A Frontier Airlines passenger had his leg and “120 dollar Hokas” shoes “peed on during a flight.” He says that his eyes were closed, but he felt something, opened his eyes and took off his headphones to reveal “urine steadily flowing from the seat in front of” him onto his “shoe and leg.” The man who did this “had an accident.”
A crewmember directed him to the lavatory to clean up and gave him a bag, although it’s not clear whether that was to put his shoe in or to wear instead of a shoe. Airline staff told him to wait for a claims agent on arrival. She showed up 25 minutes after the gate arrival. However,
Instead of apologizing or saying I’m sorry for your experience she said “I am not the one who pissed on you, what do you want me to compensate.”
The customer wanted,
- “empathy”
- a refund
- miles
The airline offered a $75 credit towards a future flight. While the customer “understand[s] that it was not technically the airlines fault” he feels that the offer was only “better than nothing” and he remained miffed by “the tone in which [he] was spoken to.”
I guess I have two clarifying questions about the incident, and what a passenger like this is owed after the experience:
- When another passenger does this to you, is it their fault (the passenger should compensate you), or the airline’s fault?
- Is this the experience you’re buying with a ticket these days? Is it the experience you’re buying when you fly Frontier?
A passenger who behaves badly ought to be held responsible, but it’s far easier to hold the airline responsible. And they’re better-positioned to go after the actual offender than the victim is.
Similarly, this isn’t the experience a customer thinks they’re buying when they buy a ticket… even on Frontier. Though there are plenty of ‘passenger behaving badly’ stories, and many of those stories involve ultra-low cost airlines like Frontier, passenger incidents are down 80% compared to three years ago. And even then they represented a small portion of passengers and flights.
Perhaps there would have been a reasonable argument about assumption of risk in 2021, but that shouldn’t be valid today.
In the end it seems to me that an airline who fails to deliver a urine-free flight ought to refund the ticket price. They sold transportation, not urine-soaked transportation. But the person who actually did the thing ought to be on the hook for damages. It’s often harder, and not worth the effort to go after that passenger. The kind of person who does this on Frontier Airlines is, more likely than not, judgment-proof. And yet.
Wow, the entitlement in America. “I know they are not fully responsible “. They are not at all responsible..They sold transportation. Full stop. What the public does to each other should not be their responsibility. What if airlines began vetting passengers, perhaps an application process? Pay more to be with a better class of seatmate? The outrage! The violation!
How is this handled in subways, buses, school classrooms? Sue the school for a kindergarten accident with a stray hit?
The society we have today was earned by the same society.
I’ve got one better. I was flying from Heathrow to San Francisco sitting next to a nice woman with a nursing baby.
Roughly 15 minutes before landing she changed a VERY stinky diaper and shoved the dirty one into the seat pocket!
She left it there and deplaned with a big smile and a now, very happy infant.
Easy answer to the headline question. He flew Frontier. He has no dignity.
I disagree. Urine soaked transportation is transportation. When you buy ULCC, know what you are getting.
I am going to try to keep this story in mind so I can use “I am not the one who pissed on you, what do you want me to compensate?” That just is brilliant.
I also think this is a real opportunity for compassion to whomever has the “accident.” If it was a “no-fault” situation, I would hope the “$120 hokas” didn’t cause a scene. Shame is not something people ever deserve.
A $75 Frontier voucher is worth about $5.00.
On a $75 Frontier fare, the fare would be $5.00 and the Frontier carrier fees and government taxes would be $70.
The voucher given to this man is probably a Restricted Voucher, meaning it would only cover the $5.00 base fare.
Spirit ended this voucher scam back in June. Frontier is still voucher scamming.
Oh gee wizz.
The bigger Q: did the clean the seat and floor or will the scent of aging urine persist for future passenger to savor?
Isn’t getting your bodily fluids on another person considered battery in some states?
Frontier is absolutely the worst. I could share 2 stories from the past 6 months that show their total lack of concern for passengers. There are many more over the past several years. Problem for us in Denver is that you often have no choice. They outcompete other airlines and we feel like we are hostage to a virtual monopoly.
I usually pay to have this done to me.
How is this Frontier’s problem? IMHO their only responsibility is to clean up the mess before the next flight boards.
Another data point of why I wouldn’t dare step onto a Frontier plane. I’m surprised those animals on the tail don’t jump down and run away.
It’s is Frontier’s problem. It’s a PR issue. No. Frontier has no legal obligation to do a thing. But as a business, you want your customers to leave happy. At least that’s how it was when I worked retail. A happy customer is a repeat customer.
It wasn’t Frontier’s fault, but as the airline Frontier bears some legal liability, just like I can be held liable for an injury on my rental property that is due to my tenant’s negligence. It’s why I carry plenty of liability insurance.
In any case, isn’t $75 the cost of like 3 round trips on Frontier?
I read somewhere that these airlines make a profit of about $800 per flight. That’s like $5 per seat. There just isn’t a lot of overhead to work with.
A guy was loading the overhead on an American flight and dropped a heavy item on my head as a result his carelessness/negligence. I made an issue of it with an American supervisor upon arrival. They basically told me that I needed to seek medical attention immediately and miss my connecting flight or I was overstating the issue. No middle ground. No airline responsibility. No passenger responsibility. Even with a worthless Frontier voucher, this victim at least got something other than an allegation that it was his fault.