Airline Ignores Surgeon Asking For A Refund After Giving Up Her Business Class Seat To Assist In A Medical Emergency On Board
“It’s about holding corporations responsible for doing the right thing.”
Farknot Architect | Shutterstock “This is why I work so hard,” orthopedic surgeon and TikTok creator Dr. Erin Nance admitted about finally splurging on business class tickets for her Italian summer getaway. Unfortunately, just an hour into the flight, an announcement was made about a medical emergency on board.
Nance offered her help, and ultimately, she and her husband gave up their business-class seats to the unwell passenger and her son. Shockingly — or perhaps not, given the profit-driven mentality of airlines today — the airline refused to provide any compensation to the doctor despite saving the flight from being rerouted.
American Airlines ignored a surgeon asking for a refund after giving up her business class seat to assist in a medical emergency.
The doctor explained that while on the American Airlines flight, a passenger had two medical emergencies, the second of which made it difficult for her to get up from a lying position.
“I asked the flight attendants if there was anywhere where she could lie down because she was lying on the floor in front of the bathroom,” Nance recounted. “She said, ‘No. This is a completely full flight.’”
The doctor generously offered to give up her and her husband's business class seats to the woman and her adult son so that they could lay down and the flight would not need to be rerouted to Nova Scotia as the pilot suggested.
“I just wanted to make sure that she could get through the flight safely,” she added. “Let’s make her comfortable.”
Nance's kind offer resulted in her and her husband spending the remainder of the flight in "possibly the worst seats in the airplane."
"We couldn't even recline for the remainder of the overnight flight," she added.
After the flight, the surgeon was ghosted by the airline.
While on the flight, attendants were appreciative of the woman's actions, offering her and her husband free food and drinks.
"Honestly I just wanted to get some work done," she said. "I didn't need any of the extra things they were trying to give me."
What she did want; however, was a refund for the expensive seats that she didn't get to enjoy.
“It was a lot of money for us to book those tickets,” she explained. “While I would 100% do it again and volunteer my seat to make this woman comfortable, I thought I should get a refund."
Yet even after filling out a form on American Airline's website, weeks went by without a response. She was essentially ignored.
The doctor insisted that she shouldn't have had to ask for a refund at all.
Of course, only after posting her viral TikTok did Nance get any type of response. Still, it wasn't what she hoped.
The surgeon received an email and phone call from American Airlines, arguing that because she booked with British Airlines for her flight abroad, they wouldn’t be able to directly provide a refund and offered some miles instead.
“All the comments validated my opinion that I shouldn’t have had to ask,” the doctor added in a follow-up video. “This was about doing the right thing. I’m always going to respond to these medical emergencies. As a doctor, I feel like it is a duty and a privilege to be able to help people in their time of need.”
Commenters praised the doctor for helping her fellow passenger and urged her to continue making videos about her situation, as bad publicity seemed to be the only thing that prompted any type of response from the airline.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.