Over-selling flights plane wrong
THE extraordinary footage of an innocent passenger being dragged off a plane in America struck a chord.
I have never been removed from a plane under any circumstances. But like the unfortunate traveller, I’ve been double-booked and it’s unpleasant, even without physical man-handling.
The internal United Airlines flight was oversold and management held a lottery to select who would be put off.
The man who drew the short straw refused to budge (understandably, having paid his ticket). Double-booking is an unreported scandal on airlines. A few years back, with two small children in tow, I couldn’t get on my pre-booked Air France flight.
There were no alternatives for more than 24 hours so we were stuck in Charles de Gaulle airport in one of the worst heatwaves experienced by Europe. There was no air conditioning. Then the six-year-old got a tummy bug. When I complained to Lastminute. com, who made the booking, no reply.
Five years ago, I had a similar experience at Stansted, trying to get back home from visiting a sick friend. And just a few weeks ago, when I checked in for a London flight from Glasgow, booked through the Parliament, I was told someone else had been sold my seat.
I had to wait at the departure gate, luggage in hand, fingers crossed for a “no show”. They squeezed me in – just.
It’s a quite extraordinary approach to customer relations.
Shops don’t sell the same item to two different people. Why should airlines be any different?