Jason Howard Green

Jason Howard Green

Monday, April 17, 2017

United Airlines Denied Disabled Man's Mobility Device


Really, you can't make this stuff up. Less than a week after United made the news for forcibly ejecting a paying customer from their plane, they are once again in the news. And once again, it ain't pretty.

Trey Harris and his partner were planning on going on a JoCo cruise for their honeymoon. Trey suffers from autoimmune spinal arthritis and is unable to walk without aid. He walks with difficulty with a cane but planned on using his Segway for mobility while on vacation. He booked his flight through United. He did all the right things. He called United to confirm if he could bring his Segway on the flight.  He was told yes and informed that he also needed confirmation from TSA to make sure he would make it through security. TSA agreed and sent him a confirmation email. 

However, things would go very differently when he arrived at the United gate for boarding. The boarding agent informed Trey that a manager would have to determine if he would be allowed to bring the Segway onboard. The manager that arrived to make the decision said, "We don't allow hoverboards, they're fire risks." After Trey pointed out that his device was not a hoverboard and then pointed to the safety sticker on the Segway that stated there was no risk, the manager continued with, "We don't even allow Samsung phones, we definely won't allow that."

In order to board the plane he was forced to leave his Segway at the gate. In his post on his Google site, Trey stated that he cried for an hour after boarding because he was embarrassed and he felt as if the other passengers blamed him for the delay in the flight. He was initially threatened with arrest for leaving the Segway at the gate. Then after getting to the cruise he had to spend hundreds on a rental scooter.

Really United? Trey's post came after his return from his honeymoon. The "United Drags Customer Off Plane" incident happened after his incident; however, the story is now trending because of Trey's delay in sharing. He reached out to United hoping for a resolution but never received a response. He figured after hearing about the other story, why not share his horrible ordeal with the airline as well.

Can't wait to see what United does next!


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