This story is complicated, but just goes to show that the more details there are, the more that can go wrong. Brenda Berg of Raleigh, North Carolina, bought a ticket from Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) for her 14-year-old son to go to Stockholm, Sweden. SAS considers anyone 12 or older to be flying as an adult. However, SAS does not fly to Raleigh, so the airline arranged for a connecting flight to Newark with United. When the family arrived at the airport, United said the teenager would have to be guided by the airline's escort service, which would cost another $150. The mother paid for the service. What else could she do at that point?
The paperwork that the 14-year-old was given had the correct flight information on it, but there was a gate change between when it was printed and when he arrived at Newark for the connecting flight. A Eurowings plane, Flight EW1113 to Düsseldorf, was sitting at the gate at that point.
The United representative said the Düsseldorf flight was ready to leave, awaiting one more passenger, who had a similar name as the boy. They were preparing to close the doors, calling the passenger's name, when the person escorting the boy heard the announcements, assumed it was supposed to be him, and rushed him onto the incorrect plane.
We purchased this exact connection so we could be in contact by phone during the transition. He is an experienced traveler and it would have been entirely fine. But they sequestered him in a room for minors, then put him on the wrong plane. #NeverUnitedAir
— Brenda Berg (@BrendaBerg) June 30, 2019
The boy himself realized what was going on, and alerted the crew, who managed to get the plane returned to the gate before takeoff, but meanwhile his correct flight had left. SAS arranged for a later flight. That flight involved an international transfer in Copenhagen, which the teenager negotiated just fine on his own. Read more on this story at Business Insider. -via Boing Boing