Last month, United Airlines Passenger Dragged Off Plane Due To Oversell, and the airline once more finds itself under fire, this time for sending a Paris bound passenger to San Francisco instead. The incident occurred at Newark Liberty International Airport earlier this week.
The flight attendant even realized she was in the wrong seat, so instead of investigating, just gave her another seat. This all started though after United swapped gates and made no announcements in French. However, I’d imagine that the gate reader should of identified this was the incorrect flight, though somehow the passenger was boarded anyways.
Per the SF Gate,
A United Airlines passenger boarded a plane in Newark believing that she was headed to Paris. Hours later, the plane touched down at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).
Lucie Bahetoukilae, a French woman who does not speak English, carried a boarding pass that read, “Newark to Charles de Gaulle,” reports ABC 7. She approached the gate listed on the pass, where a flight attendant scanned her ticket before she boarded the plane.
Three thousand miles later, Bahetoukilae disembarked at SFO, where she reportedly waited an additional 11 hours before boarding a flight back to Paris. In total, she claims to have been traveling for 28 hours.
Have you ever boarded an incorrect plane before? Were you denied boarding or did you realize it once on the flight? Feel free to share your stories below.
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I think this passenger would have noticed that it did not say Paris at the gate. Another story where we put all the blame on the airline, where in this case there is plenty to share with the passenger. We hear about this stuff today cause every little bump in the road and people run to the press. Frankly, repeating it here is part of the problem.
Agreed Scott
Lousy grammar. “Should of”. Phrase used by those who aren’t aware or smart enough to use “should have”.
I almost boarded a wrong flight on southwest and the gate agent stopped me after scanning my boarding pass. She just told me this is not your flight and I looked confused because I was sure I was in the correct line. But some how I got mixed up/turned around and my gate was behind me and I ended up being the last person on.
Some of us are veteran flyers. Was she? Now to factor in the language barrier. Hmm. Have you ever been in a location where you do not understand what people are saying ? This should have been picked up by the staff scanning the tickets before boarding. That’ s there job. Wake up people.
The passenger wasn’t “sent” somewhere. Rather, he boarded the wrong plane and went to a different city than intended. I feel dirty just for having clicked on your bait.