A Couple Flying to Their Wedding Got Kicked off Their Flight

A bad week for "the Friendly Skies" may have just gotten worse.

A week after a 69-year-old Vietnamese-American doctor was dragged kicking and screaming off a United Airlines flight from Chicago to Louisville, so that the airline could make room for some employees, comes another unfortunate series of events.

I'm no rocket brain-surgeon, but overbooking a flight is not a passenger's fault.

If it's a choice between a passenger who paid for a seat on a flight and an employee needing a lift, then maybe the employee needs to find another lift.

The latest unfortunate incident involves a couple heading from Houston to Costa Rica for their wedding. Michael Hohl and Amber Maxwell were the last to board their flight Saturday. When they got to their seats, they found a guy asleep in their seats. So, they moved up to some empty seats. Apparently, those seats were more expensive than the ones they bought. One thing led to another, and the couple were invited to exit the plane. United did set them up with a room for the night and a flight Sunday morning.

Okay, here's my first question: What's with the dude sleeping in their seats? I've never boarded a plane so tired that I've fallen asleep before it took off. It's kind of like going to Nickelodeon Universe with the kids and falling asleep on one of the rides. It takes a few minutes to get situated and comfortable in the chair. By the time the bird is in the air, then I'm comfortable, relaxed and ready for a nap. Didn't the couple try waking the guy up? Or ask the flight attendant to wake him up?

The story becomes completely different from that point on. Did they ask to move to empty seats so they didn't disturb the sleeping man? Or, did they just figure, "what are they gonna do? Kick us off the flight?" There's a little part of me that wonders if this couple may have tried taking advantage of United's bad week.

The way the story unfolds is that this dozing dude was harshing their mellow quite a bit, to the point where the flight staff asked the couple to deplane. They offered to make up the difference in the price of the seats they moved to, but the flight crew aren't ticket agents. Once you're on the flight, you should be able to sit in the seat you bought. And curse first-class passengers under your breath.

I wonder if this is how the couple's proposal went.