Woman Says American Airlines Oversold Her Honeymoon Flight. Now She’s at the Airport and Her Husband Doesn’t Have a Seat
Flying is usually already stressful enough. It’s crowded in the airport, and you never know if you’re going to have to switch gates or even get delayed completely. For one woman, her recent flight experience with her new husband on an oversold American Airlines flight was everybody’s flying nightmare.
In the video user rubynoren posted to TikTok, she wrote “American Airlines, we’re on our way to our honeymoon and you oversold the flight and now we’re at the airport and my husband doesn’t have a seat.. that we purchased..” In the video she pans over to her husband, who is sitting next to her looking on his phone, before back to her.
Users were quick to discuss their own negative experiences with the airline in the comments. “I was flying with my cat once and AA switched my seat to the emergency row and said my cat wasn’t allowed in the emergency row and suggested I leave him at the airport,” said one.
How can a flight get oversold?
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, oversold flights are a common and completely legal practice. Airlines will overbook to compensate for potential “no-shows” and will usually be able to guess the amount of tickets correctly.
Occasionally, however, “airlines may ‘bump’ passengers and have them give up their seats,” says the official website. “Bumping, also known as ‘denied boarding,’ happens when there are more passengers scheduled to fly on an airplane than available seats.”
Users disagree with the legality of something like this, however. “Some sort of legislation needs to be passed about banning overselling airplane seats. ‘They’ll lose money’ ok, let me break out my violin for a multibillion dollar company,” a user commented on the video.
How does bumping work?
Though we are not sure of the husband’s situation, airlines do have strict guidelines to adhere to. Some use the passenger’s passenger’s check-in time, the fare paid by the passenger, or the passenger’s frequent flyer status. They also are legally required to tell a passenger their rights if they are bumped.
It also brings into question why he was chosen. Should an airline not choose a solo passenger? And also, does he get a refund in that situation? Refunds are eligible, but only under specific circumstances. Situations include you checked in on time, you arrived to your gate on time, and you had a confirmed reservation.
Though compensation is an option, that does not always make up for lost time or additional fights you’ll need to book. It’s a practice that, quite frankly, airlines should not be allowed to participate in.
(Featured images: rubynoren)
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