United Airlines just can’t seem to fly under the radar.
A Utah man and his fiancée say a U.S. Marshal booted them Saturday from a Houston flight en route to their Costa Rica wedding after they changed seats without permission — the latest in a string of negative headlines for the bedeviled company.
Michael Hohl and Amber Maxwell — whose destination wedding is still slated for Thursday — boarded flight no. 1737 along with friends to find a napping man sprawled across their assigned seats, 24B and 24C, they told local TV affiliate KHOU.
They relocated to empty seats three rows up, 21B and 21C, with Hohl telling the outlet they were “simply in an economy row a few rows above our economy seat” on the apparently half-full flight. Hohl claims that after a flight attendant told them to return to their assigned seats, the couple did — only to be told to leave by a marshal who boarded the plane. The soon-to-be bride and groom agreed to deplane without incident, according to the report.
“They said that we were being disorderly and a hazard to the rest of the flight, to the safety of the other customers,” Hohl said. United offered a slightly different account in a statement obtained Saturday by KHOU-TV — adding the company was “disappointed anytime a customer has an experience that doesn’t measure up to their expectations.”
“These passengers repeatedly attempted to sit in upgraded seating which they did not purchase and they would not follow crew instructions to return to their assigned seats,” the airline said. “We’ve been in touch with them and have rebooked them on flights tomorrow.”
*****************STAY IN YOUR ASSIGNED SEATS***********************
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