United Airlines reportedly threatened to force everyone on their flight 923 from Los Angeles to London to get off the aircraft on Sunday, unless three business class passengers gave up their seats and moved to extra legroom coach in order to make room for flight attendants. A passenger says that this “came across as a threat, both in their wording and tone.”
United Airlines Business Class Cabin
Apparently, crew rest seats on the aircraft were inoperative and so the airline needed to assign business class seats for this purpose. Since the flight is ten and a half hours long, government regulations require dedicated crew rest.
Since the business cabin was full, they needed three volunteers. But if nobody was going to volunteer, the airline would pick passengers to downgrade. And since they don’t physically remove customers from the aircraft once seated (based on corporate scarring after the David Dao dragging incident in 2017, and the FAA regulations that followed), they would require everyone to get off the plane and re-board the aircraft.
The airline offered $1,500 in travel credits plus 75,000 miles for the inconvenience, but they didn’t have takers, and so they upped the travel credit offer to $2,500 which was enough to find three volunteers. The flight left 44 minutes late because of the ordeal.
Boeing 787 Crew Rest
Boeing 787 Crew Rest
Another United passenger shared that the same thing happened to their flight departing India. This time it was weight and balance, where the first seven rows of passengers in business class were forced to move to coach.
- Only middle seats were available
- The whole thing had to be accomplished in 20 minutes, before crew timed out
- So they didn’t take volunteers, and wouldn’t allow swapping
There were passengers, such as the one sharing what happened, who were happy to take the $2,500 compensation, but they were seated in the 8th row and not eligible. Since some of the passengers in the first 7 rows, “were already in their pajamas, watching movies” they were “livid and the whole thing fell apart.” It took more than the allotted 20 minutes, and the flight cancelled – for the second day in a row.
Another passenger shares volunteering to downgrade for $2,000, and a return of their friend’s PlusPoints which were used to upgrade from coach to business class.
The money comes in the form of travel credit, good for a year, which I used to visit my family. I left my spouse sitting in Polaris, and he gave me his amenity kit. We were both happy.
For some, $2,000 or more in travel vouchers is like a lottery win. For others it’s an absurd slap in the face – they bought the premium cabin seat to relax comfortably on the long flight, and they’re not getting what they paid for. It would take orders or magnitude more than that to ‘make it right’.
Corporations gonna corporate no matter what. Want volunteers? Compensate people properly. These things cost thousands of dollars. Fully REFUND whatever people paid, PLUS the compensation to downgrade. Or rebook in better or similar product for later flight for free, PLUS compensation. I hate it when they’re like “here’s 10% of the product cost in monopoly money that didn’t cost me anything. Now move to the back”.
Settling into a Polaris seat on an international flight and being asked to move is psychologically damaging lol.
For 2,500 and 75k miles, I’d do it though but only assuming I had been upgraded and that I was not paying full freight. For a biz class passenger it should have started there. Unbelievable to start so low with the comp.
Hmmm… Maybe it’s just me, but the Title doesn’t sound like what happened. Title: “United Airlines Threatens Passengers: Give Up Business Class Seats To Flight Attendants Or Entire Flight Gets Kicked Off”. What actually happened: “The airline offered $1,500 in travel credits plus 75,000 miles for the inconvenience, but they didn’t have takers, and so they upped the travel credit offer to $2,500 which was enough to find three VOLUNTEERS.” Sure, it’s likely that the FA’s said we’ll need to find three volunteers or we’ll need to deplane and hold the auction out of the aircraft. That’s quite a bit different than the threat listed in the title.
Would someone who paid full also get a refund of the fare difference?
I also wonder what could go so wrong to inop the crew rest.
you’ve got to be kidding. twenty five hundred and seventy five thousand mileage won’t even close to compensate on giving up business class for ten hour long flight.
Texas TJ: “ditto.”
This is an FAA requirement. They flight would have been cancelled. Maintenance tried to fix the crew area but could not so UAL had the option of either cancelling the flight or getting some passengers to move. And actually I believe they could have forced some passengers off the plane.
Much better to get a few passengers to move (and pay them to do so) than cancel and inconvenience all the passengers on the plane as well as incur all the cost associated with a cancelation.
Why aren’t those economy plus seats good enough for crew rest?
Full refund and the same amount in flight credits
@TexasTJ
Then you’d be mistaken. This is well-covered in other outlets
The Purser (head FA) EXPLICITLY came on the PA and threatened that the entire plane would be emptied… basically so the Gate Agents could then decide (likely without comp) who wouldn’t be allowed to board.
They didn’t threaten to cancel but they did threaten to deplane everybody and start over.
At least UAL doesn’t want to get into the grey area of “Hey, you poor sucker have to get off the plane. Safety and security issue.” Either bribe people or empty the whole plane and re-board with fewer souls in Polaris.
I was on this flight a couple of weeks ago. Those Dreamliners ARE starting to show some wear and tear.
I checked the price of tickets on that route. The travel vouchers were essentially converted from cash. The 75,000 miles was the only bonus. The initial offer was laughably inadequate. I’m somewhat surprised that they found three volunteers for that deal. Maybe they were business travelers who had enough flexibility in their schedules and could use the vouchers later for vacation.
Why couldn’t the crew use the available extra legroom seats? Why did it have to be business?
Curious how the overhead crew rest on the B787 was INOP.. Anyone have insight as to what issues would make the crew rest INOP?
@Phil
Also well-reported. The FA contracts and the applicable safety regimen for Long_Haul beyond 10 hours both mandate “full lie flat rest positions”.
We need to give the airlines a wake up call. How about restoring some of the Amtrak routes (understanding the tracks in many areas have been removed or deteriorated). Add more routes on the Jet (a luxury bus serving DC and NYC).
Yoss says:
September 23, 2024 at 11:11 am
Curious how the overhead crew rest on the B787 was INOP.. Anyone have insight as to what issues would make the crew rest INOP?
On the B777 I have seen crew rest bunk area placarded inop due to inadequate cooling or inadequate air flow.
Since I’m retired and travel for leisure, I am usually inclined to give up my seat, as long as the airline makes it worth doing, which means good monetary compensation, a complimentary stay at a good hotel and re-booking on the highest class available.
I just checked prices on that route looking forward about 11 months, the normal lead time for me. The R/T J (fully refundable) is under $5,000. So, to me it’s a free Y+ plus extra miles. I might not take it, but thus is my admitted less than full rationality.
“… government regulations require dedicated crew rest.”
As usual, if you find a problem, it’s not difficult to determine the source.
First, if the passenger in business class truly is a business traveler, (and not a leisure traver,) then the passenger didn’t pay anything, corporate paid for it. Second, a truly business traveler may not be authorized by corporate to accept a downgrade “bribe.” Thirdly, plenty of leisure travelers in the form of retirees and college attendees, and influencers seem to fill up business class. So, I can’t get too excited. That said, having flown intercontinental UA business class, i never cared for the “tone” of either the cabin or the service, and for the past five years of leisure intercontinental, I gladly choose UA’s competition. I find UA rather tawdry, yet they seem to be getting less extreme, with fewer and few viral tiktok occurences.