A Reoccurring Theme

My mother-in-law had traveled to Chicago to meet my wife for a couple days of shopping for her birthday. After they had bought most of the clothing for sale in Chicago, they came back to Madison for a couple days to regroup. I got home from a trip on Saturday night and we met my brother and my nephews for dinner to celebrate my wife's birthday. My wife and mother-in-law had a great time, but like everything it must come to an end, so my mother-in-law took off for California Sunday night, and she emailed me this story to have featured in the blog as she was upset at the nature of her flight from Chicago to California. I have blogged on this issue before, and these events are a perfect example on the issue of courtesy and passenger comfort.

This is the story that my mother-in-law emailed me:

I got to Chicago O'hare (from Madison) with no problem, and raced across the terminal just in time for the boarding of my flight to Sacramento. I had paid extra for preferred seating and I had an aisle seat, and was in the last group to board. I got to my seat and could not believe what I saw. In the middle seat and the window seat were a husband and wife, so huge that each required two seat belt extenders, and the husband was spilling so much into my seat that the armrest to my seat could not even be seen. I was really upset and went to the front of the airplane and talked to the gate agent. I asked the gate agent for another seat, and she said the flight was full, and I could either take the seat I had, or go out the next day. I went to my half of a seat, and waited until it was safe to get up again and then I went up and talked to the head flight attendant. Again, I explained this was a ridiculous situation and a safety issue, and that I just want what I paid for. The flight attendant was very nice, and she came to the seat and knelt down beside me and apologized about the whole situation. She kept trying to give me free drinks, but I refused, as I did not want anything I did not pay for, I just wanted what I paid for.

I got to my office today and spent over an hour on the phone with United Customer Service. They insulted me with an offer of a $35.00 voucher. I told them no way and that this was a huge (no pun intended) problem, and should have been taken care of in Chicago at the gate before the plane even left. I have an incident reference number and am pushing for a refund of the ticket.


I know this is a theme that keeps popping up on here, but it is a issue that I deal with everyday. It seems like every flight we have passenger complaining that they are uncomfortable and angry at the situation of not getting what they pay for, i.e. the whole seat. This is a perfect example of how just pure consideration for other passengers can make all the difference. It is the same thing for having kids next to you and so on. There are things that every passenger needs to consider when traveling. Remember, you are not alone on the plane. If you want to be inconsiderate and pretend you are the only one on an airplane, then travel in a private jet....oh you can't afford that, than be nice and respectful of the other passenger's space!