When you book a flight, you pay for the seat. That’s it. Supposedly.
LOT Polish Airlines needed a new pump for a plane and asked its passengers for financial help. Out of the 249 passengers on the Boeing flight to Warsaw, the airline received about $350 in American money. Passengers were shocked. “We are at the international airport. I cannot believe that transactions take place here in cash under the table with the mechanic standing next to the plane,” said flight passenger Daniel Golebiowski. “Incredible.”
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After getting word of what happened, a spokesperson from the airline apologized “from the bottom of my heart” to the travelers on the plane after it landed. “The representative of LOT should have both cash and credit card with him,” rep Adrian Kubicki stated. “The company provides them with funds to solve similar situations. There are no circumstances that justify asking money from passengers.” The generous passengers were immediately reimbursed by the airline, who said there would be consequences for the employees who asked for the donations. “It was finally possible to collect the necessary amount. It was refunded to the four-passenger lenders upon arrival in Warsaw, still on the plane,” a passenger said.
The issue caused a ten-hour delay in Beijing. Crew members first noticed a leak in the pump while making after-flight checks when it landed at Beijing Capital International Airport on November 11. Since the plane was due back at Warsaw Chopin Airport the next day, passengers were asked to pay for the pump to speed things up. Kubicki said, “an employee at the Boeing warehouse in Beijing refused to accept a bank transfer and insisted on cash.” However, Kubicki said that doesn’t justify employees asking customers for money.