“Welcome to the meeting everyone. Please settle down and find a seat, we’re just about to get started. Ok, good. Thank you.”

“If this is your first time attending a CAA meeting, thank you for coming. Please don’t hesitate to jump in and share your story with the group. As you probably know we have a traditional way of introducing ourselves and so without further ado I will kick off this meeting … My name is Mikel, and I’m a Connection Alcoholic. I have been sober now since, let’s see, I guess my last connection was last Wednesday in Houston…”

Haha … just kidding. I’m not a Connection Alcoholic, or any type of alcoholic for that matter. I can stop any time I want.

And YuropFlyer presumably isn’t a Connection Alcoholic either. Ok, he had a few drinks watching a game at the airport lounge between flights, vomited in the airplane lavatory while still at the gate, and was subsequently deemed “unfit to fly” and kicked off of his flight – but it sounds worse than it is. Really.

You see, in addition to a few drinks, YuropFlyer also had a few sausages. And as soon as his stomach emptied the offending contents he felt fine.

But that didn’t stop LOT Polish Airlines from booting him off the plane, with at least one agent telling him it was because he was drunk, and making him purchase another ticket to complete his trip.

You will need to read the thread for all of the details, but the gist of the issue is this: After being kicked off of his flight and arguing back-and-forth with various LOT personnel, YuropFlyer was able to secure a ticket on another LOT flight departing two hours later. Now back at home, he has contacted LOT for a refund for this ticket and they are telling him ‘no way Jozef’.

The question then becomes, if the airline truly believes a passenger is too drunk to fly, and then they put that same passenger on another flight just two hours later is that an admission that he might not have been drunk at all?

An interesting case indeed. And several fellow travelers seem willing to provide YuropFlyer with pro bono legal advice:

Do the old routine. Send them three registered letters where you demand the compensation of the return flight and full 261 IDB compensation.

 

They will turn you down of course or offer some trinkets. Then just forward it to a collection agency. And if that fails to a Swiss SCC – as this affected your business, this should go rather swiftly.

 

No reason to look at them as a thinking and rational entity … not worth the time … ~weero

Also, if the food in the lounge made you ill then maybe you should also consider a complaint with the local authorities in Warsaw for poor hygeine standards? ~dj_jay_smith

The fact is you were drunk and thats why you had to vomit. LOT was in their right to remove you from the plane. In this case they you have no right to be rebooked. It was your fault. ~warakorn

What do you think? Does YuropFlyer have a case, or should he drop this one like a shot of Jägermeister into a glass of Red Bull?

Read the thread in its entirety: Beware of LOT – or a little story how to make sure customers don’t come back..