A mom purchased a pricey $1,000 seat on a flight for her son, only to be forced to give it up after she boarded. United Airlines tried to make things right, but the woman says it’s not good enough. Was it? You decide.
Shirley Yamauchi with son Taizo (Photo Credit: YouTube)
Shirley Yamauchi, a middle school teacher, was traveling with her 27-month old son Taizo from Hawaii to Boston with a layover in Houston. Since federal regulations require any child over 2-years-old to have their own seat, Shirley spent nearly $1000 for Taizo’s ticket.
After waiting over five hours to board in Houston, an exhausted Shirley put Taizo in his seat and took her own. Shortly after, she said a flight attendant came to see if Taizo was on the plane. Then, a man approached and said the toddler was in his seat after the seat Shirley purchased for Taizo was given to a standby passenger.
Taizo (Photo Credit: Shirley Yamauchi via Daily Mail)
Confused, Shirley notified a flight attendant, but claims, “She shrugged and said the flight is full,” even though United’s own guidelines state, “Once infants turn two years old, they are required to have a purchased ticket and occupy a seat.”
The standby passenger, who later told Shirley he only paid $75 for the seat, was one of the last people to board and the flight was about to depart. So, Shirley, who’s only 5’2″, hastily paced her 25-pound son on her lap, forced to hold the toddler in her lap for the three-and-a-half-hour flight from Houston to Boston.
Shirley Yamauchi posted about the incident on social media. (Photo Credit: Facebook)
During the flight, Shirley struggled to put the seat belt over them both and Taizo even had to stand or crouch on the floor when he became too heavy to hold. Yet, flight attendants failed to question or address the issue.
“He’s a tall child for a toddler. He comes up to my belly button. It was a three and a half hours flight,” Shirley explained. “It was unsafe, uncomfortable, and unfair,” she told NBC News. “I couldn’t believe it was happening to me.”
Shirley Yamauchi was forced to hold Taizo on her lap. (Photo Credit: Shirley Yamauchi via NBC)
Due to previous problems on United flights, Shirley was afraid to alert another attendant, worried what might happen to her while she was traveling with her child if she caused on an issue. Instead, she waited until the flight landed to inform multiple United staff members about what happened.
“I was told four different things from four agents,” she recalled, adding that one told her she should have said something more while she was on board. Days later, United Airlines issued a statement saying it was all just a mix-up in their system.
