'They kicked us to the curb': Recently engaged couple left heartbroken after airline downgrades and separates them, nightmare customer service ensues

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
May 26, 2023 4:30 PM EDT

A couple celebrating their recent marriage engagement is now calling out United Airlines on TikTok after they got treated extremely unfairly on their flight. As a gift from the bride-to-be's parents, they got them first class tickets for their trip from London to Chicago. This is not a usual thing for this couple, so it felt like such a special occasion and luxury. Unfortunately, United Airlines came in to ruin that celebration for the two lovebirds. 

Once they were already seated and full of excitement to be sitting in such luxury for the first time, a gate attendant approached them and said that one of them had been downgraded and had to move further back, out of first class. They tried to reason with them and at least get a reason why, but they said "that's just how it's going to be." They separated the two of them and quickly turned this couple's celebrations into a nightmare situation. The couple acknowledge that this is a "first world problem" and they wouldn't usually care too much about it. However, the way they were treated by the airline representatives was simply appalling. 

Apparently, they were just 2 of 4 people who got downgraded, yet they were the only ones who got downgraded with no incentives or compensation. They tried to talk to several people about it once getting off the flight, but instead were gaslit and redirected to the app or website. The couple, however, did mention that the flight attendants during the flight were trying their best to make up for the rudeness of their coworkers and help the couple get justice. 

They are still seeking said justice, thus why they turned to TikTok to try and get some advice, help, or even just to call out United Airlines to spread awareness of their poor customer service. Read and watch the entire situation go down below! 

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  • 01

    "United Airlines, do better..."

    via u/watergirl8296
  • 02
    Font - May 25, 2023 at 1:43 PM Please pause to read. Full story: My fiancé proposed to me which was an amazing surprise and huge blessing! My parents surprised us with business class tickets on United Airlines from London Heathrow to Chicago. Mikey has never been first class or business class, and we only have been maybe once or twice in our lives, watergirl8296 so this was an amazing surprise!
    via u/watergirl8296
  • 03
    Font - We boarded the plane, got in our seats, and prepared for departure. After we got comfortable, a gate agent supervisor came on board to my fiancé's seat. He said along the lines of, "Hello, this is what we are going to do: a flight attendant needs this seat, so we need to downgrade you". This is when I looked over and we were confused, so I asked my dad to jump in since he paid for the tickets. The gate agent supervisor then went to my dad and said along the lines of,
    via u/watergirl8296
  • 04
    Font - "We need to move him.". My dad then Jenlied, "Why?". The gate agent said, "Because we need that seat". My dad replied, "Why?". The gate agent replied, "Because we need that seat" (again). My dad replied, "Why do you need that seat?". The gate agent replied, "Because we need it for our flight attendants to sit in". Dad replied, "What do you mean for the flight attendant? Why do they need to sit there and can't sit somewhere else?". Gate agent replied, "They need this seat so they can sleep
    via u/watergirl8296
  • 05
    Font - Gate agent replied, "Michael was next on the list". Dad replied, "What list?" (Gate agent did not show us list ever). Gate agent replied, "He was the next person on the list. This is how it's going to be". Dad raised his voice, "This is unacceptable! I still don't understand how you picked him out of the whole group!". Gate agent said, "There's nothing else we can do other than taking o the next flight or go back in premium Matergirl8296 economy and will refund you the difference in the p
    via u/watergirl8296
  • 06
    Font - There's nothing further I can do and I'm going to leave it at that. We [gate agent] need to leave". During this whole time, this person's tone was very pushy, not empathetic, and forceful. One of the staff members took our email and address down. After going back and forth, one of us went back to the premium economy seat.
    via u/watergirl8296
  • 07
    Font - NOTE: at the time I recorded my first video, I thought they were moving to coach. Later on, I found out it was Premium Economy. Keep in mind that this was all super confusing and we were lost on what was happening and why. The point being is that we are being separated and downgraded when we paid to sit in business class as a surprise for our engagement. This surprise was taken away to where all four of us could not enjoy.
    via u/watergirl8296
  • 08
    Font - After takeoff, my dad spoke to someone who got moved as well. She claimed that a staff member approached her as she was boarding the plane informing her that they needed her seat with the same explanation. She also claimed that they needed four seats total and that we were all 2 of the 4. She also stated that the 2 other people agreed to take the next flight WITH incentives. She claimed that she will be receiving compensation AND an incentive (mileage points).
    via u/watergirl8296
  • 09
    Font - During the flight, my mom and I spoke to the flight attendants because they were checking on us. We apologized for the commotion to which one of them replied, "This was handled horribly". I asked if this is a common practice to which one of them replied along the lines of, "No. What happened was that a seat was not working on the plane, so additional seats were needed to accommodate this issue. Usually if there are no more seats for flight attendants, the plane is either supposed to go ou
    via u/watergirl8296
  • 10
    Font - Once we landed, we were greeted by a customer service supervisor. He said, "Are these all of your bags? Do we need to get more bags?" Since we did, he said, "Follow me". He took us in front of the line through customs and then to get our bags that we had to put on our connecting flight. We had to do this instead of our bags going straight home because we accidentally did separate bookings. He mentioned statements along the lines of statements such as, "You guys came just in time! It is su
    via u/watergirl8296
  • 11
    Font - We thought we were going into an office to discuss the issue that had occurred. Instead, he took us to the tram explaining how to get to our destination, gave us his card, and to call with any questions. My dad then stopped him and explained what we went through. He replied along the lines of, "We're sorry. This is not how we are at United. You guys have the right to reach out on United.com/ feedback so you can share your feedback. I'm very sorry you had to go through this. So yeah, absol
    via u/watergirl8296
  • 12
    Font - We filled out the forms, spoke to multiple people asking for help, and each one referred us to the website and would not talk to us. To this point, we have not been given any compensation. We understand that this takes time, but this whole experience was beyond unacceptable. We understand that this is a first-world problem, but this was horrible customer service that should have never happened. We wanted to share this story to spread awareness and see what can be done so that this doesn't
    via u/watergirl8296
  • 13
    via u/watergirl8296

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