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Home » United Airlines » United Airlines 777-300ER To Taipei Diverts After Economy Class Passenger Won’t Stay Out Of Business Class
NewsUnited Airlines

United Airlines 777-300ER To Taipei Diverts After Economy Class Passenger Won’t Stay Out Of Business Class

Matthew Klint Posted onJuly 21, 2023November 13, 2023 36 Comments

a tvs and screens in an airplane

A United Airlines 777-300ER bound for Taipei returned to San Francisco to offload one problematic passenger after he refused to remain seated in economy class, making multiple trips to the business class cabin and resisting calls to return to his seat.

United 777-300ER Returns To SFO After Economy Class Passengers Refuses To Stay Seated, Walks Into Business Class

UA871 took off from San Francisco (SFO) for Taipei (TPE) yesterday, a journey of just over 13 hours. Two hours into the flight, however, the plane made a 180º turn and returned to SFO.

United Airlines only issued the following statement:

“United flight 871 returned to San Francisco due to a disruptive passenger. Law enforcement officials met the aircraft on arrival and removed the passenger. We expect to depart for Taipei later this evening.”

The flight ultimately took off at 11:26 pm PT.

a screenshot of a computer screen

But in searching for more answers, I started a thread on FlyerTalk and (unsurprisingly, which is why I love FlyerTalk so much) not just one, but two passengers onboard quickly chimed in with first-hand accounts. One shared:

I was in Polaris. The guy was in coach. He kept coming up to Polaris during the initial drink service. Flight attendant told him to return to his seat. He walked back but then a few moments later, he’s back up in the Business cabin. He appeared to be under the influence of something. Then the puraer told the entire cabin to return to their seats. He didn’t comply. Then restrained him & returned to SFO. We are now waiting for a new crew & the plane to be refreshed.

Another passenger said the passenger was not actually restrained:

Slight correction – passenger was never restrained. FA asked myself and a few other guys to help with the situation to keep an eye on the guy.

Things calmed down once he got seated – IME, crew made the right decision to return. Just hope we make it out tonight.

Live And Let’s Fly has learned this was a “Category 2” alert, meaning the passengers was considered a threat (the man who lashed out at a flight attendant, forcing a diversion last week, was only a Category 1 threat). The passenger was also allegedly kicking seatbacks.

There are no images or video that have yet surfaced from this incident.

CONCLUSION

A nearly-full United 777 returned to San Francisco to offload an unruly passenger who refused to stay seated. The flight ultimately took off again more than eight hours late and is currently enroute to Taipei.

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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36 Comments

  1. Malik on Wall Street Reply
    July 21, 2023 at 7:32 am

    It’s not complicated. Sit in the seat that was printed on your boarding pass. Because of one person, hundreds of people got to TPE eight hours behind schedule.

    • Douglas Malcolm Reply
      August 17, 2023 at 12:46 pm

      Absolutely it’s so simple. Like in grade school and with assigned seats. Just sit in the seat

  2. shoeguy Reply
    July 21, 2023 at 7:38 am

    Why can’t the airlines simply ban these fools for life and fine them? It seems like a good way to prevent this nonsense from recurring. No?

    • Mike R Reply
      July 21, 2023 at 12:37 pm

      They can. They just don’t. Should have charged him for four hours of fuel and flight time.

    • Tony N Reply
      July 21, 2023 at 3:02 pm

      You don’t know who is going to have an anger or anxiety attack. My suggestion is to screen for health problems such as anger and mental illness (and physical illness) with a simple questionnaire before buying your ticket. The airlines don’t want to do that probably because of privacy issues and what not.

  3. Mick Reply
    July 21, 2023 at 8:15 am

    I always wonder if it’s a benefit if you’re a leisure passenger to get all those extra hours in Polaris 😉

    I was on lh first from Frankfurt to ord once and they almost turned the plane around about 4 hours in. Can’t say the wife and I would have minded another day in Europe Sans kids

  4. Paper Boarding Pass Reply
    July 21, 2023 at 8:38 am

    He wanted to cash in his 30k Kirby Special miles from his Newark experience.

  5. Baliken Reply
    July 21, 2023 at 8:39 am

    Once the guy is restrained why not continue to the original destination?

    • Mr. Marcus Reply
      July 21, 2023 at 9:07 am

      There are only a few options for a diversion on the SFO-TPE route, and they were only 2 hours into a 13 hour flight.

      Passengers have been known to break free of restraints on flights, it happened last month.

      It’s obviously a judgment call for the captain and crew to make based on the circumstances at hand.

    • Chris Raehl Reply
      July 21, 2023 at 10:20 am

      To can’t ethically keep someone restrained in an airline seat for 11 hours (have to feed them, they have to use the restroom). Nor do you want your crew or other passengers having to divert their attention to watching the problem passenger. Nor do you want the chance of the situation escalating when you’re over the pacific and finding yourself in Adak Island with far more logistical issues than you would have at your hub, all to maybe save 5 hours.

    • TravelPro Reply
      July 21, 2023 at 10:41 am

      Are you serious? He had to be removed for security reasons. The crew doesn’t have time to deal with nuts like this. They have 300 other passengers to take care of. Get him the F off!

      Airlines should have an across the board “No Fly List”. If a passenger is disruptive on one airline, he or she should be banned on all airlines. This is the only way to get people to stop creating issues onboard.

      • Dick Bupkiss Reply
        July 21, 2023 at 12:49 pm

        YES!

        Until all the airlines start doing this – having a cross-airline “no fly” list for morons – incidents will continue.

    • ted poco Reply
      July 21, 2023 at 11:38 am

      Taiwan would probably refuse to admit him, United would then have to fly him back tonthe US.

      • Tony N Reply
        July 21, 2023 at 3:06 pm

        Maybe if he is a Taiwan citizen the USA will deport him. Don’t laugh, The Dept of Homeland Security is Tough these days.

  6. Santastico Reply
    July 21, 2023 at 8:55 am

    This is becoming BS. Where are the marshals that used to be on flights? Much cheaper to pay for a security person to be on a flight and put morons like these on their places vs diverting a flights. Deal with these idiots when you land otherwise and later ban these people for life. It is getting tiring to see so many people affected by morons and stupid decisions from airlines. The guy was a complete moron but was he a huge threat to the flight?

    • Chris Raehl Reply
      July 21, 2023 at 10:21 am

      No, it would absolutely not be cheaper to put a security person on EVERY flight than to divert the rare flight where this happens.

  7. ed lewis Reply
    July 21, 2023 at 9:07 am

    Most governments won’t prosecute this kind of thing, they think they have bigger fish to fry. It should be SOP for United and ALL the airlines to sue the individual for costs and justifiable indirect costs (and legal fees) each time their behavior disrupts a flight.

    ‘Seems if word gets out that a process server arrives at your door a few day after every incident, perhaps some, but not all, would think twice about antisocial, illegal, disruptive behavior and language.

    • Chris Raehl Reply
      July 21, 2023 at 10:24 am

      Some people legitimately have mental breakdowns. Most of them drink too much. Fighting out which is which may not be obvious. There’s no implied consent law for flying.

      And, these situation whole in the aggregate may appear common (something every few days), they are extremely rare (one out of THOUSANDS or TENS OF thousands of flights.)

      • Mike R Reply
        July 21, 2023 at 12:39 pm

        Choosing to drink too much is choosing to accept the consequences of drinking too much.

        Four hours of fuel and crew time should sober him up for his next flight on Spirit…

  8. Stuart Reply
    July 21, 2023 at 9:59 am

    I guess he read Matthew’s review of the UA French fries and just couldn’t contain himself.

  9. Skyler Rogers Reply
    July 21, 2023 at 10:55 am

    Unnecessary overreaction. Same initiative is never shown when flights are canceled or passengers tortured by overbookings and delays.

  10. TravelPro Reply
    July 21, 2023 at 11:02 am

    I am a 1K with United. The crew should not have to deal with passengers who are unruly. Get the person off of the plane then their information should be shared amongst the other airlines. The No Fly List should apply to all airlines rather than just the one that they caused the disturbance on. If all airlines banned the person from flying then perhaps the outbursts might stop. These few who create issues know there are no repercussions unless you try to encroach on the flight deck.

    • Loretta Jackson Reply
      July 21, 2023 at 2:11 pm

      >I am a 1K with United.

      … why do you say this? Nobody cares.

      • David Reply
        July 21, 2023 at 8:34 pm

        Was thinking the same thing. What relevance does that have with any of this?

  11. Tony N Reply
    July 21, 2023 at 12:41 pm

    Could they not have tried to convince him? I mean, costing thousands of dollars, fuel dump, and inconvenience to hundreds of people. He e will definitely have to pay for that.

  12. Tony N Reply
    July 21, 2023 at 12:46 pm

    Some kind of Mental health questionaire (and physical) should be required pre boarding to the effect of, do you suffer from anxiety, anger, or do you have any fears and issues with noncompliant behavior?

  13. Tabitha Wyatt Reply
    July 21, 2023 at 12:49 pm

    Start breathalyzing everyone as they scan boarding passes. Call it “Blow and Go”.

  14. HkCaGu Reply
    July 21, 2023 at 1:24 pm

    In the 1990s a drunk HK pop star from LA caused BR to divert to ANC. UA could’ve done that if crew wouldn’t time out.

  15. M. Casey Reply
    July 21, 2023 at 2:49 pm

    Oh the stories…

    JFK-LAX: lady in FC 757-200 opened up a pop-up tent in the aisle for her child! Upon arriving into LAX – no diversion – my lead and I met the A/C where my lead refunded the woman’s return ticket and forwarded her name and loyalty number to our headquarters – then asked her to please not choose us for future travel arrangements.

    As to what happened next… I do not know. Did she fly with us again, did our company put her on a “no-fly” list – nothing is certain.

  16. John Dogas Reply
    July 21, 2023 at 3:53 pm

    So basically the man was fine once seated. Another overreaction by the pilots who get $400,000 a year while shareholders are forced to pay for fuel and a new crew and passengers are delayed and out through stress and difficulty. There are times when it is appropriate to return to the airport but this is too often being abused nowadays with overreaction by pilots. People do drink on planes because they are afraid to fly. There is a difference between a violent passenger and one like this.

    • Johannes Bols Reply
      July 25, 2023 at 3:23 am

      $400K a year? Would you please quote your source for this figure because it’s 4x the figure I’ve been quoted by a UA Captain.

  17. Maugrim Reply
    July 21, 2023 at 9:02 pm

    It’s interesting that there would be certain routes on various airlines where this would be a common event. How often are the planes involved turned around ?

  18. Guillermo Reply
    July 22, 2023 at 3:27 pm

    In the times we are living now, you never know. Could have been someone testing security, ease of access or else closer to the cockpit. Someone working alone or with others. Someone under the influence acting erratically. Either way posing a safety risk for passengers and crew. Bettersafe than sorry I say. Inconvenient? Yes. Acting accordingly definitely.

  19. viapanam Reply
    July 22, 2023 at 5:48 pm

    Make it all one class of service. Then these types of disruptions wouldn’t occur.

  20. JohnM Reply
    July 23, 2023 at 3:14 am

    I was on the flight….the passenger was very likely under the influence of an illegal drug. He was running up and down the aisles screamimg at various passengers. He was having quite the psychotic episode and it was up to the passengers to get him back to his seat. He was verbally violent amd could eaisly have become physically violent. The passenges marched him out of the aircraft in SFO. The UA staff did not appear to do too much and were quite shocked by the behaviour. This happens frequently on US carriers, usually domestic flights. Drugs…zero tolerance. I had onward flights and this massively inconveinced me..plus i had to purchase an additional ticked not on the UA ticket…..hopimg he is enjoying his SFO holding cell.

  21. Pingback: United Airlines 777 U-Turns Over Pacific Due To Stubborn Business Class Visitor - One Mile at a Time

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