Shocking footage has emerged showing a heated row between airline staff and a flier after they repeatedly claimed her carry-on bag was too large—despite it fitting perfectly into their baggage rack.
Natalia Rutkowski, 27, was checking in for a flight from Chicago to New Jersey with her mom Anna, 58, when she said ‘rude’ United Airlines staff confronted her about a handbag.
Mobile phone footage shows the account executive, of Lyndhurst, New Jersey, being asked to place the piece of luggage into a test rack at O’Hare International Airport.
Row: Natalia Rutkowski (right), 27, was checking in for a flight from Chicago to New Jersey with her mom Anna (left), 58, when she said ‘rude’ United Airlines staff confronted her
Sizing: Footage shows Natalia putting the handbag in the test rack while at the airport
Dispute: The bag appears to fit snugly inside the crate, but staffers are seen arguing that it is oversized and instructing Natalia and her mom to check the bag for a $25 fee
It appears to fit snugly inside the crate, but staffers are seen arguing that it is oversized. The fee to check in a bag with United is $25.
A United employee is then seen removing the bag and putting it in sideways before claiming that it does not fit, despite the fact that there appears to be space below it.
After speaking with various staff members, Natalia and Anna were eventually allowed to board the flight home to Newark Liberty International Airport with their baggage.
Natalia claims the encounter was ‘like saying a dog is a cat’, and left her and her mom, a Russian-born maid service manager who speaks limited English, feeling humiliated.
‘I had already checked my bag and was helping my mom to check in on the computer when a prompt on the screen said a United staff member had to swipe,’ Natalia said.
‘At first, an old woman said, “No, she is not allowed to take her bag onto the plane.”
‘As you see on the video she didn’t have any extra baggage, and the ticket allows for one personal item.
‘It was a certain dimension that the bag had to fit, but the woman didn’t even allow us to put the bag into the personal item bin to show them that it fit inside. She was extremely rude.
‘There was a lot of fuss. I was agitated and there were a lot of people starting to stare.’
Bad experience: Natalia claims the encounter was ‘like saying a dog is a cat’, and left her and her mom, a Russian-born maid service manager who speaks limited English, feeling humiliated
Baggage: A United employee is then seen removing the bag and putting it in sideways before claiming that it does not fit, despite the fact that there appears to be space below it
At this point, Natalia recounted, another employee who wasn’t working on the floor and might have been a manager asked what the issue was.
‘She asked me to put the bag into the bin, which I did, and she said, “OK, well the person who swiped has to see it.” I said, “This is the third time I’ve done it,”‘ Natalia added.
‘Then a man came over and shoved his badge in my face and took the bag out of the bin and then plopped it back in sideways so it purposely wouldn’t fit.
‘I didn’t understand why were treated like that. It was so ridiculous. It was like saying a dog is a cat.’
At this point, Natalia says the employees told her and her mother they were not getting on the plane.
‘Finally the last person who came over and I put it in and it clearly fit perfectly and he was like, “Oh, yes, it does fit. I don’t understand why we have this issue,”‘ Natalia recounted.
Feedback: After the incident, Natalia said she and Anna—who each paid around $166 for the round trip—were furious about the way they were treated
The mother and daughter, who had been at a relative’s christening ceremony that weekend, were eventually allowed to board the 7:19 pm flight.
But Natalia said she and Anna—who each paid around $166 for the round trip—were furious about the way they were treated.
‘I was shaking and I literally felt like I was sweating and agitated,’ she said. ‘My mom was teary. It was just an overwhelming situation. I had never been so disrespected and mistreated and embarrassed.
‘Honestly I was just bewildered and my mom was emotional and angry.
‘I hope that United apologize to us because it was just an unfair experience, and I hope that in general they realize that this type of treatment for paying customers isn’t right.
‘I want people to know that this airline is this bad. They need to better train their staff.
‘At this point, I wouldn’t fly with them again.’
United Airlines said: ‘The customer was allowed to carry on the personal item.
‘We are following up with this customer and are reviewing this incident with our team internally to better understand what happened.’