Aviation

Airline offers passenger $13,000 travel credit to give up her seat

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According Oversixty reports A woman has been offered US$10,000 ($13,000) to give up her seat on an overbooked United Airlines flight from Washington, DC to Austin, Texas, where she was travelling for a hen’s weekend.

Allison Preiss took to Twitter to vent her anger at her treatment by the airline, who initially offered US$1,000 ($1,300) worth of travel credit to anyone who voluntarily gave up their seat. “If nobody bites, they will kick off the lowest fare passenger by pulling them out of the boarding line,” Preiss wrote. “For a flight that THEY oversold. Unreal.”

In a surprising turn of events, Preiss revealed that she was in fact the lowest fare passenger, leading the airline to kick her off the flight. “They can’t board me on this plane because there is a broken seat.”

After being removed from the flight, Preiss claims United “tried to get me to sign a document that says I volunteered my seat on this plane when I was involuntarily denied boarding,” a move she describes as “sketchy”.

This is how badly United didn’t want to give me cash: pic.twitter.com/sI7vmbeB2Q

— Allison Preiss (@allisonmpreiss) March 22, 2018

But the story gets even crazier.

“They really do not want to give me cash,” Preiss wrote. “They just offered me $10,000 in travel credit. TEN THOUSAND.”

She also alleges that United denied her access to the lounge for the inconvenience, instead offering her two $10 vouchers at Pizza Hut.

“On the upside, I wasn’t physically dragged off the plane and my dog wasn’t killed on board, so I’ve got that going for me… which is nice,” Preiss remarked, referring to the April 2017 incident in which Dr David Dao was physically dragged off a flight, as well as the recent tragedy in which a dog passed away after being placed in the overhead compartment.

Related Topics:give up seat United airline USA

Aviation

Lost Tool Found in Qantas A380 After 34 Flights

An Australian Transportation Safety Bureau (ATSB) investigation recently revealed that a Qantas A380 operated 34 flights with a 1.25-meter nylon tool lodged in one of its engines.

This turning tool, used during borescope inspections to rotate the intermediate-pressure compressor, was left behind during scheduled maintenance at Los Angeles on December 6, 2023. It remained inside the engine until it was discovered by maintenance staff during a subsequent check at Los Angeles on January 1, 2024.

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The ATSB report highlights two critical lapses. First, maintenance engineers failed to notice the tool during final checks for foreign objects after the borescope inspection. Second, the lost tool procedure was not activated when the tool was identified as missing.

The certifying engineer ultimately cleared the aircraft for service without accounting for the misplaced tool. During the time qantas films the tool was inside, the A380 completed 34 flight cycles, accumulating nearly 294 hours without any noticeable effect on engine performance.

Although the tool was deformed by high-energy airflow within the engine, there was no reported damage to the engine itself. ATSB Chief Commissioner Angus Mitchell commented.

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“This incident underscores the importance of following established maintenance protocols. Engineers missed the tool during foreign object checks, and the required lost tool procedure wasn’t started after realizing the tool was missing.”

Following the investigation, the airline issued a safety directive, urging all engineering and tool storage teams to adhere strictly to these protocols to prevent similar incidents in the future.

A qantas spokesperson stated, “While the tool didn’t impact engine performance, we take this incident very seriously. It is critical to follow the correct lost tool procedures.”