As much as we want to root for the “little guy” (and his big cat), I am finding it very difficult to get upset over Aeroflot’s decision to penalize a passenger for deliberately breaking the rules then gloating about it online.
In my house, we read about a cat named Mog and a family called Thomas nearly every night (my son loves Judth Kerr’s Mog the Forgetful Cat). Mikhail Galin has a cat named Viktor. Like Mog, he’s a big cat…10kg (22 pounds) to be exact. And like Mog, Viktor does not like to be far from his loved ones.
Galin was flying from Riga to Vladivostok via Moscow on Aeroflot…wtih Viktor. The flight from Riga to Moscow went off without a hitch, but when Viktor was weighed in Moscow, Galin was informed that Viktor was too heavy: the in-cabin weight limit for a cat on Aeroflot is only 8kg.
So enterprising Galin borrowed someone else’s cat, used that slightly slimmer doppelgänger to check-in, then made a clean switcheroo.
The plan worked like a charm and Viktor made it safely to Vladivosok in the business class cbain.
But Glain took a victory lap on Facebook and his post and pictures went viral. When Aerflot discovered they had been conned, they cancelled his frequent flyer account, garnishing 400,000 miles.
Don’t Blame Aeroflot…
Rules are merely points at which deviation is measured from. I am not generally a fan of strict adherence to rules over using rules as a guide or standard. And yet with the Aeroflot incident, as arbitrary as the weight limit may have been, it was clearly spelled out and arguably reasonable.
Galin did well in carefully evading the problem. But did it not occur to him that broadcasting how he took advantage of an airline might not be the best idea?
He was home free. He got away with it. But he blew it by running a public victory lap.
Let that be a lesson to us all.
CONCLUSION
I totally think Aeroflot overreacted. Furthermore, I don’t think this incident helps to bolster Aeroflot’s image. But you cannot fault Aeroflot for taking steps within its program rules to punish someone who cheated them. It was cheating and if it worked for a cat, who knows what else people might be emboldened to attempt. By making an example out of Galin, Aeroflot will dissuade many would-be copycats.
Thoughts on this? Was Aeroflot right to cancel out Galin’s Aeroflot Bonus account?
No. They should have billed him for the overweight, though.
Why send a bill which can be ignored or won’t be paid, when you can inflict punishment for violating the terms of carriage and/or program of frequent flyer? Your logic is weird….
Should have Aeroflot penalize the passenger? Yes but, 400k miles is a lot of miles to take away, maybe it should be a been closer to 50k.
Overreacted? Wait… I thought you went through law school….
Surely you understood that punishment serves as, inter alia:
1. Sanction over a wrongful act / violation of law (in casu terms and conditions of carriage);
2. Deterrent for anyone else from doing similar things in the future.
You may argue that its in their best interest to apply sanction moderately or even play nice. Maybe because you see the pussy as cute. IF you’re a common people (eg. minimum education). But you’re a law graduate, Matt….. Think like one…
James, did you even read what I wrote?
I read the following:
“I totally think Aeroflot overreacted. Furthermore, I don’t think this incident helps to bolster Aeroflot’s image…”
Exactly. I can’t believe Matthew is actually defending someone whose actions were intended to deceive and cheat.
Lol. Intentional. The basis of criminal act(s)
I mean, I feel like it’s pretty crappy of Aeroflot to let the cat fly Riga to Moscow and then suddenly decide it isn’t allowed to fly anywhere from there, essentially forcing him to get stuck in Moscow. I’m also not a big fan of confiscations of miles for offenses that don’t have anything to do the frequent flyer program.
But, yeah, if you are going to blatantly violate the rules, at least keep your mouth shut about it.
In case you missed, he cheated. Swap the cat with slimmer one at check in.
Aeroflot was more than justified in penalizing the customer. I would even support the airline demanding that the cat be euthanized.
Stupid Aeroflot: they had a chance to make a great PR campaign out of this , but blew it with their pedantry/miserableness…and alienated cat lovers in the process. Sure, the guy was silly to gloat over the con…but Aeroflot should have taken it on the chin and turned it to their advantage with great, FREE, PR
Huh?! What so important about cat lovers anyway? Just because you love cats and your parents always told you that you are special, doesn’t mean that you are special, dude…. Such entitlement…..sigh… So millenial…
doesn’t “help to bolster Aeroflot’s image” is a huge understatement in Russia at the moment when talking about public’s feelings towards Aeroflot