United Airlines has apologized to a passenger after she was forced to hold her young son on her lap for a three-and-a-half hour flight when the seat she purchased for him was sold to another traveller on standby.
Shirley Yamauchi told Hawaii News Now that she and her 27-month-old son Taizo had no trouble boarding the plane in Houston, Tex. on their way to Boston, Mass. She said they were already seated when a man approached them and said Taizo was in his seat.
Yamauchi informed the man that she had bought the nearly US$1,000 ticket for her son nearly three months ago because children over the age of two are required to have their own seat.
The other passenger told her that he was sold the ticket on standby and proceeded to sit down.
鈥淚 had to move my son onto my lap. He鈥檚 25 pounds. He鈥檚 half my height. I was very uncomfortable,鈥� Yamauchi recounted. 鈥淢y hand, my left arm was smashed up against the wall. I lost feeling in my legs and left arm.鈥�
When the middle school teacher from Hawaii tried to complain to a flight attendant, she said the woman just shrugged and told her the flight was full.
Yamauchi said she was too afraid to speak up again during the trip because she was concerned about the recent string of incidents aboard United Airlines flights, one of which resulted in a passenger鈥檚 violent removal from the plane.
United Airlines apologized to Yamauchi five days after the flight.
A spokesperson for the airline told Hawaii News Now that Taizo鈥檚 boarding pass had been incorrectly scanned by gate agents so their system showed that he hadn鈥檛 boarded the flight and his seat was therefore sold.
鈥淭his should not have happened. We sincerely apologize to Ms. Yamauchi and her son and we are refunding their tickets and providing additional compensation,鈥� the airline said in a statement to CTVNews.ca.
