United Airlines 'sorry' for flying passenger 4,800km in wrong direction
United Airlines promises to take its passengers all over the world – it just might not necessarily be where they actually want to go.
After violently dragging a passenger from an overbooked flight earlier this year, French passenger Lucie Bahetoukilae might have wished they still offered the same service after she was flown 4,800 kilometres in the wrong direction.
The well-rehearsed public relations team apologised for their ‘horrible failure’ to correctly check Ms Bahetoukilae’s intended destination of Paris.
As a result, she wound up in San Francisco.
Her niece, Diane Miantsoko shared her aunt’s story, adding to the airline’s PR nightmare.
“If they would have made the announcement in French, she would she have moved gates. Of course, because she speaks French she would’ve moved to another gate,” she told ABC.
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“They didn’t pay attention. My aunt could have been anyone. She could have been a terrorist and killed people on that flight, and they didn’t know they didn’t catch it.”
A spokesperson said they were quick to put the French native on the first flight to Paris and refunded her ticket.
“Our customer care team has reached out to her directly to ensure we make this right,” they said.
While the mistake was quickly rectified, the internet was not about to let it fly under the radar.
