problem and to just leave his crate sitting there in the open. All she asked for was a safe place to leave her dog. That attitude is so typical of American airlines. I avoid flying them whenever I can.
Goodness GAAry. Do you get paid by other airlines to incessantly gripe about AA when they’ve got nothing to do with the situation?? You sound like a bitter ex that’s still obsessed with their former partner. Challenge yourself and maybe try writing a piece on something that isn’t whining about American for ONCE.
I’ve reached the point where unless there’s literally no other option I only fly Delta. It just simply isn’t worth the hassle and bad experiences to fly other airlines. Alaska is pretty good but but their destinations are more limited and if they try to sell me a credit card one more time I might actually scream.
A few weeks ago, I was delayed getting into CLT get my flight home to CHA. I ran from the B concourse to way out the E concourse. No small feat if you know CLT. I arrived before boarding was complete and scanned my pass for seat 1A. It did not work. I had to stand aside while boarding was completed. Then I had to plead my case to the gate agent who had to call a manager. I took some time, but the manager got me a seat because the flight was not full. When I boarded, I saw an American pilot sitting in 1A. They had bumped me for an employee…
You have to stop BASHING America Airlines. No one believes anything negative that you say about American.
You’re like a spurned lover who can’t say enough bad things about the person who DUMPED him. Get OVER IT.
Quit your useless slamming of American Airlines.
Every airline has horror stories. …read the comments.
YES! This exact thing happened to me and my son when we were traveling to Virginia to see a college and meet a coach. We had 1st class seats on both the initial and the connecting flight. Our first flight was late in departing, so we hustled to catch our connecting flight. At the gate, they told us we were too late, and that they could reschedule us for a flight 8 hours later (and NOT first class). And then they closed the door to the jetway.
What a strategy to get paid twice for a single seat.
I will NEVER fly American again.
We ended up renting a car and driving our second leg, and quite stressed. We were not compensated a single dime.
One more time…
I will NEVER fly American again.
First, once seated, the only reason to remove a non rev passenger is because of weight issues.
Second, as much as we would like the airlines to hold the plane to accommodate my delayed arrival, it is not fair to those other passengers who also need to be somewhere on time.
Third, most passengers I’ve seen appreciate the auto recommendation, although it doesn’t always pick the best reroute. In fact many passengers prefer to be rerouted rather than hope and pray that their delay may not cause them to miss their connection, especially when later flights are fairly filled.
Finally, my recommendation is, if you MUST be somewhere at a certain time then plan accordingly. Leave a day early if possible because stuff happens. DO NOT take the last flight of the day when your cruise ship leaves the next morning.
United AL treats wheelchair and senior customers with total disregard.
I’ve was stranded 2 times on same leg of flight. I had to sleep overnight on a hard chair because when I got a hotel voucher Denver Airport it was late and tho I called 6 hotels, there was no vacancy. It was a sheetshow for a 77 year old lady! I tried for refund or voucher..and with an hour, I was refused. They have sheety customer service. Never again…bring back Delta to Wyoming!!
OMG…THE COMMENTS HERE ARE RIDICULOUS!!!
DAMN GARY, Your audience finally reflects your quality of reporting,….
The story linked under this one:
AWFUL: United Forces Child Over 2 to Sit in Parent’s Lap After Giving Away Seat to Standby Passenger
American Scarelines is the worst when it comes to customer service. They really do not care. I fly them on occasion only because I have status with Alaska Airlines and sometimes Alaska does not serve the route I need. I have had to fight them tooth and nail regarding flight credits. They finally responded after I filed a report to the Better Business Bureau. I was shocked they even cared about the BBB
I’m lucky enough to have the privilege of flying United standby, and standby passengers know full well that it’s a privilege. We also know that even when we’ve been given a seat, we can lose it right up to the moment that they close the cabin door. The standby passenger mentioned in this article who got mad and bickered has now very likely lost their standby privileges because of that tantrum, as they should.
Every other flight I get dumped on international flights with connection to Orlando
I was reduced from platinum to gold as I needed to take other airlines to get to my meetings
American does not care for its frequent flyers, nos of those plugs lead me to miss mi connection abroad,
I see the drama if a passenger left over for me Is over and over,