United canceled man's ticket because he recorded her on video
United is deeply sorry that one of its employees canceled a passenger's reservation at the check-in counter because he recorded the employee on his cell phone. The passenger, Navang Oza, says he turned the phone's recorder on because the agent wanted to charge him $300 for his bag, which was over the 50lb weight limit. Oza said he was charged just $125 for same bag with the same stuff inside on the previous flight and he wanted to document the conversation he was having with the agent. When the agent realized that Oza was recording her, she protested and canceled his ticket. He had to buy a ticket on another airline to get home.
Bay Area flier says United canceled his ticket after he filmed baggage dispute in New Orleans
A Bay Area flier named Navang Oza, who was traveling from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport to San Francisco International Airport on May 4, says a United Airlines ticket agent canceled his flight after he began filming an altercation they were having.
Oza said the agent was attempting to charge him $300 for his bag, which exceeded the 50-pound limit. Oza contends that the same bag holding the same contents only cost him $125 in his flight out of SFO to New Orleans, which caused the disagreement.
CEO: Oscar Munoz (Sep 8, 2015–)
Bag information: In economy, within Canada and the US, 1st bag $25, 2nd bag $35. To other destinations, prices vary by itinerary. More United Airlines bag information
At this point it was 4 a.m., and the confrontation escalated to the point where Oza began filming — within his right in a public place, despite what the agent suggests — apparently leading the agent to cancel his flight ticket. United has since apologized, but Oza is attempting to get the company to reimburse him for a one-way flight he had to book on a different airline to get home.
As he later told NBC Bay Area, "the lady was being rude...I was shocked because I didn't know she had the right to cancel my flight because I started recording."
Just about a minute after Oza begins filming the agent, she begins filming him as well, which Oza initially posted to his Facebook page as part of a raw 13-minute video (it has since been deleted). She instructs a co-worker to cancel his ticket, and informs him that "until that [recording] is erased, you're not traveling."
United has responded to the incident, saying, "The video does not reflect the positive customer experience we strive to offer, and for that we apologize. We are reviewing this situation, including talking with Mr. Oza and our employees to better understand what happened."
Some reports point out that Oza confirmed he drank two beers before heading to the airport, and he might have been inebriated.
SFist writes that in his since-deleted public post, Oza says "when the cops got there they said I was drunk when I only had 2 beers before getting to the airport with my colleagues from work."
The airline did not confirm the reason Oza's ticket was canceled, and it also did not comment as to what happened before Oza began filming.
The incident comes after a tumultuous couple months for United Airlines. In early April, the airline came under fire for forcibly removing a passenger from a flight, injuring him in the process. Again, just last week, another passenger headed to Paris who does not speak English boarded the incorrect flight and landed in San Francisco.
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