American Airlines refuses refund after doctor gives up business class seat for sick passenger

A doctor who gave up her business class seat to help an ill passenger was expecting the airline to give her a refund. Photo / 123rf

• A doctor who gave up her business class seat to help a sick passenger on an American Airlines flight struggled to get a refund.
• American Airlines initially refused to refund her, citing a technicality with British Airways as the tickets had been purchased through them.
• Both airlines eventually provided some form of compensation after continuous pressure from the online community.

American Airlines faced backlash for not refunding a doctor who gave up her business class seat to help a sick passenger.

Dr Erin Nance, a New York-based orthopedic specialist, responded twice to a medical emergency related to one passenger on an American Airlines overnight flight to Italy in June, the Daily Mail reported.

In a TikTok video posted on August 21, Nance said she volunteered to help with a medical emergency announced by the cabin crew about an hour into the flight.

She explained that an elderly woman had fainted twice in 20 minutes, resulting in two medical emergencies.

@littlemissdiagnosed

@delta would never…still waiting for a response @American Airlines

♬ original sound - Dr. Erin Nance 🇺🇸

While the patient was stable, to keep her comfortable Nance offered both her seat and her husband’s so the passenger could lie down and her adult son could be at her side for the remainder of the flight.

According to Nance, the gesture prevented the pilot from rerouting to Nova Scotia in Canada.

“She [the ill passenger] is travelling with her adult son who ... is so grateful and thankful and I said don’t even worry about it,” Nance said in the four-minute clip.

The doctor explained that the pair then took the “worst seats in the airplane”, which prevented them from reclining for the remainder of the flight.

“The flight attendants couldn’t be more gracious and thankful that we gave up our seats.”

Upon returning home, Nance thought she should get a refund as booking business class seats had cost the couple a lot of money.

“While I would 100% do it again and volunteer my seat to make this woman comfortable I thought I think I should probably get a refund or something so that I could have another business class trip experience”.

She submitted a form to request a refund, providing a detailed account of the ordeal. However, after not hearing from American Airlines for several weeks, Nance took to TikTok to share her frustration.

The video ended up going viral, amassing nearly 700,000 views. It prompted American Airlines to respond and offer airline miles as compensation.

“You should not even have to ask, they should be offering you a free flight,” commented one user on TikTok.

Despite the flight being American Airlines, Nance claimed the airline told her it couldn’t assist with a refund as the tickets were purchased via British Airways.

After mounting pressure from social media users, British Airways refunded Nance US$2145 ($3640) on October 8.

@littlemissdiagnosed

TikTok gets my refund done @British Airways Thank you for stepping up and doing the right thing #plane #airlinetiktok

♬ original sound - Dr. Erin Nance 🇺🇸

In a public LinkedIn post, Nance said it was not about the money but the principle of doing the right thing.

“When physicians respond to these types of emergencies we do it out of a moral obligation. I would hope if I was ever in a vulnerable situation like having a medical event on a plane, that other medical personnel would step up and act.

“And we do this expecting nothing in return. Asking for nothing. Acknowledgement would be the bare minimum.”

The Herald had reached out to American Airlines and British Airways for comment.