Quote Originally Posted by catherine View Post
So the latest news is United recently kicked off a couple who were going on a honeymoon to Costa Rica because they would not listen to flight attendant instructions to return to their assigned seats. They repeatedly tried to sit in upgraded seats--not first class but "Economy Plus." They didn't think it was a big deal.

Yes, United is the Big Bad Airline, but look what they have to put up with. These people didn't pay for upgraded seats, but they thought they were entitled to them, just because. They didn't obey the flight attendants' instructions to move back to their own row. As a frequent flier, these kinds of fliers drive me nuts. They're the ones who will put their carry-on in the overheads in the front of the plane even though their seats are in the back, just so they don't have to carry them down the aisle. They're the ones who will not obey a simple request to turn off their cell phones. It may sound like such a stupid thing to kick off a couple because they wanted to steal seats they didn't pay for, but how is that different from any other kind of purchase where you take what you pay for and you're not entitled to more just because you feel like it?

I could never be a flight attendant. People can be so selfish and rude on airlines.
Catherine, I'm glad you posted this as reading this inspired me to do further research and this does seem to be a reliable account of what took place on this flight. If so, I can't hold this against the United Airlines Brand, much as i'd like to. Just as you need "standing to sue" to be able to sue, an activist such as myself should have "standing to engage" in activism - i.e., a justifiable reason for doing so. This is not such an example and I will admit I was all fired up about this after hearing about it at 6 AM this morning in line for discounted menudo at the Mexican Deli at Food City.

United Airlines really does have a lot of my friends and neighbors extremely pissed off as what happened to Dr. Dao is a perfect example for many people of both what is wrong with America and how America truly is, but in this particular case I can't fault United and there are those out there faulting United for this. I wish to be reasonable in my activism and this particular incidence does not lend me "standing to engage" in activism. I continue activism against the United Airlines brand but I will not add this incident to the list of grievances against the brand. Rob