United Gave Away A Toddler’s Seat, Forcing Him To Sit On His Mother’s Lap For The Entire Flight

Last Thursday, Shirley Yamauchi, a mother from Hawaii, was flying on a United Airlines flight from Houston to Boston with her toddler.

She'd paid for both seats in advance, and since her child is over two-years-old, he had to have his own ticket.  But apparently a flight attendant misunderstood that he had his own seat, and they didn't scan his ticket correctly.  United ended up releasing the toddler's seat to a passenger on standby, meaning that the 25-pound toddler had to sit on his mother lap for the entire flight!

Yamauchi complained when they released the seat to someone else, but the attendant just shrugged, said the flight was full, and walked away.  United has since offered a full refund to Yamauchi for her troubles.