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Spirit Airlines Fined for Unethical Behavior
Airlines usually overbooks flights to account for those that do not show up for boarding.
However, when everyone does show up, they are left with two options: one they can ask for
volunteers to give up their seats and be moved to the next available flight or if no one volunteers
they may move some passengers involuntarily but those who are moved must be compensated.
This is nothing new and is a normal occurrence in the aviation industry. When passengers are
involuntarily “bumped” (the action of moving someone to another flight also known as
involuntary denied booking), to compensate for their time wasted they can choose a
compensation of cash, check, or a voucher. This was not the case with spirit airlines. From
January 2017 to June 2018, not only did they “bumped” people involuntarily (which is legal if
they are compensated) they forced their passengers to sign the a voluntary form and falsely
reported the number of involuntary denied booking they conducted.
According to the DOT (Department of Transportation) when a passenger of Spirit airline
was involuntarily denied booking, they were also made to sign a voluntary bump form. This
helped them keep their numbers of involuntarily “bumps” to a minimum as they did not needed
to report the “voluntary bumps”. By falsifying these forms, it was giving the DOT the wrong
information of how bad the airline was overbooking, to be able keep them accountable and
ensure proper procedures were being followed. The act of wrongly classifying the bumps as
voluntary is unethical because not only is it giving false report, but it is making it seems as if
their airline is doing a lot better than it actually was.
“No one who practices deceit will dwell in my house; no one who speaks falsely will
stand in my presence.” (Psalm 101:7, NIV 2011) When someone is denied booking or
voluntarily give up their seat, they are entitled to receive a compensation. This compensation as
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stated above can be in the form of cash, a check, or a voucher. The airline is obligated by the
department of transportation to explain this to their passenger before they make a decision, so
that the passenger can have knowledge of his or her rights before negotiating their compensation.
This however was not the case with Spirit airlines. Not only were they deceiving the DOT with
the false report of involuntary bumps, but they were also deceiving their passengers by only
offering a voucher as compensation and not notifying their passengers of the option to request
cash or check as a compensation. Although, the Department of Transportation have an entire
article on how compensation for denied booking works and what the minimum monetary amount
to be compensated is, not many people know or reads about this. The DOT knows this and thus
makes airlines notifying the passenger of their rights a federal law.
The act of lying and deceiving their passengers, the people who helps them maintain their
business and the department of transportation the organization that is here to ensure fairness and
proper care of the passenger is outright unethical. Involuntary denied booking can be a headache
and cause some hardships as it is for some on its own. On top of that Spirit airlines made it an
even tougher time by forcing their passengers to lie for the airline own benefit making them sign
a voluntary bump form and not giving them the chance to negotiate their compensation as they
are federally allowed. By making the passengers lie for them with the form they were also
deceiving the organizations that keep airlines “in-check,” falsifying their data and having it seem
as if they were doing everything correctly. What Spirit airlines did is not only unethical and
immoral, but it is also illegal and should not be tolerated by anyone.
It is known that God hates liars and deceiving people, the Bible have many verses
speaking out about this. “A false witness will not go unpunished, and whoever pours out lies will
perish.” (Proverbs 19:9, NIV) like this verse Spirit airlines did not go unpunished and suffered an
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economical hit and lack of trust from previous and their future passengers. The department of
transportation has given Spirit airline a fine of three-hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars
for violating their passengers right that are supposed to protect them from overbooking and
denied booking as well as alleviate the headache that comes with it. Many news media like Fox
news and Seattle times have posted about this incident making current and future passengers
aware of the deceiving and untrustworthy airline. Since this incident the DOT have notified that
Spirit airline has done a better job on correctly reporting and notifying their passenger of their
compensation rights before they make a decision. Only time will tell if they have learned their
lesson or if they will go back to their deceiving and immoral ways.
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References
Biblica. (2011). The holy bible. Niv.
DOT Fines Spirit Airlines for Violating DOT’s Oversales (Bumping) Rules. U.S. Department of
Transportation. (2020, June 19). Retrieved June 27, 2022, from
https://www.transportation.gov/
Best, P. (2020, June 19). Spirit Airlines fined for improperly bumping passengers. Fox Business.
Retrieved June 27, 2022, from https://www.foxbusiness.com/markets/dot-fines-spirit-for-
improperly-bumping-passengers
staff, S. T. (2009, September 17). Spirit Airlines fined up to $375,000 for breaking consumer
rules. The Seattle Times. Retrieved June 27, 2022, from
https://www.seattletimes.com/life/travel/spirit-airlines-fined-up-to-375000-for-breaking-
consumer-rules/
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