In a controversial incident, the airline Avianca sold the seat that a passenger had booked three months in advance to a mother traveling with two children.
The passenger, a Colombian lawyer named Juan Manual, had purchased a roundtrip ticket from Bogotá, Colombia to Los Angeles with a connection in El Salvador.
He arrived at the airport two and a half hours before his flight, as recommended, and waited patiently while other passengers board in the earlier groups.
When it was time for Juan Manuel to board, he approached the counter and showed his boarding pass. However, to his surprise, he was told to step aside.
After waiting 15 minutes, he was finally allowed to proceed to the plane.
But once onboard, Juan Manuel found that a child occupied his assigned window seat. At the moment, he was confused and informed the flight attendant of the issue.
The attendant apologized and said the airline had overbooked the flight, leaving Juan Manuel without a seat despite having a valid ticket.
“Don't be disrespectful, is my money worthless? Don't give me bad options, I need to get there. I'm a lawyer, you should respect me.
“I paid for it, they deducted it from my card, you haven’t given me anything, it wasn’t a favour!” Manuel angrily said.
The situation escalated when a flight attendant warned Manuel they would call the police if he didn't get off the flight.
“Good, I hope the prosecutor’s office comes because I want to file a report. You can’t be playing with people’s plans.”
According to Juan Manuel, he had purchased this ticket three months earlier for an important meeting with lawyers representing three jailed Colombian nationals in Los Angeles.
Missing this appointment was a significant inconvenience.
As a result of the overbooking, the flight was delayed by nearly an hour as the airline tried to resolve the situation. Juan Manuel refused to give up his seat, insisting that he had a valid ticket.
A female passenger told the Avianca agent she was okay with having her daughter on her lap so Manuel could have the seat.
After thinking about it, Manuel told the passengers he was leaving the plane because of them, not because of the airline.
According to his claims, Avianca rebooked Juan Manuel on a different flight to Miami, where he made a connection to Chicago.
In Chicago, he waited nearly five hours because of a delay and landed in Los Angeles around 10. p.m.
Eventually, Avianca offered him a meal voucher worth $8 and an $80 flight voucher as compensation, but this did little to make up for the disruption to his travel plans.
The seat confusion made Juan Manuel miss a meeting with Los Angeles attorneys. He was supposed to discuss the legal situation of three Colombian nationals who are in custody.
