Representative responds

Regarding “D.C. attorney says United gave her first-class seat to Jackson Lee” (Page A3, Sunday), on Monday, Dec. 18, 2017, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee boarded a Washington, D.C.-bound United Airlines flight departing from IAH Airport in Houston. The congresswoman was returning to the nation’s capital to battle for Hurricane Harvey recovery funds, to oppose the GOP tax cut for billionaires and millionaires, and to fight for the reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program. At the time, there was great excitement in our office as the congresswoman had just hosted her 23rd annual “Toys for Kids” event, where 13,126 children celebrated and received gifts.

In no way did the congresswoman ask for or receive anything exceptional or out of the ordinary. The congresswoman did not ask for any particular seat. To the contrary, the congresswoman merely sat in the seat that was assigned to her. The dispute that followed was between a passenger and United Airlines, and had nothing to do with the congresswoman. With this in mind, we direct people once again to the following statement offered by United Airlines:

“We were concerned by this issue and took immediate steps to fully understand what happened. After thoroughly examining our electronic records, we found that upon receiving a notification that Flight 788 was delayed due to weather, the customer (in question) canceled her flight from Houston to Washington, D.C. within the United mobile app. As part of the normal pre-boarding process, gate agents began clearing standby and upgrade customers, including the first customer on the waitlist for an upgrade. [However], we were able to provide this [other] customer a seat on the same flight in economy plus.” Rucks Russell, communications director, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee