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| Michael Hohl, right, and Amber Maxwell were ordered off United Airlines flight 1737 in Huston on Saturday (local time) reason, fueling public anger against the American airline. / Captured from Michael Hohl's Facebook page |
By Lee Han-soo
Major U.S. carrier United Airlines is in hot water again, this time after a couple were thrown off a plane while on their way to get married.
The Saturday incident follows a wave of criticism on Apr. 10 after the airline violently removed a Vietnamese-American doctor from an overbooked flight.
American couple Michael Hohl and Amber Maxwell and friends were headed to Costa Rica to marry when a U.S. marshal removed them from the plane for changing their seats.
The couple claim they took the seats because a man was sleeping on their designated seats.
But the seats they took were an upgraded version, which they claim they did not realize.
When a flight attendant asked if they were their ticketed seats, the couple explained the situation and asked if an upgrade was possible.
The attendant replied that they had to return to their assigned seats.
"After we complied with the flight attendant's demand, a U.S marshal came aboard and told us to get off," Hohl told KHOU News in Houston.
""They said that we were being disorderly and a hazard to the rest of the flight and to the safety of the other customers."
The couple allegedly did not make a fuss while leaving, but pointed out that the airline had handled the situation in "a very absurd way."
United Airlines issued a statement saying the couple tried several times to sit in the upgraded seats and did not follow instructions.
"We're disappointed anytime a customer has an experience that doesn't measure up to their expectations," an airline official said. "These passengers repeatedly attempted to sit in upgraded seating which they did not purchase. These passengers would not follow crew instructions to return to their assigned seats. We've been in touch with them and have rebooked them on flights tomorrow."
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