A Mother’s Fight Against a Sky-High Charge
A traveling mom found herself in a frustrating situation when she was charged over $3,000 by an airline after a ticketing error. The incident highlights the challenges that customers can face when dealing with large corporations and the power of social media in holding them accountable.
Katie, a mother from California, shared her story on TikTok, where it quickly gained attention. She described how American Airlines accidentally charged her thousands of dollars for a ticket that should not have been issued. What made the situation even more distressing was the airline’s initial refusal to refund the money.
Katie explained that she and her five-month-old baby had traveled to Japan to visit her husband, who is in the military. Rather than purchasing a return ticket, she decided to use airline miles earned through a credit card. This strategy allowed her to book a flight back to the United States.
“I’m pretty savvy with using credit card points and airline miles, so I’d been checking the American Airlines site daily for an award ticket to open up,” Katie said in an interview with the Daily Mail.
When an award ticket finally became available, she booked it and called American Airlines to add her baby as a lap infant. An airline employee informed her that she would need to pay an additional $386 fee for the baby, which she paid over the phone.
However, a receipt revealed that Katie was charged not just $386, but also an additional $3,674 for “a second full-price ticket under her name.” This unexpected charge left her confused and upset.
Katie called back and was allegedly assured by an American Airlines representative that she would be refunded the $3,674.11 within a week. But when she arrived at Okinawa Airport, a Japanese gate agent was “confused” by the fact that there were two tickets in her name — the one purchased with credit card points and the $3,674 one processed in error.
“I had two tickets in my name, on the same flight, under the same confirmation code,” the mom said. Despite the gate agent “assuring” her that she was using the award ticket, a refund never came through when she arrived back in the US.
At home, Katie claims she spent close to “50 hours” on hold with various American Airlines staff who were unable to resolve the situation. After weeks of chasing up the airline, she was supposedly informed that she was ineligible for a refund because the Japanese gate agent had checked her in with the erroneous $3,674 ticket.
The experience left Katie feeling frustrated and helpless. “I had this huge weight on my chest knowing a massive corporation had taken thousands of dollars from me, and it would keep me up at night,” she said. Eventually, she turned to TikTok in a last-ditch effort to try and get her money back.
Her public plea worked. The video went viral, attracting attention from many supporters who expressed their outrage at the situation. One person vowed, “Boosting this for you! Never flying American Airlines after hearing about this.” Another commented, “You deserve your money back.”
Soon after, Katie received a call from the airline saying she would be getting a refund for the charge as well as a 7,500-mile bonus as an “apology.” The “vindicated” mom said it spoke to the power of social media to pressure companies into acting ethically.
“It’s incredibly disappointing that such a large corporation can fail its customers this badly,” she stated.
American Airlines responded to the situation, telling The Post: “Our team has been in touch with this customer and offered her an apology, refunded her in full and offered her a gesture of goodwill.”
