Woman misses out on seeing dying mum after plane ticket bungle
Carrol Amrich was already seated on the plane, ready to visit her dying mother, when she was removed by United Airlines’ staff minutes before take-off.
The gate agent informed her that her ticket had been cancelled, and despite her pleas she was told “nobody flies for free”.
Carrol offered to pay for another ticket but wasn’t allowed back on board, with the airline claiming that the plane had already left.
The ticket bungle was due to a technicality. The ticket for the flight had been purchased by her landlord.
Traveler Help Desk, the company that sold the ticket, cancelled it because her landlord had made a change directly with United rather than going through the company. However, at the time the airline assured them it was fine to do so.
Distressed and desperate, Carrol received no help from the airline so she was left to drive to her mother from Colorado to Minnesota.
She called her mother, begging her to hold on a little while longer while she embarked on her long journey ahead.
The next time her phone rang, it was to tell her that her mother had passed away.
“I drove 1000 miles (1610 kilometres), and she was gone before I got here,” Ms. Amrich told the New York Times two days later.
“I never stopped to rest. I went straight through. And she was gone.
“I cried the whole way from Pueblo. I’ve been awake for two days. I haven’t eaten for two days.”
Traveler Help Desk spokeswoman Carolyn Gallant confirmed the ticket had been cancelled as a protection against fraud.
“I am just so sorry for Ms Amrich’s loss,” Ms Gallant said.
“I understand it was unfortunate the ticket ended up voided. Had she contacted us directly to make the change, this all would have been avoided.”
The flight date had been changed when her mother’s health worsened, requiring Carrol to visit immediately.
United Airlines claimed on the phone that it was fine to make the change through them instead of Traveler Help Desk.