Here’s an interesting lawsuit. The widow of an Air France passenger is suing that airline, claiming that their decision to bump her husband “caused him to miss a life-saving dialysis treatment at home.” The lawsuit charges Air France with breach of contract, negligence and wrongful death.
Gold star to anyone who can guess what the airline’s response was.
From USAToday:
Air France told Travel Weekly it could not comment since it had not seen the suit, but the carrier added that it takes “very seriously any incident involving the death or injury of one of its passengers onboard its flights.”
Overbooking is a pretty routine business practice, but there are some airlines who don’t do it, like JetBlue.
Widow Sues Air France, Claims Bumping Led To Husband’s Death [USAToday via Tripinator](Thanks, Craig!)
(Photo:gocart)
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@s35flyer: Seriously, that’s the worst thing you ever heard? The main story for this post is a lot worse than that.
What makes you think they didn’t have a reservation? I never said anything like that. Actually, their original flight was canceled and they were re-routed through this city with a close to 10 hour layover. That’s why they “priority standby’d” them.
@sciencegeek: Hotels also do this on a regular basis, but they don’t ask for volunteers. I used to work at a fancy hotel in downtown DC and many times I had to explain to people that their confirmed $375/night room had been given to someone else. The practice is called “walking,” and its why you see so many same-branded hotels right near each other…the hotel that “walked” you will usually give you a certificate for a free night and get you a room somewhere else on their dime. If there is another Marriott or Hilton across the street, the likelihood that you will have a screaming fit declines, as does the lost revenue from having to pay another chain.
@TBT–that comment was really directed at Falconfire’s original comment on the topic of overbooking.
Bumping, unless it’s a medical or some other sort of emergency/major problem occurring at that exact moment shouldn’t even be an option. It’s ridiculous that it’s not only allowed, but commonplace.
@chouchou: 18 months ago, I flew round-trip in economy class from Washington, DC to Mumbai, India on Air France. The service provided was great. So I don’t think saying “it’s Air France” explains anything.
@curiosity: Contracts exam recently?