Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee gets first-class seat on United ... after passenger bumped to economy

RocksInMyHead

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Yet, the woman was on that very flight ... which she supposedly cancelled ... and which she denies cancelling.
Is it not possible that she mistakenly cancelled the reservation without realizing it? In that case, she would still show up for the flight and might deny cancelling it if the gate agent told her she did, no? It's easy to fat-finger something on your phone and hit the wrong button, or even accidentally activate it an unknowingly press buttons in your pocket (depending on how your security is set up).
 
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NightHawkeye

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Is it not possible that she mistakenly cancelled the reservation without realizing it? In that case, she would still show up for the flight and might deny cancelling it if the gate agent told her she did, no? It's easy to fat-finger something on your phone and hit the wrong button, or even accidentally activate it an unknowingly press buttons in your pocket (depending on how your security is set up).
You're saying that the airline software is so bad that there are no nag screens asking you to unequivocally confirm that you have decided to CANCEL a flight for which you have already paid ... without rebooking another flight ... and without getting a refund.

I've flown a lot. It doesn't pass the smell test.
 
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JGG

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You're saying that the airline software is so bad that there are no nag screens asking you to unequivocally confirm that you have decided to CANCEL a flight for which you have already paid ... without rebooking another flight ... and without getting a refund.

I've flown a lot. It doesn't pass the smell test.

Your explanation is that the airline is lying?
 
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RocksInMyHead

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You're saying that the airline software is so bad that there are no nag screens asking you to unequivocally confirm that you have decided to CANCEL a flight for which you have already paid ... without rebooking another flight ... and without getting a refund.

I've flown a lot. It doesn't pass the smell test.
Not having ever tried to cancel a flight through the United app, I can't say for sure, but by and large, mobile apps tend to be piles of hot garbage and that if there is a way to screw something up, people will find it. The alternative is that the airline is lying about it, to the point of falsifying or misrepresenting the screenshots that they provided to the reporters, for no apparent gain on their part.
 
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NightHawkeye

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The alternative is that the airline is lying about it, to the point of falsifying or misrepresenting the screenshots that they provided to the reporters, for no apparent gain on their part.
No apparent gain?

Incorrect. United Airlines has quite a lot to gain from not descending again into a public relations nightmare like they experienced last year. Would they lie attempting to avoid a public relations disaster? They did so previously.
 
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RocksInMyHead

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No apparent gain?

Incorrect. United Airlines has quite a lot to gain from not descending again into a public relations nightmare like they experienced last year. Would they lie attempting to avoid a public relations disaster? They did so previously.
I meant more that there was no apparent gain in cancelling the woman's reservation. They didn't sell any more tickets - in fact, they lost money because they refunded all of her miles that she used for the whole trip as well as giving her a $500 voucher with very little argument. Sure, they probably made the congresswoman happy, but granting a first-class upgrade is unlikely to give you any real influence, and the potential bad publicity (which they surely wouldn't forget after the incidents last year) would far outweigh any minor goodwill.
 
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Maren

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This is what evidence I am expecting you to provide;

(A) evidence that the congresswoman "bullied" the airline to take away someone's seat and give it to her.

And...

(B) explanation of how she "bullied" the airline.

And...

(C) the name of her colleague that 'she does this all the time'.

And...

(D) quoted context for what it is she does all the time.

Or...

(E) admission that you're lying to us.

(F). What part of the link already provided are you having difficulty comprehending?

You can quote the sentence if that is easier.

I'm seeing the same thing JGG is. And I've read the OPs link and a couple of other articles, I'm particularly interested as she is the Congresswoman in my district and I'm not a fan.

(A) I saw nothing to indicate that Ms. Lee bullied the airline, other than she was sitting in that seat. I've seen speculation that Ms. Lee bullied the airline, and also seen it speculated that United was trying to curry favor. I've seen no actual report that Ms. Lee actually did bully the airline, so what is your evidence -- or where in the link does it say she bullied the airline?

(B) Again, nothing in the link about how she might have bullied the airline; I'm curious what leverage she has to force the airline to do what she wants?

(C)Every link I've seen, the woman that lost her seat merely claims she was told by a "colleague" of Ms. Lee's, without giving a name or what that person does, that she does this all the time. There is no explanation of exactly what it is she does, much less what type of things the Congresswoman allegedly gets out of it. My personal guess, it wasn't a colleague, but rather a Republican that lives in Houston and doesn't care for Ms. Lee expressing a personal opinion; but because he sounded like he knew Ms. Lee and to strengthen his argument, she said it was a colleague. So, please inform us who this "colleague" was and (D) what exactly he is claiming Ms. Lee always does?

Again, I've read the link and several other articles -- I've not seen any of what you are claiming. I'd love to see the proof of your claims.
 
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Maren

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Politicians are good at the "plausible deniability" game.

What we know for sure is that Sheila Jackson Lee got a First-Class seat at the last moment on a flight which had no First-class seats available.

We also know that the customer who was bumped denies cancelling her First-Class seat and that it happened on the second segment of her flight ... not the first segment. I've never known anyone to voluntarily cancel a First-Class seat after booking unless they received compensation or a greatly reduced fare. The argument made by the airline is ludicrous.

I think what you fail to see is that, while this was a second segment, the flight was delayed due to weather. I'm not familiar with United's app but I can see where the woman may have believed she'd found a better, faster, flight that didn't have the same delay. And that in attempting to see if she could book the new flight it cancelled her reservation -- while the app likely tried to warn her (asking if she was "sure"), she didn't notice the part about it cancelling the current reservation.

I also tend to trust the logging system connected to these apps, which United has offered to allow reporters to view (not sure if anyone actually took them up on it). While the logs obviously could be altered, they typically have are secured (to prevent people from altering the logs to protect their jobs); not that they can't be altered but it would involve multiple people (making it more likely someone would leak the truth).

Is that your new argument?

Would you accept that argument if this situation had involved a Republican Congressman?

Absolutely. I stated up front I'm not fan of the Congresswoman and have voted against her multiple times.

Yet, the woman was on that very flight ... which she supposedly cancelled ... and which she denies cancelling.

Which indicates nothing. It could be the flight was not full, it could have been, as you claim, a PR move to try and placate an angry customer. None of that is evidence that United was in the wrong, just that they were trying to keep a repeat customer (one who had enough miles to be upgraded) happy.
 
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Maren

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You're saying that the airline software is so bad that there are no nag screens asking you to unequivocally confirm that you have decided to CANCEL a flight for which you have already paid ... without rebooking another flight ... and without getting a refund.

I've flown a lot. It doesn't pass the smell test.

You've never accidentally miss pressed on a nag screen, or not fully understood the consequences of hitting "Yes" on a nag screen? In fact, nag screens are often viewed as just that -- nagging -- so people often don't pay much attention to them, just see them as an annoyance and quickly press through them -- they know where they want to go and don't want the annoyance. My career has largely been in IT so I've seen it -- I've even done it myself. Not to mention, as someone else mentioned, a common response by users -- just after hitting "yes" to a nag screen only to realize they didn't want that -- is to deny they did it. People, as I'm sure you know (and we see daily here), people don't like to admit they made mistakes.

As for no refund, that isn't a surprise. Even if she cancelled out that leg of a flight, the fact remains she still had a return flight (and I'm assuming flights) that were not cancelled. The expectation would be that she would create a new reservation for that leg -- that she was looking at other possibilities to minimize or remove the delay. It's also possible (and with airlines even likely) she had non-refundable tickets that she paid for (before using miles to upgrade), meaning even if she actually cancelled the leg, and even return flights, there would be no refund. Even if she would be owed a refund, it likely wouldn't be paid until all flights on the ticket were completed (or cancelled).
 
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ArmenianJohn

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Please do! I find it amusing. Did I mention that gas in Tulsa is 2.05 this morning?
Koeedm Eme diison Leefaso kula kookba bidi peress, hima martikim choz gozess!
 
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cow451

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She was talking about how she was treated.
, what the airline made her feel like. , did you not read the link?
She expressed her feelings by insulting a large number of people over the age of 50, particularly women. You can’t sugar coat that insult.
 
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cow451

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Politicians are good at the "plausible deniability" game.

What we know for sure is that Sheila Jackson Lee got a First-Class seat at the last moment on a flight which had no First-class seats available.

We also know that the customer who was bumped denies cancelling her First-Class seat and that it happened on the second segment of her flight ... not the first segment. I've never known anyone to voluntarily cancel a First-Class seat after booking unless they received compensation or a greatly reduced fare. The argument made by the airline is ludicrous.
The part you conveniently ignored is that she may have inadvertently canceled. Human error. The airline says they have evidence. Short of a lawsuit we have multiple possibilities with no independent way to verify any.
 
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cow451

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I second that....20 plus years working in IT....
Of course it’s plugged in. You think I’m some dumb conservative grandad who never used a computer before?
 
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cow451

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Yet, the woman was on that very flight ... which she supposedly cancelled ... and which she denies cancelling.
If she did it accidentally, which is plausible, then she could well not remember doing so.
 
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cow451

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Remind again what actions she needs to take responsibility for?
Apparently being a Black female Democratic Congresswoman. Her alleged arrogance does not override the evidence.
 
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cow451

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You're saying that the airline software is so bad that there are no nag screens asking you to unequivocally confirm that you have decided to CANCEL a flight for which you have already paid ... without rebooking another flight ... and without getting a refund.

I've flown a lot. It doesn't pass the smell test.
Code for she’s a Black female Democrat.
 
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cow451

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No apparent gain?

Incorrect. United Airlines has quite a lot to gain from not descending again into a public relations nightmare like they experienced last year. Would they lie attempting to avoid a public relations disaster? They did so previously.
All parties have a vested interest in being right. That’s why I’d like to see the aggrieved party file suit. Get everything out in the open.
 
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