Early Monday morning, Navang Oza, 37, was at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport to take a United Airlines flight home to San Francisco. He got into a dispute with a gate agent after she told him he would have to pay $300 for his oversized bag. According to Oza, he had only paid $125 for the luggage when he flew from San Francisco to New Orleans.
During the argument, Oza took out his phone and began filming, an act that set off the agent. The agent told him to stop because he had no right to film her as she had not given him permission to do so. He kept his cellphone rolling. Oza explained the reason he was taping her is “Because you guys have terrible customer service.” The agent then tells him he can either cancel his reservation or speak to the police.” Oza replied, “Go for it, call the cops.”
At one point during the argument, the agent tells someone out of camera range, “Cancel his reservation.” In a bizarre twist, at one point the agent takes out her phone and begins filming Oza.
SEE ALSO: Woman takes United flight, flies 3,000 miles in wrong direction
Aviation analyst Mike McCarron told NBC Bay Area although some airlines prohibit the taking of pictures on planes, airports are public areas and Oza had the right to film. Police were eventually called and said the same thing. When a deputy asked him if he had been drinking, Oza said he drank the night before and was still affected by the alcohol in his system but that had nothing to do with what happened. He was mad because the agent was being rude. While United Airlines has a policy that prohibits someone who is intoxicated from flying if they are belligerent and might constitute a threat to others, his alcohol consumption was never mentioned by the agent. It was clear from the video, his reservation was cancelled because he filmed the gate agent.
Oza later uploaded the video to Twitter.
I guess isn't limited to the unfriendly skies. lackofcustomerservice A5P6A8XJjC
— Navang Oza (@Navang25) May 8, 2017
United Airlines issued a statement saying they are investigating the matter. And in doing what they seem to do best, United apologized. The statement said, “The video does not reflect the positive customer experience we strive to offer and for this, we apologize.”
Oza flew home to San Francisco on another airline. He wants a refund for his United Airlines ticket and wants the airline to cancel future flights he has booked with them without penalty.
SEE ALSO: Some Americans willing to pay more, travel longer to avoid United
