United Airlines has apologized to a passenger who was forced to give up her 2-year-old son's seat and hold the child on a flight - until her leg and arm went numb.
Shirley Yamauchi, a middle school teacher from Hawaii, was bound for a teacher's conference in Boston last week, she told Hawaii News Now. Her traveling companion was 27-month-old Taizo, whose ticket she said cost as much as hers - nearly $1,000.
The first leg of Thursday's trip - Hawaii to Houston - went fine.
So did the layover.
But as Yamauchi and her son sat waiting for takeoff to Boston, a man walked up with the same seat number as Taizo, the mother told ABC affiliate KITV.
"I told him, I bought both of these seats," she told the station. "The flight attendant came by, shrugs and says, 'flight's full.'"
A United spokesman told The Washington Post that Taizo's boarding pass had been improperly scanned and that because the toddler wasn't logged in to the system, his seat was released to a standby passenger.
The airline said it is trying to compensate the family for its mistake.
But at the time, Yamauchi said, she had only bad options.
"I was told if we refund you anything right now, we're going to have to cancel the rest of your flight arrangements to Hawaii," she told KITV.
She told Hawaii News Now that she considered protesting, but was scared to make a scene. "I started remembering all those incidents with United on the news. The violence. Teeth being knocked out," she said.
In April, a passenger named David Dao refused to give up his seat on a United flight. He was dragged, battered and bloody, down the plane aisle by police - an incident that scandalized the airline for weeks, until it settled the passenger's lawsuit.
Dao's experience was among the worst in a long string of passenger horror stories on multiple airlines.
In the last few months alone, a pilot's rant before takeoff caused her passengers to flee the plane; a man in a wheelchair was forced to crawl up a staircase using his hands; and a beloved giant rabbit apparently died in midair.
"I didn't want those things to happen to me," Yamauchi told Hawaii News Now, referring to Dao's dragging.
So the man with a standby ticket sat down in Taizo's seat, and the child crammed in with his mom.
That was against the safety advice of the Federal Aviation Administration, which strongly urges a separate seat for children; but Yamauchi said she had no better options.
"He's 25 pounds; he's half my height," she told Hawaii News Now. She sent the station pictures of her son wedged in various positions on her lap, a container of milk balanced on the arm rest above him, somehow managing to sleep.
Meanwhile, Yamauchi said, her arm was smashed between the plane wall and her son for most of the three-and-a-half hour flight to Boston.
"At the every end, he was standing up between my knees," she told KITV.
A United spokesman told The Post that the airline would compensate Yamauchi "as a goodwill gesture" and will work with employees to avoid a repeat of the mistake.
"We deeply apologize to Ms. Yamauchi and her son for this experience," the spokesman wrote in a statement, although he did not answer questions about why the child was allowed to fly without a seat, and whether it was safe.
The Washington Post
Thu Jul 06 2017
A United spokesman said the airline would compensate Yamauchi "as a goodwill gesture".
[LAPOR LANGSUNG] Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Sah! Tiga kapal tetap berlayar, redah laut Mediterranean 24 April ini
FFC mengesahkan tiga kapal yang terlibat dalam misi Break the Siege of Gaza Freedom Flotilla akan memulakan pelayaran pada 24 April depan.
Freedom Flotilla to Gaza: Sah! Tiga kapal tetap berlayar, redah laut Mediterranean 24 April ini
FFC mengesahkan tiga kapal yang terlibat dalam misi Break the Siege of Gaza Freedom Flotilla akan memulakan pelayaran pada 24 April 2024 bersamaan hari Rabu.
SkyTrax: Kedudukan KLIA jatuh ke tangga 71
Kedudukan KLIA kini di tangga ke-71 mengikut Senarai Lapangan Terbang Terbaik Dunia SkyTrax 2024, jatuh empat anak tangga berbanding tahun sebelumnya.
China arahkan Apple keluarkan WhatsApp dan Thread daripada App Store
Kerajaan China mengarahkan Apple untuk mengeluarkan aplikasi Whatsapp dan Threads daripada App store China.
Empat pelari terlibat kontroversi dilucut pingat
Penganjur acara separa maraton Beijing mengumumkan pada Jumaat bahawa empat pelari yang terlibat dalam perlumbaan kontroversi pada Ahad lepas telah dilucutkan pingat, lapor Xinhua.
ASEAN gesa patuhi konsensus lima perkara
Negara-negara anggota ASEAN menzahirkan kebimbangan terhadap ketegangan yang berlaku di Myawaddy, Kayin State yang terletak di sempadan Myanmar-Thailand, serta di Rakhine State, Myanmar.
ASEAN berkata, ia ingin menegaskan semula komitmen untuk membantu Myanmar mencari penyelesaian dengan mewujudkan persekitaran kondusif melalu pelaksanaan penuh Konsensus Lima Perkara yang dipersetujui sebelum ini.
ASEAN berkata, ia ingin menegaskan semula komitmen untuk membantu Myanmar mencari penyelesaian dengan mewujudkan persekitaran kondusif melalu pelaksanaan penuh Konsensus Lima Perkara yang dipersetujui sebelum ini.
Setiap parti politik ada kaedah sendiri – Zahid
Setiap parti politik di dalam Kerajaan Perpaduan mempunyai kaedah sendiri untuk membantu memenangkan calon mereka pada Pilihan Raya Kecil Kuala Kubu Bharu, bulan depan.
Pengerusi Barisan Nasional (BN), Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas laporan mengenai kenyataan MCA tidak akan berkempen pada PRK itu.
Pengerusi Barisan Nasional (BN), Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi berkata demikian ketika diminta mengulas laporan mengenai kenyataan MCA tidak akan berkempen pada PRK itu.
Masih setia dengan UMNO, kritikan hanya untuk beri semangat
Ahli Majlis Kerja Tertinggi (MKT) UMNO, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz menegaskan beliau masih setia bersama parti itu meskipun ada mengkritik kepemimpinan UMNO Selangor sebelum ini.
Bekas Bendahari UMNO Selangor itu berkata, kritikan yang dibuatnya sebelum ini adalah berbentuk konstruktif dan hanya ingin membakar semangat parti itu.
Bekas Bendahari UMNO Selangor itu berkata, kritikan yang dibuatnya sebelum ini adalah berbentuk konstruktif dan hanya ingin membakar semangat parti itu.
Titah Addendum: Anwar enggan terlibat, itu bidang kuasa Lembaga Pengampunan dan YDP Agong
Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tidak mahu terlibat dengan perbincangan membabitkan titah tambahan berhubung tahanan di rumah membabitkan bekas Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Anwar berkata, ini kerana perkara itu merupakan di bawah bidang kuasa Lembaga Pengampunan Wilayah Persekutuan dan juga melibatkan Yang di-Pertuan Agong dan Raja-Raja Melayu.
Anwar berkata, ini kerana perkara itu merupakan di bawah bidang kuasa Lembaga Pengampunan Wilayah Persekutuan dan juga melibatkan Yang di-Pertuan Agong dan Raja-Raja Melayu.
Giat Mara Bagan Datuk naik taraf jadi kampus MCI
Giat Mara Bagan Datuk telah dinaik taraf menjadi kampus Malaysia-China Institute (MCI) bagi melatih pelajar tempatan di dalam bidang Latihan Teknikal Dan Vokasional Malaysia (TVET) sebelum di hantar ke China.
Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi berkata, sejajar dengan itu, keluasan institusi berkenaan serta fasiliti akan ditambah.
Timbalan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi berkata, sejajar dengan itu, keluasan institusi berkenaan serta fasiliti akan ditambah.