An OMAAT reader (who asked to remain anonymous, for the purposes of this post) shared a very strange story with me. He was able to board a flight, then temporarily removed so that a ticket issue could be addressed, and then denied boarding. What exactly happened here?
In this post:
Traveler removed from United aircraft, denied boarding
A traveler shares what he calls the most outrageous treatment that he has ever received from an airline. This happened on Friday, May 2, 2025, and involves United flight UA1905, from Chicago (ORD) to Pittsburgh (PIT), where the OMAAT reader was traveling with his elderly father. According to the traveler’s version of events:
- The traveler and his father were on standby for this flight, and arrived at the gate about 20 minutes ahead of boarding, and were given boarding passes well ahead of boarding starting
- The traveler and his father boarded when their group was called, and everything seemed fine, and they were waiting for the door to close
- Shortly before the door was supposed to close, a gate agent approached the man’s seat (and another passenger’s seat), asking the two to follow her to discuss something, and to take their things with them
- He complied, but clarified that he’d able to board the plane once again; the gate agent confirmed, and said there was just a minor problem in the system, and they needed to verify a few things
- Upon arriving back at the gate, the other gate agent told the man that it was going to take too long to sort out the issues, and the plane would be leaving without him
Let me of course emphasize that the traveler was told by the initial gate agent that he’d be allowed to get back on the plane. Also note that the passenger’s elderly father was still on the flight and wasn’t deplaned, despite them being on the same ticket.
The agent then explained that there was a system error with the ticket. The reader of course wonders how he was able to board his flight if there was an issue, why the issue wasn’t sorted out earlier, and why he was lied to about being able to get back on the plane. It gets worse:
- The traveler realized that he had left his cell phone in the seat back pocket, but the gate agents refused to retrieve it
- The traveler’s elderly father was “confused and distressed,” as he relies on his son to help navigate airports; he asked to get off the plane, but was denied
- So not only was the elderly father separated from the son, but the son didn’t have his cell phone, to stay in touch with his father
When it came to compensation, the supervisor offered the passenger a $350 flight credit. The traveler said he found that to be shocking for the amount of embarrassment, distress, and inconvenience, so the supervisor upped the offer to $500, but said he couldn’t give any more.
The traveler was ultimately rebooked on a flight three hours later. When his father landed in Pittsburgh, he asked a United gate agent why his son was kicked off the flight. That gate agent reportedly claimed it was due to a weight restriction. However, the pilot reportedly overheard that and refuted the claim, stating he had no idea why the man was kicked off the flight, as there was no weight restriction.
United handled this situation very poorly
Obviously we only have one side of the story here. If I were to reach out to the airline, they almost certainly wouldn’t be willing to discuss individual customer complaints with me, for obvious privacy reasons. So let me share my analysis of the situation.
First of all, it seems pretty clear that the traveler was taken off the flight for something outside of his own control. So it’s not that he was actually intoxicated or belligerent, or something, since he was offered compensation for the inconvenience.
At a minimum, the customer service shown here was absolutely pitiful, and shows a basic lack of humanity:
- He was told that he’d be able to get back on the aircraft, when that wasn’t the truth
- When it was discovered that he left his cell phone on the plane, they refused to get it
- The traveler’s elderly father wanted to deplane, but wasn’t given the right to do so, separating the traveling party
Logically, some might wonder why the traveler wasn’t more assertive. As he explained to me, “normally, I would have been more forceful before just walking off, but I was exhausted as it had been a long travel day managing my elderly father.” Fair enough!
I’m curious what actually prompted the issue, though. I asked the traveler for more details on his ticket. He explained that he was on an Aeroplan award ticket, which involved travel on both Copa and United, and this was the last segment of the itinerary. A few thoughts:
- Once you clear standby for a flight, you’re considered confirmed, and should be treated the same as any other passenger
- If there was an issue with the ticket in the background, that should’ve been handled before the passenger was allowed to board the flight, and not after
- What makes zero sense here is that there was seemingly an issue with the one traveler, but not with his father, even though they were traveling on the same ticket
In terms of compensation, the traveler should be eligible for the standard involuntary denied boarding compensation, based on my reading of this. Since he arrived at his destination between one and four hours late (on an international ticket), the airline should pay an amount equal to 200% of the one-way fare, with a $775 maximum.
Since this was an award ticket, that amount would be based on the lowest published fare in the market. In reality, that probably wouldn’t end up being much more than $500, though it should be cash, rather than a United voucher. Whether the airline offers any additional compensation, though, is anyone’s guess.
I suspect the issue in getting a resolution here is that the gate agents may not have correctly filed this incident in the computer for what it actually was. I’d be shocked if they properly registered this as an involuntary denied boarding situation.
Bottom line
A traveler cleared standby on a United flight, only to then be removed shortly before the door closed, due to a supposed issue with his ticket. That’s despite him being told that he’d be allowed back on the plane, and he even ended up being separated from his elderly father. I don’t know what exactly caused this issue, but one thing is for sure — United didn’t handle this well.
What do you make of this strange United denied boarding incident?
The first issue was he was flying stand by,this ticket is a reduced price seat offered to employees and their families.paying customers always have priority over standby.they are the last to board and don't even get assigned seat until 30 min takeoff.sorry your seat was given to a paying customer, but you left your phone in the backseat and your father sitting there.i hope the person whom benefits you were flying on didn't lose them...
The first issue was he was flying stand by,this ticket is a reduced price seat offered to employees and their families.paying customers always have priority over standby.they are the last to board and don't even get assigned seat until 30 min takeoff.sorry your seat was given to a paying customer, but you left your phone in the backseat and your father sitting there.i hope the person whom benefits you were flying on didn't lose them or their job.nexr time buy a confirm ticket ,you shouldn't have a problem
@ Rick -- You might want to read the post again...
I once had a guy seated next to me kicked off a flight (YVR-SFO) because of a ticketing issue. The GA claimed he never payed for the flight and shouldn't have been allowed to board. I guess it was a system glitch where the ticket detached from the UA PNR somehow, as the guy said he was connecting from LH and had no issues taking his first flight. Keeping partner bookings in sync (especially during...
I once had a guy seated next to me kicked off a flight (YVR-SFO) because of a ticketing issue. The GA claimed he never payed for the flight and shouldn't have been allowed to board. I guess it was a system glitch where the ticket detached from the UA PNR somehow, as the guy said he was connecting from LH and had no issues taking his first flight. Keeping partner bookings in sync (especially during flight changes) is always a dodgy affair.
Then UA upgraded #1 on the waitlist to his seat.
I don't believe one word of this guy's story.
What is the basis for your disbelief?
For me, it's the fact that the passenger claimed it was an AeroPlan award ticket, but that he was placed on standby.
That is not possible unless he missed an earlier flight.
@Ben I appreciate you writing this story. I have elderly parents who generally will always go along with whatever an airline employee tells them. I sometimes worry about their congeniality and tendency to comply without a fuss leading to unscrupulous people like this taking advantage of them.
For the rest of you who are carrying the water for United on this - shame on you. If we fail to stand up for each other against...
@Ben I appreciate you writing this story. I have elderly parents who generally will always go along with whatever an airline employee tells them. I sometimes worry about their congeniality and tendency to comply without a fuss leading to unscrupulous people like this taking advantage of them.
For the rest of you who are carrying the water for United on this - shame on you. If we fail to stand up for each other against governments and corporations that seek to subdue us and take advantage of us, then no one will fight for us.
Agreed. Authoritarian bootlickers usually think they'll be exempt from mistreatment because they follow along and parrot the company line. Newsflash - you'll be on the receiving end of this kinda thing someday, and you'll find out how it feels to be mistreated and then disbelieved.
Sheesh. This is a non story until you have better facts. Retelling hearsay and lopsided stories diminishes your cred badly.
I hate it when a person (or a website) states some vague and lame computer related excuse, such as “there is a system error”, or even worse “Something went wrong.” Recently, when a website stated the latter, I called Customer Support, and, amazingly, got a live human being. I told them that “anyone on the street” , with no knowledge of the problem I was facing, could have said “Something went wrong!” If humans do...
I hate it when a person (or a website) states some vague and lame computer related excuse, such as “there is a system error”, or even worse “Something went wrong.” Recently, when a website stated the latter, I called Customer Support, and, amazingly, got a live human being. I told them that “anyone on the street” , with no knowledge of the problem I was facing, could have said “Something went wrong!” If humans do not know why a computer is misbehaving, then give the job back to the humans!
So, could he have simply refused to deplane and request (very nicely) they should resolve this without his presence? Here's my phone number if you need to talk to me.
Then we might be seeing Dr. Dao, Part II.
Rules are made up all the time. This incident was outrageous at minimum! I worked in the airline business (but no more) and I could tell you thousands of made up lies. All airlines do this. Simply sue and place on record. Maybe someday the FAA investigate and do something for the traveling public.
Moral of the story : Never deboard, because once you do, you lose all your leverage
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Before publishing something like this, a responsible, ethical author would confirm both sides of the story...
I'm not sure what is more ridiculous, the fact that you prematurely posted this, or the amount of money that clown is demanding for his 'embarrassment'
@ Dman -- Respectfully, how do you propose that I learn both sides of the story? Fly to O'Hare and ask every gate agent if they were the one involved here? Airlines aren't going to talk to bloggers on the record about individual customer service issues, for obvious reasons, since that would be a privacy violation.
I think his point is: don't post the story, because you don't have both sides. I respectfully agree.
I disagree with both @Dman and @Questions. By that logic, if United refuses to comment to the press or Ben, the story will never get reported. That gives United editorial control over Ben's content.
I agree not OMAAT worthy.
Based on the history of corporate public relations when the spotlight hits their misbehavior, corporations are generally more likely to distort truth or withhold critical information when facing public backlash. Another commenter mentioned Dr. Dao - United Airlines' initial response to that incident demonstrates this pattern - they first apologized only for "re-accommodating" passengers rather than the violent removal, then their CEO "emphatically stood behind" staff in an internal email that leaked, only changing their...
Based on the history of corporate public relations when the spotlight hits their misbehavior, corporations are generally more likely to distort truth or withhold critical information when facing public backlash. Another commenter mentioned Dr. Dao - United Airlines' initial response to that incident demonstrates this pattern - they first apologized only for "re-accommodating" passengers rather than the violent removal, then their CEO "emphatically stood behind" staff in an internal email that leaked, only changing their approach after losing $1.4 billion in market value. Corporations typically prioritize damage control and shareholder value over immediate transparency, often only admitting full responsibility when financial consequences make it unavoidable.
To be fair, Dao had it coming.
If you're aiming for dark satire, well played. If serious, hard nonconcurrence. No passenger "has it coming" when they're physically dragged and bloodied for refusing to give up a seat they legally purchased. Dr. Dao suffered a concussion, broken nose, and lost teeth during his forcible removal from an overbooked United flight that he had every right to remain on. United later settled with him in court and admitted wrongdoing, recognizing there was no justification...
If you're aiming for dark satire, well played. If serious, hard nonconcurrence. No passenger "has it coming" when they're physically dragged and bloodied for refusing to give up a seat they legally purchased. Dr. Dao suffered a concussion, broken nose, and lost teeth during his forcible removal from an overbooked United flight that he had every right to remain on. United later settled with him in court and admitted wrongdoing, recognizing there was no justification for how he was treated. We should expect better from airlines and not blame victims of corporate overreach.
This is a pretty common occurrence. You are on standby, you clear and are issued a BP. You board.
Meanwhile, another passenger on the flight who was expected to misconnect shows up and the gate agent boards them instead and kicks you off.
This has happened to me several times. The airlines dispute that IDB compensation is required in these instances.
I've literally never had this happen to me and I've flown standby quite a lot.
+1 happened to me, even after boarding. AA.
+2, happened to me on pre-merger US
Looks like I'm blessed then, especially if a partner at a big law firm and member of high society like Arps has had to deal with this.
Inadequate training.
Unqualified hire.
Poor management.
This post is going to make everyone stay seated for sure and not get off the plane for a bait and switch scam lol CASH UP FRONT is the name of the game.
Definitely if you are told to bring all your things with you, it seems like there is near certainty that you are not getting back on and you should bring your elderly father with you.
@ Farnorthtrader -- Yes and no. In fairness, just about any time that you're asked to get off the plane, they'll tell you to take your belongings with you, even if they intend to let you back on. That's just standard procedure, in the event that things don't go as planned.
Weird victim blaming there Farnorthtrader.
And it gets worst.
Not sure about protocols but claiming to have left a phone on a departing plane seems like a security risk to me.
Europeans even divert because a phone and it's owner is separated by a mechanical seat. This one is separated from the flight.
Can't say I would've chosen to leave my elderly father who REQUIRES assistance to get around by himself on a plane just because a FA randomly decided I should either. My response would be "ok but 'my stuff' includes this other ticketed passenger, my 80yo father".
Probably needed a seat for crew member. I've seen them when desperate to move crew to another area dump customers off.
That's vile and another reason to not fly United.
Father must be able to tell us who sat in his son's seat when the plane took off ....?
Did UA hired them from AA gate agents in MIA?
Some details are clearly missing. I also was waiting to read if someone went down and took his seat.
I can vouch that sometimes, on a rare occasion, there are odd ticketing things that won't manifest themselves until the agent tries to close the flight after boarding.... especially on a ticket that has had modifications while en route, segments added or subtracted, etc. It may even allow boarding at that point (depending on the...
Some details are clearly missing. I also was waiting to read if someone went down and took his seat.
I can vouch that sometimes, on a rare occasion, there are odd ticketing things that won't manifest themselves until the agent tries to close the flight after boarding.... especially on a ticket that has had modifications while en route, segments added or subtracted, etc. It may even allow boarding at that point (depending on the airline's system, I'm more familiar with Sabre and Navitaire). But the agent can't close the flight as it'll say such and such PNR has an issue like out of balance, which may happen if international segments were changed and the taxes were different and not every agent knows how to fix it or is able to fix it (as a manager I've always had fare override and if it was a small amount I'd just force a debit or credit misc charge to offset).
All that said, usually in such a situation, it won't allow the flight to close if anybody on the same PNR is on. It may be different tickets but same PNR and it's at the PNR level.
I also always trained my agents that if you take one person in a party off of a plane, you better take all of them off. Because I've had a couple of times where the plane left without someone and the rest of the party decided to try and hold the flight hostage by refusing to sit down, or standing in the aisle after pushback to force a gate return (which meant everyone in the party is coming off and getting a refund).
I'm sure it wasn't put in as an IDB. Airlines recently take those extremely seriously. If you're going to take an IDB, then there is a trail of actions to complete. Like logging the fact that volunteers were solicited, amount, when, and who did the talking.
In the event of a ticketing issue... that wouldn't be an IDB. If it were weight and balance, that wouldn't be subject to an IDB, just rebooking (as it's aircraft safety) and whatever volunteers were offered - though volunteers must be solicited first. Even at Spirit, if a flight was oversold and it looked like people would likely all make it because of earlier cancel/misconnect or near a holiday, I'd authorize the ticket counter to go ahead and find a couple of people and at the initial check in point, just buy them a ticket on another airline. No need to issue compensation... just, hey, you're flying on us to FLL, having a 2 hour connection, then going to Tampa. How'd you like to get on a nonstop to TPA on Southwest leaving in an hour? Great, buy the tickets. May have not needed them but it's worthwhile insurance especially if 2 hours later you lose that attractive re-accom option.
Well NedsKid, sounds like you're a thoughtful professional and that the person who tricked this passenger is not.
Thank you for the education, Nedskid.
Thanks for the exceptional input and sounds like what could have happened. The real issue is not allowing his father to come off and of course making sure he had is cell phone. I also agree it's not an IDB situation but if this recount is true UA owes him some form of monetary compensation.
Glad to contribute.
Yeah, not allowing his father off (and not making him come off) was a huge error. I of course have the benefit of corporate CRO training and know Part 382 intimately, so I would have told the agent that my father is not able to assist himself in the event of an evacuation thus I was traveling as his safety companion and assist, as regulation allows an airline to require, thus...
Glad to contribute.
Yeah, not allowing his father off (and not making him come off) was a huge error. I of course have the benefit of corporate CRO training and know Part 382 intimately, so I would have told the agent that my father is not able to assist himself in the event of an evacuation thus I was traveling as his safety companion and assist, as regulation allows an airline to require, thus the airline is now responsible for his care including bathroom functions. And that this is now a disability situation so I need a CRO. But, very few people could conjure up that whole line at the right moment....
After having a very bad accident and having to travel once in a wheelchair to relocation across country to be with family, and AA failed to assist me plane in timely manner, get me off the plane (the flight attendants saying well can't you just hobble up the jetway, we need to go), and then abandon me for 45 minutes once I was in a chair (all with correct notation on my PNR), I was their worst nightmare. I met someone with a Director title at the hub that day.
United definitely owes compensation (the $500 voucher really probably is all they can do without major corporate input, I can tell you outside of limited IDB situations cutting a check to a passenger requires a lot of hoops and definitely has to go through legal and various corp departments). This is assuming everything else in the story is true at face value, of course.
I have seen this happen for a couple of valid reasons:
1. Customer was drunk/beligerant
2. Stanby ticket got reversed
3. This is the most awkward but I have seen this happen when the customer was so large they needed two seats but hadn't purchased two. Perhaps with weight issue wasn't plane related...
Still they should have disembarked dad as well.
None of those seem to apply to this scenario, Mark. This United person behaved in a loathsome manner.
How does a standby ticket get "reversed?" if you have a boarding pass, you have a confirmed seat, no?
To the wronged party:
Tell the whole story straight, including every single word the bad actor said, please. It's not our responsibility to ask a thousand questions, to eventually learn the piece that's missing from the narrative.
I'm not saying UA is in the right, here. That seems vanishingly unlikely. But I simply don't believe that this story includes every relevant, interesting word said by UA personnel when this went down.
Frustrating read. Next topic.
@DenB is obviously very fortunate to never flown enough to deal with incompetency.
Might I suggest doing this on AA at MIA.
Entitled much? You don't want to read it, don't read it. But complaining about it because you simply assume it's incomplete is far more frustrating than the article. I'm sure you're the life of the party and weddings and birthdays.
Curious that your comment seems to subtly shade the tricked passenger here, DenB. When a person is already in a stressful environment and suddenly surprised by an out-of-left-field move like being tricked off a plane, adrenaline kicks in and it can be difficult to remember every single detail. They'll likely do their best and the totality of the circumstances and testimony should provide sufficient narrative.
While you did acknowledge that UA was not likely in...
Curious that your comment seems to subtly shade the tricked passenger here, DenB. When a person is already in a stressful environment and suddenly surprised by an out-of-left-field move like being tricked off a plane, adrenaline kicks in and it can be difficult to remember every single detail. They'll likely do their best and the totality of the circumstances and testimony should provide sufficient narrative.
While you did acknowledge that UA was not likely in the right, it's intriguing to me that UA is not on the receiving end of your skepticism. Is it merely because they've yet to issue an official statement? Or because you reflexively take the perspective of the corporation?
I'll tell it to you straight - you come across as carrying the water for UA and aiming undue skepticism to the wronged party.
Of course our priority when running into situations like this should be recording every word said, so @DanB can have every detail necessary to finally pass judgment.
Why was he flying standby on an award ticket ?
Missed flight ? Tried to get in an earlier flight ? What happened to the other person they pulled off the flight ?
@ John -- He was on standby because he was trying to get onto an earlier flight.
Ben you should know better than to write that both the passengers and his elderly father were travelling on the same ticket. You can't have two people on one ticket, every passenger need to have their own ticket, even if they were on the same booking.
Ticket… itinerary… Semantics… I love the internet
there's not one single person who will read that line and not understand it to mean "ticketed on the same PNR"
Well considering I don't know what the f*ck a PNR is then I'd say you're wrong and that there's at least one person.
He should be glad that United didn’t try to beat the sh.. out of him, unlike in Dr Dao’s case…
Dao fought with the police which makes it his fault.
Baffled at the tendency of some to carry the water for heavy handed and sometimes violent actions by "authorities" to put civilians into submission. Some see to have a real problem with civilians nonviolently asserting themselves and not immediately acting like whipped dogs in response to official intimidation.
@Andrew while United staff didn't physically remove Dr. Dao, they called aviation security to do so, and the force used was so excessive that the Chicago...
Baffled at the tendency of some to carry the water for heavy handed and sometimes violent actions by "authorities" to put civilians into submission. Some see to have a real problem with civilians nonviolently asserting themselves and not immediately acting like whipped dogs in response to official intimidation.
@Andrew while United staff didn't physically remove Dr. Dao, they called aviation security to do so, and the force used was so excessive that the Chicago Department of Aviation stated the incident "was not in accordance with our standard operating procedure" and placed multiple officers on administrative leave Wikipedia, resulting in a concussion, broken nose, and lost teeth CNN that led to a settlement.
@Christopher video evidence shows Dao verbally refusing to leave his seat People, but there's no evidence he physically fought with officers; rather, United's CEO later admitted Dao was not at fault, stating "No, he can't be... no one should be treated that way, period," Wikipedia and the company settled his lawsuit and changed their policies regarding passenger removal.
United didn't touch a hair on Dao's head. The police used reasonable force when Dao refused to leave when asked nicely.
The refusal to communicate to the father to deplane is the most maddening one - whether he was elderly or not.
Setting aside the moronic comments, something doesn't add up here. Something wrong with his ticket? Weight and balance? None of this makes sense. There seems to be something missing.
That being said, the father should have been allowed to deplane with the son and of course his phone retrieved (since the passenger believe he'd be able to reboard).
if it was an award ticket issued by AirCanad/Aeroplan, how were they on standby?
Poorly handled, but no one mentions another traveller being sent down to take the occupied seat. I first thought the story was going there. Cleared standby due to late arriving customers not LIKELY to make it… they make it… give them the seats back and stand bys go on original flight 3 hours later. But no?! (Even that scenario would be plausible but require better handling.) Compensation rules out staff stand by.
Arrival agent...
Poorly handled, but no one mentions another traveller being sent down to take the occupied seat. I first thought the story was going there. Cleared standby due to late arriving customers not LIKELY to make it… they make it… give them the seats back and stand bys go on original flight 3 hours later. But no?! (Even that scenario would be plausible but require better handling.) Compensation rules out staff stand by.
Arrival agent may have been reading notes put in by previous agent. Pilots time to intercede was back at the incident with carry on items being left on his aircraft without the owner. Very odd.
Trumpf is at fault and should be impeached because this man lost his seat.
(You okay? Looks like you're having another psychotic break. We care.)
Did you know Dr.Dao happened under Trump and he condemned United for that.
He condemned the actions of those who stormed the Capitol, also. In a word, so?
“Obviously we only have one side of the story here”
I’ve enjoyed the recent OMAAT Unverified Stories From Randos series.
Can’t wait to see what’s next!
I hope that when you report your own injustices in the future, people will grant you more benefit of the doubt than you are currently willing to provide others now.
Seriously - where's the humanity? Appropriate skepticism, sure. But given the opaque nature of these megacorporations, reporting on stories like these is how systemic issues get fixed.
History tells us that the reflexive response of these corporations is to deny and obfuscate as much...
I hope that when you report your own injustices in the future, people will grant you more benefit of the doubt than you are currently willing to provide others now.
Seriously - where's the humanity? Appropriate skepticism, sure. But given the opaque nature of these megacorporations, reporting on stories like these is how systemic issues get fixed.
History tells us that the reflexive response of these corporations is to deny and obfuscate as much as possible until they're hit with an avalanche of attention or evidence. Remember Dr. Dao? His 2017 forceful removal from an overbooked flight only led to reforms because it spiraled into a PR disaster when passenger videos went viral on social media and cost United $1.4 billion in market value, largely due to the company's initial defensive response before eventually apologizing and reaching a settlement.
Having seen the inside of these PR operations at megacorps, when a regular person is able to clearly state their issue, I'm inclined to give them more of a benefit of the doubt than corporations who have a demonstrated history of attempting to evade responsibility for their actions.
And the fact that the traveller appears to be an existing OMAAT reader, and so have seen Ben's take-downs of unreasonable claimants, suggests less likely to be being unreasonable.