I had a telephone conversation with United Airlines yesterday about the events surrounding the Washington, DC woman who found herself booted from first class and a Congresswoman in her original seat.
If you missed out on yesterday’s post, you can find out background about this case and direct testimony from all three parties here.
> Read More: Congresswoman Poaches First Class Seat, Accuses Victim of Racism
We have three alleged victims in this case. Jean-Marie Simon believes she is the victim for losing her first class seat. Congresswoman Shiela Jackson Lee believes she is the victim of racism. And United Airlines believes it is the victim of a rush to judgement.
Much of the specifics of my conversation with United yesterday were off-the-record, but United walked me through its timeline of what occurred and corroborated its story with screenshots from SHARES, the Passenger Service System (PSS) that essentially makes United run behind the scenes.
Why off the record? United claimed that its system is proprietary and doesn’t want screenshots of it out on the internet, especially because this involved a particular passenger record. But the system looks something like this–
Did it Satisfy Me?
Well, yes and no. I appreciate that United is taking the issue seriously and I never blamed United as an institution for this issue, even noting my personal experience in seeing a Member of Congress receive preferential treatment. There is a difference between clearing upgrades out of order for VIPs and booting someone out of their seat. I am not 100% convinced this was not a rogue agent in Houston.
That said, based upon the time stamp in SHARES, it does appear that passenger cancelled her reservation using the United App.
I still have a number of questions that United has not answered, including these follow-up questions I sent to United (verbatim):
1. When she cancelled her segment, did she rebook herself on another segment? Did the app offer her another option? In my experience using the app, it won’t just allow a cancellation but will offer an alternate option. Why would the app suggest to her to cancel her quickest connection to DC?
2. We’ve heard her side of the story on Facebook, which admittedly seems quite reasonable/believable to me. I appreciate the evidence in SHARES, which helps to paint a different picture. But have you also spoken to FAs and gate agents, including the male IAH gate agent she claims was rude and condescending to her? Was she rude and verbally abusive with the gate agents? Was she offered another option, say to IAD or BWI in first class or a later flight to DCA?
3. What what happened the proper procedure for an instance like this? Is it documented in any official policy? I’ve seen similar instances and the upgraded passengers is always re-accomodated in economy class and the paid passenger given her original seat back. Should this have occurred here?
4. Is there any time-stamp of her entering the United Club where she claims she spent her layover? If so, it is assumedly before her final flight was canceled?
5. Is there any SHARES evidence that the reservation was cancelled from a mobile app logged into her account?
If United chooses to answer these, I will include them in a follow-up post. I want to get to the bottom of this issue. But United did offer one reason for refusing to pull off Congresswoman Jackson Lee that it has not offered elsewhere.
One Reason Why Jackson Lee Kept Her Seat
Remember United’s 10-point customer service commitment released after the Dao incident?
One pillar of that plan is–
Not require customers seated on the plane to give up their seat involuntarily unless safety or security is at risk
And let’s admit it, doesn’t that apply here? It is the best defense United has given as to why it could not restore the passenger’s original seat assignment (though to be clear, United insists the customer cancelled the reservation herself). The upgraded passenger, Jackson Lee, had already boarded and did not present a safety or security risk.
Let’s assume for a moment Jackson Lee was just an innocent bystander, as she contends. She already pulled the race card in an astoundingly unfair way. Imagine if she had been booted from her upgraded first class seat for a white woman. Oh man…I can only imagine the headlines.
That said, while this incident explains (potentially) why Simon could not be re-seated in first class, it doesn’t get to the bottom of what happened.
The Congresswoman Poured Gas on This Issue
Even if United is truly innocent in this case, and I just don’t think United would plant false evidence in SHARES, the Congresswoman has made this issue much worse than it had to be.
By insinuating passive-aggressively that the passenger was racist, she brings scrutiny upon herself and United. By framing her words in an ambiguous way (“I asked for nothing exceptional or out of the ordinary and received nothing exceptional or out of the ordinary”) she invites doubt over her actions and motives. Why not just say she asked for nothing…?
And it doesn’t escape me that it is primarily Alt-Right sources that are covering this. I am not one of those sources and reject the very race-bating in this country perpetrated by Breitbart on the right and Jackson Lee on the left.
CONCLUSION
We’ll have to mark this issue as still developing, but I wanted to provide this update. The passenger’s reservation was canceled via the mobile app at 11:22a CT, when the delay was announced.
I wonder if it’s possible for the GA to create a record in Shares that looks like a Mobile App cancel. Because the pax canceling this segment voluntarily makes absolutely no sense at all.
Hi Matt,
I wonder if the sentence “Not require customers seated on the plane to give up their seat involuntarily unless safety or security is at risk” from customer service commitment couldn’t be a wildcard for United to act differently as they wish, according to the situation.
For example, if I board under economic seat and decide to help myself to first class and take a seat? So under certain circumstances the sentence does not apply. Am I overlooking anything?
It’s a good question. I guess in your example you would be deemed a security risk if you refused to return to your assigned seat, as indicated on your valid boarding pass.
“their seat”. The F seat you’d be in isn’t *yours*.
All they have to do is track the IP and device used to cancel the record which is information UA has. The rogue employee would most definitely not cancel it within SHARES since every entry has a record of who entered it, but rather using their phone or some other mobile device to cancel the reservation. That would make it look like it was cancelled in the app and also very difficult to see who did it. Just like if you post your PNR on your blog and a rogue reader cancels it.
Bingo.
And they can check that vs her uses of the app, which were probably in a logged in state.
In terms of actual evidence provided to date, United is the only one that has shown any, namely the SHARES record regarding a United app cancellation of the pax’s reservation. The pax’s allegations of shenanigans by UA or the congresswoman have no specific evidence contradicting that. The congresswoman’s implication of race having played a role in the pax’s reaction is mostly her own interpretation, except for the “freeloading” word used in the pax’s Facebook post, which has often been coded racist terminology for African Americans’ ethics.
Given these facts, Matthew’s strong initial reaction and post which speculated in favor of the pax’s story and against UA and the congresswoman’s behavior, and this follow up post which continues to ask for more evidence from UA but not the pax, Matthew should think carefully about whether he is leaning towards the pax’s view unjustifiably in his posts. He is even heading toward a ‘both sides’ argument by equating the congresswoman’s actions with Breitbart.
His initial speculation about the United app not allowing a cancellation without an alternate routing seems to have been significantly refuted by UA’s evidence, but he is now asking for even more evidence. His initial information about an unnamed Texas congressperson speaking to the pax about the congresswoman’s past behavior was also incorrect. Perhaps his other initial speculations about UA shenanigans against the pax on behalf of the congresswoman were also in error?
Jig – You do realize UA has provided no evidence of whose UA app was used. Anyone with her record locator and last name can use the app to perform the same functions with a reservation.
UA has provided zero evidence of who used the app, no confirmation it was done while logged into her MP account.
Sill possible a rogue agent used the app to toy with her reservation.
@Greg
Yes, I know that. But note that Matthew and you are now asking for further evidence from UA, whereas the initial post’s speculation was that this app cancellation story was not true. Now that UA showed evidence that there was a record of the app cancellation, the speculation is that someone at UA generated the cancellation without the pax’s knowledge in order to free up a seat for the congresswoman. In a post below, Lack still does not believe that the app would allow a cancel.
Reacting to each fact by speculating only in favor of one version of events, especially when new facts start leaning against that version, would be a matter of having made up one’s mind and not allowing facts to change it.
And to clarify, I am suggesting that the initial fact pattern (not speculations and implications from past news) did not justify leaning toward any party’s side of the story. People leaning either way may be displaying their own worldview.
After the SHARES information Matthew saw, I would suggest a slight lean towards UA’s version that the pax cancelled the reservation in error.
As far as the congresswoman’s implication of race having played a role, the use of the “freeloading” word by the pax is indicative but not necessarily dispositive in my own opinion. It is possible it was simply indignation on feeling unjustifiably displaced. Not sufficient to apply a racist label to the pax.
@Jig: What motivation does the passenger have to lie? Why would she pay an obscene amount of miles for a two-day trip only to strand herself in Houston instead of taking the fastest way home she had a first class seat on? And I still question how the app allows someone simply to cancel a delayed flight a passenger is already checked in on. I’ve never seen that in my 1.5 million miles on United, with many delays encountered.
United has walked me through the SHARES coding, but I am taking United’s word that a string of characters in a coding language I do not speak represents an app-initiated cancellation. My questions are reasonable. If an honest error, I think United’s decision not to force Jackson Lee out of her seat the right one.
As for the other Texas Congressman onboard, I was going off her Facebook story. I have not seen it officially refuted anywhere, have you?
ETA: It was Rep. Ted Poe. There WAS another Congressman onboard.
And finally, yes I certainly do equate Jackson Lee to Breitbart and Bannon. Vile race mongers, all of them.
@Matthew
I laid out the established facts and evidence, and indicated that there did not seem any initial reason to lean towards any party’s version of events. What UA shared with you seems at least establish a beginning part of their version being correct.
You, on the other hand, immediately launched speculations without any evidence, regarding no app cancellation because you personally haven’t seen that, taking the pax’s story about an unknown Texas congressperson as fact, implied that the congresswoman had bullied UA into this action because you used to do it for the congressperson you worked for, and ignoring the context that the “freeloading” word has historically. When I point out that these speculations don’t match with facts known to date, you react by basically accusing me of being biased towards the congresswoman, not allowing for the possibility that I would prefer for everyone to focus on the facts. You continue to ask why the pax would do it, and I certainly don’t know the answer, but I note you don’t spend much time on the possibility that she just did it in error. And I don’t personally know when the congresswoman has recommended authors who predict race war, as Brietbart’s chairman has, but perhaps you can validate that equation somehow.
Again, I don’t perceive that either version of events has been evidenced clearly. However, your lean and strong reaction to being questioned on it has (of course, only in my own opinion). Along with The Gate (another ‘both sides’ view of Confederate statues and their backers as pubic monuments versus museum pieces), yours will be another blog that I will no longer visit. And that is a shame, as I have enjoyed a significant amount of your writing to date.
@Jig: Thanks for your reply. I think it’s a shame if you stop reading because you disagree with me politically on one issue. I’m willing to engage with you on any topic and I suspect we’d agree on much if we talked politics…just perhaps not on the character of Sheila Jackson Lee. And I admitted my bias against her shaped my reporting of this story. Because, yes, I can just see her doing whatever is necessary to secure her beloved first class seat. I have listened to her for years.
But, if I may ask, how often do you fly United? Because I do, very, very often. And I have never seen it possible to cancel a reservation on the app without going through several steps. It defies all logic to think she deliberately did this and I believe I can say–quite objectively–that it isn’t just a stray keystroke that can delete a reservation. It is nearly impossible. That’s objective reporting with insight that only a very frequent United flyer can add.
I am sorry, but “freeloading” is a “coded racist terminology”….are you kidding me? What word should be used in place of that so as not to be racist?
Freeloading is racial coding directed at African-Americans?
Funny, I didn’t know my worthless, free-loading brother was African-American.
Shenanigans. Definitely code used to mock Irish, Irish-Americans and leprechauns.
@mp & Maureen
As I said above, I personally don’t consider the usage in this context to be sufficient to claim racism: “Not sufficient to apply a racist label to the pax.”
However, you may want to check out the historical usage in disparagement of African Americans. A couple of examples:
Welfare Racism: Playing the Race Card Against America’s Poor
By Kenneth J. Neubeck, Noel A. Cazenave
https://thinkprogress.org/romney-on-naacp-booers-theyre-freeloaders-4e385239f819/
Just because you cited one example of Romney using the term freeloader at people booing him at a NAACP rally, does not give it “historical context”. The term was coined in the 1960’s and was aimed at the hippies of the time.
The book that I referenced before the Romney link has plenty of references regarding freeloading and similar pejoratives leveraged by 1960s politicians and ever since to stereotype African Americans. Senator Robert Byrd was a leader in this type of language. The book is available through Google Books, for those that wish to look.
Disappointing how people keep speculating without evidence, or in contradiction of new facts, or consider counter evidence insufficient without bothering to examine all of it or providing any of their own. But not surprising, given the human instinct to resist changing beliefs:
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2017/03/this-article-wont-change-your-mind/519093/
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/27/why-facts-dont-change-our-minds
@JIG: Apparently the “unnamed Congressman” was Rep. Ted Poe. He was on the flight and did have a conversation with Ms. Simon. I’m sorry.
I don’t believe the app would allow a simple cancel mid trip either.
Kerners Are Go!!!
So with a record locator and a last name you can cancel a reservation from United’s app without being logged in as that traveler? If that’s the case, at the very least the app should require a login if the reservation has a MP number attached.
Yep. You can cancel anyone’s reservation on any airline (sometimes you need the first name too). Just google “[Airline] Manage Reservations.” It’s presumably designed this way so travel agents and admins have easy access.
I’ve viewed many people’s reservations (including OPs) but never done anything nefarious!
Guard your PNR and ticket number with your life.
And barcodes. Can’t be flaunting those either!
Not directly related but see Lucky’s experiences here:
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2016/09/19/hotel-reservation-changed/
http://onemileatatime.boardingarea.com/2011/06/01/someone-decided-to-cancel-my-tickets-remember-to-protect-your-travel-plans/
I know how to do this from united.com as well…but on the app? Is it possible?
If it was an error by the user (or an IT glitch – very possible in my view), I think there is still a question, since the politician got the seat and boarded with GS, whether UA comps GS status to politicians that oversee it (as opposed to those who otherwise earn it). They don’t need to say who gets it, just a yes or no would suffice.
breitbart = race-baiting? Let’s see some evidence….
First let me say that I am a UA flyer and app user who flies regularly out of the DMV. I’ve used the app to change travel plans during inclement weather as well. Given your discussions with UA, the problem with not believing Ms Simon may have cancelled the trip in error (while viewing alternative travel options?) is that you have to make the story/conspiracy more and more complicated to come up with reasons for the cancellation. ..as some of the previous posters have. I mean we are not talking about JFK or some national security incident the likes of missing nuclear material. All they had to say was it was a gate agent error and it won’t happen again….nothing to see here. Somehow, people have moved to unknown nefarious actors getting a hold of her PNR number and cancelling her plans either via an app or online. Do we know if her photo skills extend beyond photographing first class passengers to posting pics of her tickets online? Perhaps while she was getting a latte at SBX she accidentally flashed her boarding pass to someone? Or even better, maybe a gate agent used their app or to cancel her flight as a way to hide their trail? How far does this have to go? Jackson’s reputation aside, Simon’s recounting of events gives a picture of someone who was not going gently into the night. Despite her I just wanted to go home mantra, Simon admits that she was very vocal about her situation…even after she took the voucher. Simon said she went to the front and snapped a photo of Jackson Lee and told a flight attendant that she knew why she’d been bumped. About five minutes after Simon took the photo on the plane, Simon said, another flight attendant sat next her and asked if she “was going to be a problem.”The fact that the flight attendants had to ask if she was going to be a problem speaks to possible creeper behavior. I am no fan of race baiting as you call it, but if random people start taking pics of me and complaining about favoritism and why I’m in first class…like Jackson (who would likely have no has idea who this lady is as she boarded the plane before Simon) I would have to start wondering what the heck is going on?
Matthew-
I am a super loyal United flyer (almost 400K PQM this year on mostly P/Z/M fares), and here are a few of my thoughts/questions on the matter. Would love your input.
1. Many of the articles online claim that the FA told Simon that Jackson Lee was upgraded because she was Global Services. (My hunch is that she must indeed be GS because clearing DCA-IAH last minute is extremely hard.) If so, I find it really hard to believe that Jackson Lee was able to qualify for GS on her own spend. (Even with all my PQM, I feel like I’m on the cutoff.) As someone pointed out on FT, if she did receive GS as a gift, that is indeed a scandal, as members of congress are not allowed to accept gifts of over $50. (GS is worth more than $50 based on the drink vouchers alone.) PLEASE PRESS United on this.
2. I have made at least 40 SDC this year (many of them weather related) and have never accidentally canceled a reservation. I find it very hard to believe that Simon accidentally canceled a segment. (The app, as you mention, is really solid unlike bomb.com.) If anything, she would have changed it to a different flight… If so, what was it? Why didn’t UA tell you?
3. I have been on at least 5 flights (post-Dao), where I was upgraded at the gate and then sent back to Economy once a last minute F passenger arrived. (One time I was even seated in F when we had a mechanical problem once we had taxied and had to go back to the gate. I was then downgraded as the late passenger arrived!) I do not buy UA’s explanation that Jackson Lee could not be reseated in Economy.
4. A UA agent or VIP handler could have easily cancelled or botched Simon’s reservation with just her last name and confirmation number (which they have access to). They could have easily done it in the app. Unless UA conducts a serious investigation (can they look at IP addresses?), they have no idea what really happened. UA should have apologized to Simon, given her more compensation, said they were going to closely investigate, instead of trying to paint her as a Luddite who accidentally canceled her reservation.
5. I really think Jackson Lee did herself a huge disservice with her reaction. Until this week, I had never heard of her. If she hadn’t screamed racism in such a passive aggressive manner, this story wouldn’t have made the front page of the Daily Mail. We wouldn’t all be hearing about her long pattern of pulling these kind of stunts.
As a huge UA loyalist, I am very disappointed by how UA has handled this. Even if Simon had accidentally canceled her flight, they threw her under the bus for being just a normal passenger. If I ever got put in a situation where I was de-boarded or harassed on a UA flight (and didn’t have my current status), I have no confidence that UA would have my back. It seems nowadays that one has to cause a large media commotion to get UA to finally apologize. This is a terrible disservice to the perception of UA agents, many of whom are incredible people who will go to bat for you during IRROPS.
@UAFlyer: What thoughtful commentary, which I greatly appreciate. I share every one of your concerns.
1. I will check on whether Jackson Lee is Global Services. It’s a great question. I know I have celebrity/media clients who have comped Global Services by United. I’m not sure (perhaps someone can chime in and save me the research later today) if Members of Congress are prohibited from accepting gifts over $50 or must simply declare it. Then the question becomes whether Jackson Lee declared it.
2. I agree on the difficulty of making changes and cancelling downward segments. The peanut gallery is quick to attack Simon (in order to defend Jackson Lee, methinks) but from what I can tell the people claiming it is easy to cancel an itinerary on the app have very little actual experience on the app.
3. I have been upgraded then downgraded as well, though just once. But I’ve seen it happen and your story simply verifies this.
4. Agree. United.com is a huge security vulnerability.
5. Indeed, Jackson Lee made this a far bigger story than it had to be.
Most Members who fly UA to get back to their districts because of the GSA city pair are GS. It’s cleared through the Capitol travel office and totally above board.
There are a thousand reprehensible things about SJL, but her having comped GS status isn’t one of them.
Also, because traveling on government fares for official travel usually has an astronomical price their PQD would likely be pretty high. It’s a fully refundable fare (and a requirement for official travel). Add in that they’re usually making the trip a couple dozen times a year and they’d probably qualify for 1K anyway.
Thanks, Matthew. Appreciate your response!
Apparently, the Fox News article on the matter has confirmed that Sheila is in fact a Global Services member. (Not that I am a fan of Fox News!)
“Asked Thursday about the discrepancies between United’s and Simon’s accounts, a United official told Fox News that their records clearly show the flight leg was canceled via the app – and not by a gate agent or other third party.
The official said their internal coding reflects the flight was canceled roughly a half-hour before the original take-off time, after it was clear the flight would be delayed over an hour. The congresswoman was then tapped for the seat because she was at the top of the upgrade list thanks to her GLOBAL SERVICES status, the official said.”
I guess the question now is whether the status was gifted and whether UA regularly does this for elected officials? I personally don’t know much about congressional ethics rules, so it would very interesting to hear from someone who knows more. I am honestly surprised that the media have yet to investigate this.
While United was quick to throw Simon under the bus at the outset, I think they are being quiet now because they realize that this could be a repeat of the infamous “Chairman’s flight” situation. To be clear, however, I am just speculating… 🙂
Hi Mathew,
Do you know what other airlines policies are for “Not require customers seated on the plane to give up their seat involuntarily unless safety or security is at risk”?
Similar situation with me on a Delta flight. They were going to evacuate the plane to remove the person in my DeltaOne seat, but I took a $9k voucher instead.
https://truptravels.com/2017/11/12/confirmed-paid-ticket-downgraded-on-deltaone/
It does seem that it would be a simple matter for UA to state whether they gift GS status to politicians or not, or whether they must earn it. Celebrities and others in the private sector might accept all the freebies and expensive gifts they want, but it is another matter for House members. And I don’t think the question is just about UA or this particular politician or party.
I find it hard to believe she cancelled her own flight. Why would she do so without booking another flight to her destination? Couple that with Rep Lee’s rampant hubris and it makes me wonder… Saying she didn’t ask for anything out of the ordinary makes me wonder if this was “ordinary” for her. Why was the other representative seated in regular seating? I have been active military for over 19 hrs. We are strictly forbidden from buying first class tickets with government money. We also don’t get a choice of airlines… we must buy the cheapest ticket from point A to point B. It’s shameful that members of congress get these “perks” and it would be even more shameful if it turns out they are bumping “lesser” people to do so.