A woman on a United Airlines flight from Houston to Washington, D.C., accused the airline of giving the seat she paid for to Texas Democratic Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee.
Jean-Marie Simon, 63, who works as an attorney in Washington, D.C., purchased a first class ticket on her trip from Guatemala but was told when boarding her seat had been taken. Simon claims to have purchased the tickets Dec. 3 using frequent flyer miles for her flight on Dec. 20, according to The Houston Chronicle.
United compensated Simon with $500, but in their released statement, the airline company said Simon canceled her flight. In response, the airline booked the first customer on the waitlist, which they say is a part of their normal protocol.
“After thoroughly examining our electronic records, we found that upon receiving a notification that Flight 788 was delayed due to weather, the customer appears to have canceled her flight from Houston to Washington, D.C., within the United mobile app,” United said in a statement. “As part of the normal pre-boarding process, gate agents began clearing standby and upgrade customers, including the first customer on the waitlist for an upgrade.”
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.