A bride and groom traveling to Costa Rica for their wedding on Saturday were escorted off a United Airlines flight, almost one week after videos surfaced in which another passenger was forcibly removed from a United plane.
The engaged couple told KHOU.com that they were the last to board the plane when they noticed a man was spread across their row, row 24, napping. Not wanting to wake the man, they said they decided to take seats three rows up.
“We thought not a big deal, it’s not like we are trying to jump up into a first-class seat,” said Michael Hohl. “We were simply in an economy row a few rows above our economy seat.”
That row was “Economy Plus” — an upgrade from their regular seats. When a flight attendant approached and asked if they were in their seats, the couple explained that they weren’t and asked for an upgrade, at which point they were told the return to their seats. Hohl said they complied, however a U.S. Marshal came to remove them from the flight.
The couple got off the plane without incident, but claim to not understand why.
“They said that we were being disorderly and a hazard to the rest of the flight, to the safety of the other customers,” said Hohl.
In a statement to TheWrap, a United spokesperson said, “these passengers repeatedly attempted to sit in upgraded seating which they did not purchase and they would not follow crew instructions to return to their assigned seats. They were asked to leave the plane by our staff and complied. We offered them a discounted hotel rate for last evening and rebooked them on a flight this morning.”
The statement continued, “no air marshal or authorities were involved. The passengers followed our crews’ instruction to leave the plane. The passengers were ticketed in Economy and attempted to move up to Economy Plus. They were offered the opportunity to pay the difference in fare, they declined, and would not follow crew member instructions to return to their assigned seats.”
This incident comes just six days after a man, identified as Dr. David Dao, was forcibly removed from a flight, leaving him bloody and disoriented. Videos of the event have gone viral, sparking outcry in the country.
United took “full responsibility” for the incident and promised to “make it right.”
11 Companies That Created Their Own PR Nightmares (Photos)
United Airlines went viral in the worst way possible when video of a man being wrestled off one of its flights hit the internet. The man, a doctor who needed to return home for his shift at a hospital, was forcibly removed from a plane because a crew member needed his seat. Video showed security dragging the man being off the plane by his arms with blood on his face.
Getty Images
United's latest public relations nightmare was preceded by an incident last month in which two teenagers were barred from boarding their flight because they were wearing leggings.
Getty Images
Within minutes of Pepsi unveiling a new ad starring Kendall Jenner, social media users almost unanimously came down against it, calling the protest-themed commercial tone deaf and opportunistic. The ad, which depicted Jenner resolving the tension at a protest scene with a can of Pepsi, was pulled after a day and the company issued an apology.
Pepsi
In 2015, Starbucks had its own PR disaster with its "race together" campaign, which sought to help heal race relations in America through coffee cup stickers, and not much else. Critics slammed the campaign, which began in response to a series police shootings, as a cheap marketing ploy.
Starbucks
Bloomingdales ran a print ad in 2015 encouraging readers to "spike your best friend's eggnog when they're not looking." With the accompanying photo of a man looking at a distracted woman, some accused the ad of contributing rape culture by encouraging people to shirk consent.
Bloomingdales
Budweiser found itself in a similar position when customers noticed that some Bud Light cans featured the quote “The perfect beer for removing ‘no’ from your vocabulary for the night.” One of 140 slogans printed on the cans as part of the “Up for Whatever” campaign, the quote nonetheless drew the ire of those who said the company was encouraging rape.
Getty Images
The skincare company Nivea took some heat on social media after it debuted an ad featuring the phrase "white is purity," which some accused of supporting white supremacy. The ad also included a picture of a woman and the caption "Keep it clean, keep it bright. Don't let anything ruin it."
Nivea
Samsung began selling its Galaxy Note 7 phones in August 2016, and by September, it had suspended sales of the phone due to reports that they were catching fire during charging. After issuing replacement phones only to find that those phones were also catching fire, the company officially recalled the product on Sept. 15. In October, it issued a software update to brick the model entirely.
Getty Images
Wells Fargo is currently amid its own PR disaster after it came to light that employees were creating thousands of fraudulent accounts to meet unrealistic sales goals. As many of 5,300 employees were fired as a result, and the company has since clawed back $180 million from two former executives.
Getty Images
When President Trump signed the first version of his Muslim travel ban in February and taxis briefly withheld service from airports in protest, Uber announced it would be lowering its own prices. The action led to a mass boycott of the ride sharing service and the hashtag #DeleteUber.
Getty Images
Chick-fil-A's history of anti-LGBT activism came to light after the company's CEO Dan Cathy admitted to opposing same-sex marriage in 2012. Amid increasing public outcry, the company eventually vowed to stop donating to anti-LGBT causes.
Getty Images
1 of 11
From United Airlines violently removing a passenger to Pepsi, Starbucks and Chick-fil-A’s public faux pas
United Airlines went viral in the worst way possible when video of a man being wrestled off one of its flights hit the internet. The man, a doctor who needed to return home for his shift at a hospital, was forcibly removed from a plane because a crew member needed his seat. Video showed security dragging the man being off the plane by his arms with blood on his face.