Man bumped from flight on family trip after plane was deemed overweight; it's not as rare as you might think
CHICAGO (CBS) -- There are strict rules about weight on planes. We all know we have to watch the size of our carry-ons, and those checked bags should be 50 pounds or less, or else you pay. But an Elmhurst couple reached out to us after finding themselves bumped from a Frontier flight because of weight. It left them confused, and without compensation. So we started digging.
In late June, the vacation Albert Minao and John Simon planned was finally here.
"We were booked on the 6:28 p.m. flight on Frontier Airlines, and we were going from Chicago Midway over to Las Vegas," Simon said.
The couple was traveling with John's sister and his mother, in celebration of her birthday, but dreams of a seamless trip were soon grounded.
"We get on the jet bridge, and all of a sudden I'm looking like, where's Albert?" Simon said.
Minao had been pulled aside, but didn't know why, and said he wasn't told by Frontier's staff, even when he asked.
"I feel like embarrassed, intimidated. I feel, like, treated like a criminal, because I want to know what happened, why I'm pulled over, what's the reason," Minao said.
On the plane, Simon wondered the same and asked a flight attendant.
"I said, 'My husband hasn't boarded yet, they pulled him aside,' and she goes, 'Oh, sometimes they're overbooked or overweight or something, and they pull people off the plane,'" Simon said.
It was the latter. Minao said Frontier told him and roughly 10 others held back in the terminal they wouldn't be on the flight due to weight restrictions. Simon got off the plane, and the couple quickly booked a Southwest flight that would get them there for dinner. But his mother and sister stayed, sending photos of empty seats on the way to Vegas.
"I've heard of them overselling a flight, but never flying a plane with empty chairs when you have passengers paying that want to get on," Simon said.
Turns out this major annoyance is not a rarity.
"This is happening more and more this summer; not just in the U.S., but overseas as well," said CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenburg.
It comes down to weather and the weight of the aircraft, according to Greenberg. The record-setting heat across the country impacts lift for aircraft.
"You only find out about that maybe 10 minutes before the flight if the temperature starts to zoom," Greenberg said.
If it does, crews must drop pounds fast.
"To offload fuel from a plane would take 2-3 hours. It's not an easy process. So the easiest thing to do is lighten the load, literally, and people have to leave the plane," Greenberg said.
Crews won't hesitate to do it, as seen in video from another Frontier flight in late June, when passengers were told 26 people must be removed from the flight.
It's important to note this can happen with any airline, but Frontier does have a history. The U.S. Department of Transportation tracks the major airlines, and their "Involuntary Denied Boardings."
From January to March of 2021, Frontier had the most, with 223 passengers bumped. During the same time in 2022, the number of passengers bumped was 11 times that, at 2,453.
So that's the reason behind why Minao was held behind, but why him? We asked Frontier, who told us "Those among the last to check in are more likely to be bumped."
"I definitely checked him in before the airport, so I don't think he was one of the last 10," Simon said.
Frontier said passengers, like Albert, who did not volunteer to get bumped get 400% of the value of a one-way fare if it delays them 2 hours or more. But that didn't happen.
"We tried to contact them after, and they won't respond," Simon said.
How can frontier make this right?
"All I really want them to do is refund my money and say they were sorry," Simon said.
After CBS Chicago's third inquiry to Frontier for answers about the couple's situation, they extended their sincerest apologies, and refunded them four times the cost of all four tickets in their reservation.
The couple is appreciative, but resolute.
"Emotionally, I'm affected, and I'm afraid to fly again with them," Minao said.
That money marks the family's last trip with Frontier.
If you do find yourself in this situation, take a deep breath and remember you are at the mercy of the airlines and their rules, but if you don't get what you're promised as reimbursement, follow this couple's lead and reach out to us at CBS 2.
