What happens if you’ve purchased a ticket, you’re about to board your flight, and the airline demands $400 that you don’t have? Two women traveling United Airlines had to find out. And they were only able to fly, along with all of their belongings, thanks to the kindness of a stranger traveling on the same flight that day who pulled out her own credit card.
The Oregon-based musician, singer, and Rhodes scholar JT Flowers shared what he witnessed at the boarding gate. Two passengers, that he noted were “black women speaking broken English,” were told that they could not board because “they can’t afford to pay $400 to check two tiny purses at the gate.”
He stepped in to pay the charge himself, but United initially resisted, trying to “prevent [him] from paying for them.” Eventually the airline’s staff relented and let him cover the charge so that the women could fly.
@united yall are disgustingly racist. These fools single out 2 Black women speaking broken English & start harassing them, threatening to prevent them from boarding bc they can’t afford to pay $400 to check two tiny purses at the gate. Then try to prevent ME from paying for them! pic.twitter.com/uHR16gXUaw
— JT Flowers (@jtflowersx) October 12, 2023
$400. For two purses. I’m never flying @united again. And neither should anybody Black.
— JT Flowers (@jtflowersx) October 12, 2023
My first thought was that these were basic economy passengers with extra cabin baggage restrictions, but that doesn’t make sense – United charges for those required to check bags at the gate, but it’s an extra $25 apiece for those in basic economy. That doesn’t get us to $400 for two bags.
Now, oversized and overweight bags can run $200 to $400 apiece (usually $200). $400 would make sense if these were two bags larger than a standard checked bag, but these were items the passengers were carrying on and that are described as ‘two tiny purses’.
We know that there really was a $400 charge for the two bags. JT Flowers ‘has receipts’ (literally). So what seems to have happened is:
- The women were flying long haul international
- They had already checked two or more bags
- To most worldwide destinations, United charges $200 apiece for a third checked bag (or more)
It’s likely that they did have ‘small purses’ but perhaps they had more than a personal item (17 x 10 x 9 inches) and a carry on (22 x 14 x 9 inches). Perhaps the personal item was oversized – a restriction that’s rarely enforced by U.S. airlines – but most likely each passenger had ‘3 items’ something JT Flowers says other passengers in the gate area were allowed to board with.
I’ve seen gate agents claim that a passenger with a small rollaboard, a laptop bag, and a plastic bag from a news stand with a bottle of water and candy bar has ‘3 items’ and either has to consolidate down to two bags or check one. That’s not usually the case, but it happens.
Nonetheless, United was likely enforcing its rules as-written, much to the $400 surprise of two women not in a position to pay. While United claims a motto “good leads the way” we now know that’s meant to describe fellow passengers?
Were they friends of Dr. david Dao?
All airlines can shove bag fees – they are nothing but a rip off that pad their bottom line.
Enforcing the agreed upon rules is racist?
The worst job in the airline industry is the Gate Agent who has to enforce these ridiculous policies.
@L3
We need to celebrate that guy’s birthday every year. No single person has changed the airline business in a single evening like this since Juan Trippe.
Judging by the photo, the passenger certainly did have a “small purse” sitting on top of her wheelie bag. I’m a woman and it looks like a medium hobo-type/smallish’ shoulder tote no more than 10″ x 14″ and not very full. I do see she also is wearing a backpack, but again, looking at the photo, I would guess that the backpack and tote could both be squooshed under the seat in front.
As an aside, I travel internationally the same way as she does, but I stack my backpack on top of my wheelie, then I make sure I wear a crossbody or front sling that isn’t noticeable and seems more to be a part of my wardrobe.
Looking at the receipt they were flying PDX-ORD-ADD, so indeed it was long haul international though mostly on ET rather than UA
From the receipt it looks like they came into ORD from Addis on Ethiopian and were connecting to Portland…
I have never heard of anyone charged for a gate checked bag even if it’s overweight or oversized.
Racism is a big unresolved problem in American society. Selective enforcement is real.
If they managed to check bags and receive boarding passes at the ticket counter, it is entirely upon United to have not made sure the passengers were carrying on only what was allowed.
Some airlines specifically tag hand baggage to make sure that there are no last minute surprises.
Inconsistent application of rules is precisely what drives condemnation of airlines which are high profile companies.
All airlines have been announcing their carry on baggage rules during pre-boarding. I’ve heard threats go over the PA advising that if you can’t consolidate your personal items into one item, the passenger will be charged for each item. The problem with the announcement is that it’s usually only made in English and the threats are designed to help speed up the boarding process. But consistently, the airlines mis-interpret foreign passengers from failing to consolidate (or unable to because they just didn’t come packed ready to consolidate) as offensive conduct by the passenger to the airline personnel. What ever happened to being human and making exceptions to small infractions?
Thin Dunn’s last bkk paragraph hits the real issue. Inconsistency.
I’ve seen some carrying stuff that doesn’t meet any carry on standard into the cabin. Seen others forced to consolidate a minimal amount into one bag in the same flight.
Maybe he hate agent just got to the saturation point. Regardless, enforce the standard for all, or get rid or it.
The poutrage! When traveling between Areas 1 and, 2 and 3, or 3 and 1…those fees apply – ESPECIALLY when you are dealing with multiple carriers. It is the responsibilty of the carrier of the first flight to collect those fees which are then given in whole / shared with the onward carrier(s).
PDX is Area 1, ADD is area 2. Are these women on UA all the way to ADD?
I dont recall ORD > ADD operated by UA, where those fees apply and would be collected in ORD by the onward carrier. It’s that or the oneard carrier deny boarding in ORD.
Read the CoCs!
There was an unspoken-of Memo sent out to gate agents (I think of all 3 legacies) to increase fee revenue via these antics.
UA needs to empower their agents to do the right thing. Perhaps these pax were pushing the limits, but if the ‘extra’ bag is a small one, they shouldn’t pay the ridiculous 3rd bag fee, especially for an international flight. And if so, they need to apply it equally to all on that flight.
Good Day. How about a little compassion…Coming from “Addis Ababa” those two individuals were probably refugees carrying what is left of their former lives…
https://www.unrefugees.org/news/somalia-refugee-crisis-explained/#:~:text=The%20Somali%20refugee%20crisis%20is,broke%20out%20in%20the%201990s.
My wife has been caught in this trap. She had a small backpack and a very small purse (in addition to her roller bag). Fortunately, they let her put the purse in the backpack and board.
Just stupid.
@Tim,
There are any number of bloggers or TikTok idiots who tell people to hide their bags or don’t take them up to the ticket counter because “if the plane is full, they will check your bags free at the gate.” Just because an agent doesn’t see a person’s bag, or the customer says they don’t have any more, doesn’t mean that is the case. Unless you are saying nobody ever tries to pull one over on an airline.
I saw some brilliance at the gate for a ULCC recently where people who had to pay for their carry-on were complaining “I didn’t get charged on the way here!” The supervisor was pulling up their prior reservation and saying actually, you did pay in XX City, and had this same conversation per the comments here.
I’ve seen this happen before, but the enforcement is inconsistent. A 1K in First tried to board with their carry-on, their personal item, and a small bag presumably from an airport store was told they needed to consolidate or check a back. They were a bit incredulous and asked if the GA was serious and the GA told them to do one of the two or they wouldn’t be allowed on the flight.
This is exactly why I no longer fly. I can be treated rudely at work for free, no need to pay for it.
Why do people assume racism? Woke ideology at its worst.
What cabin class were they flying in? Economy basic? Economy? Economy Plus? Business? That makes a difference.
I bet the cabin they were flying in was either economy or economy plus. And they probably already had a carry on and a personal item.
I have stopped flying UA almost a decade ago after their gate agent treated me like dirt, I do not doubt for a second that they are racists. Don’t fly UA.
I can see in the photo a full size backpack on the woman’s back, a roller bag, and a full size bag/large purse on top of the roller bag. If the woman in the photo owns all three I don’t see how two of them would fit under the seat in front of her. It seems pretty straight forward. Not sure why the cry of racism unless you can point to the GA not doing this to anyone else on the flight AND did it knowing these women already checked two bags and there would be a fee associated with checking a bag.
I will say UA is inconsistent and so is AA. I always try to leave some room in the top of my personal item to cram in anything I buy at the airport (souvenir whatever) just in case I run into someone who wants to make an issue of it.
when airline CEOs discuss profit margins, they sacrifice bag hold weights and opt to carry more passenger seats along with new aircraft designs….all weights are factored in almost precisely in ratio to fuels …..its the price all humans pay to fly on air busses….when rolling down the highway in a land bus weights can be more forgiving…not so much at 30 to 40k in the air….flying is a risk and a privilege, we all are following strict safety rules. Fly light Fly right.
7kg! 7!
https://www.ethiopianairlines.com/aa/information/baggage-information/carry-on-baggage#:~:text=For%20Economy%20class%20up%20to,is%20acceptable%20free%20of%20charge.
I am sick of ‘Gate Agents’ being SELECTIVE in enforcement of bag rules. I’ve been stung twice. The size difference was 1″ in height caused by wheels. I’ve since changed bags. I also avoid the ABC gate airline. My faux pas occurred on a paid Business A line ticket. Airlines have used COVID and 9/11 to pad profits lower service, abuse frequent flier mileage awards to the point that I dread travel anymore. One wonders at the animosity of travelers on planes? Try sitting in the seat being ignored and lectured.
Did the loud activist attempt to diffuse the situation or use exacerbate the situation and use it to his advantage? It cost him $400 bucks for a ton of publicity with the expectation United would waive the fees.
It has been a while but I’ve seen GAs (female) not allow women to board with a purse, carry on bag and another small bag which I thought was strange. Usually they give them the chance to reorganize into 2 bags.
Very inconsistently enforced. I’ve had a backpack, carryon bag and a plastic bag with a soda bottle/snacks and never had an issue but I guess I just haven’t had the “one” overzealous GA.
I never understood how people could get on board with 2 large carry on suitcases.
They definitely should have consolidated their bags to avoid fees. Maybe some passengers don’t realize that a purse is a personal item so they carry a purse and a personal item. This also shows the need to carry an empty duffel bag because the two small purses could be put in one bag so half of the cost could have been saved.
Only on united. If they don’t like you, will beat you up and drag you off the flight. Then apologize for having to be reaccomodated
This is the problem with trying to squeeze every last penny from consumers. The consumer isn’t happy and is treated shabbily and the employees are forced to extract as much as they can or face termination. Imagine how that must feel day in and day out. The only person happy in this situation is the shareholder. If shareholders who also fly, lhad any sense, they would vote with their wallets and sell every bit of stock they own until the airlines start to treat consumers like people and not just a walking dollar sign. No one should have to pay extra for a checked bag, a carry on and a personal item. This is how it was before the squeeze started.
The airlines wonder why there are so many more “incidents” with passengers. Could it be because air travel has become increasingly stressful with the amount of ridiculousness that is forced upon us and right from the beginning we feel like we are being ripped off? We get nickled and dimed to death. We have to pass through faux security that is fooling absolutely no one and when we finally make it to the gate, we suffer the further indignation of having our carry ons scrutinized. They have taken what was once at least a neutral, if not positive, experience and just made it worse and more negative with every penny they extract from us.
We need more rules like the FTC has proposed to ban junk fees. Sure the airlines won’t make as much money initially, but it becomes increasingly difficult to have a customer feel like they have been served and not stolen from when they pull this kind of thing. Imagine how happy customers would be without this nonsense!
Good luck to the women if they traveled on Frontier or Spirit. I see this alot on ULCC when people try to bring too many items or items larger than a string bag. Airlines make it clear what can be brought onboard and have numerous “sizers” in the terminal.
For all the people complaining about United, dont fly them if you dont like their service or policies.
The Oxford Dictionary defines racism as”the theory that distinctive human characteristics and abilities are determined by race”; the same dictionary termed racism a synonym of racialism: “belief in the superiority of a particular race”. So, I agree with the comment above. EXACTLY HOW would one consider race has any damned thing to do with the issue? NONE! Woke ideology b***s*** being spread for no reason. Prime example that ignorance can be corrected. Stupid can’t.
Obviously you can’t drive to Ethiopia, but this is why I only fly in the most extreme of distances. I’d rather drive all day than deal with all the bs of airlines and airports today.
Sure are a lot of white people in here really sure that racism had nothing to do with the selective enforcement.
Somebody might want to clue in this “Win Whitmire” a-hole that modern society doesn’t debate racism on the basis of its dictionary definition.
If “Win Whitmire” continues to disparage the plight of victims of racism, then Go to Hell!
Charges for luggage that is stored in the luggage hold under every aircraft are a way to get passengers to wrestle a 40-pound “carry-on” into the coat rack above your seat. Oh and collect bigbucks.
Even better, delays boarding and deplaning by a loooong time, taking up gate time, and dramatically increasing the workday of pilots, cabin crew, and everyone else who gets an airplane into the air.
Outlaw Baggage Fees for correct sized luggage.
“PDX-based” expains all. Frothing SJW sees only race (never their own) before considering any other factors and goes ballistic. The racism was all theirs, most probably. Gate agent was likely only considering the rules and didn’t see color. So glad I moved from that insane place, similar logic has led to the crime and destruction in PDX by making policing next to impossible.
JT Flowers sounds like the only racist in this story. Rules, regulations, contracts of carriage, and laws that govern baggage fees are not racist. Stop playing that card. Racist!
The dangers of flying on United.
Some white people seem to be in denial about black folks being given a hard time and treated worse than others. Despite all the documented evidence of disparate treatment they insist it’s just “woke ideology” and untrue. Mass psychosis maybe?
It is easy to race to the racist slam. But using Occam’s Razor, it is easier to understand the staff was merely stupid. Maybe they were hired on a basis other than competency—that is the new hiring standard.
Roger – I am so tired of all of this “racism” bullshit. What used to be no longer is. The only “psychosis” here is that seemingly every time a person of color is involved in a negative situation – it is always attributed to racism. The facts are everywhere – the 13% of the population in America is responsible for over 60% of violent crime in America — https://aalbc.com/tc/topic/9578-blacks-commit-60-of-all-violent-crime-%E2%80%94-but-only-14-of-the-population/ — These numbers do not lie. Since I am pointing out the facts, I am sure that I will be considered “racist’ – even though I am myself Black.
JT Flowers says they were speaking “broken English” but is he even old enough to have recognized whether it was possibly jive? He’s probably too young to have seen Airplane so how would he know?.
I find that the condemnation of Whitmire’s definition “racism” is hysterical! I wonder if those same people can define “woman” or “man”? That would be interesting! According to the US Census Bureau, there are 5 races: White (Caucasian) Black/African American (Negro), American Indian/Alaska Native (Eskimo/Inuit) Asian, and Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander. Regardless of the race of the two ladies, the gate agent was unhelpful and rude…period. Unless one was actually there, there is no mention that the agent used a derogatory racial comment. The video shows that the ladies are black but without the video, the article brought up the ladies’ race. Had the agent mentioned the ladies’ race…now THAT is another story. Does racism exist? Of course it does…all across the spectrum. Is it right…of course not. Therefore, I agree with Mr. Miller, Mr. Morris, Ma Hu, that the mention that the ladies were black was to stir up the screamers above who immediately scream the loudest trying to stir that pot when there might not have been any mention of race. It was very kind of the person to help the ladies out in spite of the very bad gate agent. Hopefully he can get his money back.
The ticket seems to go from PDX to ORD on UA and then to ADD on ET. Checking on Ethiopian Airlines website for carry-on luggage shows that Ethiopian Airlines is fairly restrictive of personal items. No size based personal item (X cm times Y cm times Z cm) is listed but a purse and a computer bag should be able to be both carried as long as the total weight is 5kg or less. A backpack is not listed as a permissible personal item. In coach, one standard sized bag (23cm times 40cm times 55cm) is also allowed and has to be 7kg or less. United has a much more generous policy for carry-on and personal item weight. United allows for a standard sized bag and a personal item sized 22cm times 25cm times 43cm. If these ladies had packed correctly for the trip, there should have been a lot of extra room in their carry-on bag (I had to adhere to the 7kg weight on EVA Airlines and even to 5kg on China Airlines which is now 7kg). While checking in for the Ethiopian Airlines flight, they may have been allowed their extra bag or extra weight (sometimes check in agents give an allowance for the country’s nationals, sometimes they are hard on the country’s nationals). The United Airlines gate agent was doing the job correctly. A lot of people don’t want to follow the rules or don’t check the rules and end up packing incorrectly.
That is why, if I can drive, I’ll drive instead of flying. Nowadays airlines try to get all the money they can from passengers.
I much prefer flying over driving, and my airline of choice is United. I have not had a bad experience with them, as far as I can recall. I recognize that they, as well as every other airline, have had some poorly trained staff cause incidents that went viral. But when you think of how many customer facing employees a large airline has, these incidents are caused by a few rotten apples. And when you think of the number of people who fly ever day, those who suffer terrible treatment are few.
As for this incident, all of the people who are saying the women should have followed the rules are overlooking the fact that the women appear to be poor (who doesn’t have a credit card with $400 in available credit?), and their broken English could mean that they weren’t able to read/understand the rules. I think the gate agent should have had sympathy for them and waived the fee. And I think the GA may have singled them out because of their color or the fact that they are not American, but one racist gate agent does not a racist airline make.
I would like to present a slightly different theory:
As others have said, this is probably a case of three items (the women probably didn’t consider their purse an item and didn’t realize the issue–they weren’t planning to stow the purses at all, not having enough experience flying to realize a purse on the lap isn’t permitted.) Add in the broken English and their comprehension was probably not too good–they didn’t understand what the GA was complaining about at first. So many people react to someone not understanding by thinking they are being deliberately defiant.
I don’t fly United so I can’t speak to their consistency or lack thereof in enforcing these rules. As someone who flies both long-haul international and domestic flights, I look at it from the point of view of other passengers on the plane. We all want that limited overhead space. We each carry one backpack for valuables and an extra change of clothes in case the checked bags go astray, + minimal toiletries. I am short so I can use the underseat space but my tall husband can’t. I also have a very small canvas bag with straps that go around my waist (a bit like a fanny pack) that they never count as carry-on. My ID, passport, wallet, and other important docs go in there. People who take more than two items, almost never use the underseat space, and also have shopping bags, coats, jackets, and other outerwear are causing problems for everyone else.