[grifco]

Hey Guys:

Looking to get a gut check from the frequent travelers out there on my recent travel nightmare.

I am a British citizen and live in the U.S. I was on vacation on the island of Roatan in Honduras, and was denied boarding on my return flight to the U.S. I had in my possession valid travel documents to return to the U.S., but the United agent handling check-in didn't recognize the U.S. ID that I presented her with along with my British passport (long story, but assume for the sake of this post that the ID was valid and sufficient to re-enter the U.S.).

United separated me and my spouse (she boarded and flew back to the U.S.), shut check-in and then provided no further assistance to me after denying me boarding.

I then had to incur costs related to transport, accommodation, food and then had to fly to the capital of Honduras the next morning at my own cost (which has, by the way, one of the highest murder and kidnapping rates in the world) to get to the U.S. embassy. After talking my way in (not easy when there are 200 people in line with appointments and you are not a U.S. citizen), the consulate staff reviewed my documents confirmed they were valid, told me to go back to the airport and gave me the telephone number for the head of their security section in case of further problems.

I returned to the airport in the capital, paid a ticket change fee (!) and boarded a flight back to the U.S.

United have since (1) refunded the ticket change fee; and (2) offered me a $1,250 flight voucher in exchange for signing a settlement agreement.

What are your thoughts on the reasonableness of this offer? In considering this, please note that the federal rules relating to involuntary bumping due to overbooked flights do not apply here, though it looks like United have used the $1,300 cap on involuntary bumping due to oversold flights to calculate the compensation offered.

Thanks!

Dave.