Delta Passenger Reveals 'Terrifying' Ordeal After Flight Was Overbooked

Delta Air Lines is investigating a passenger's "terrifying" and "horrific" experience during a Lyft car journey after she was bumped from an oversold flight in Boston, Massachusetts.

Ashley Haugen, a 32-year-old mom to two daughters (aged seven and 12) based in San Antonio, Texas, is a consumer product safety advocate and the president and founder of the nonprofit That Water Bead Lady.

Haugen was in Boston for a product safety conference, when her "overbooked flight turned into a harrowing ordeal" that led to her and another female passenger getting "taken on a disturbing detour," the mom told Newsweek.

She recounted the experience in a video on TikTok, explaining that "Delta tonight put myself and another passenger's life at risk..."

Haugen told Newsweek that her hands started "shaking" the moment she realized that the Lyft car they were traveling in was heading to another state, rather than their hotel in Boston.

She said: "When we asked the driver to stop the car, he ignored us. Fear gripped me, and distressing thoughts raced through my mind. Where was he taking us? Were we being trafficked? Would I ever see my husband and children again?"

A spokesperson for Delta told Newsweek: "Delta takes all such reports seriously and we are conducting an internal investigation of this situation."

Lyft has issued an apology following a "a thorough investigation" of the incident. A spokesperson for the car service told Newsweek: "We are sorry that the riders experienced this ordeal, and we have reached out to offer our support."

Haugen was due to fly to Austin, where her husband would be picking her up, on Delta Flight DL187 on June 27 at around 7 p.m. local time.

The airline later announced it was looking for volunteers to be bumped off the flight, which had been oversold, and Haugen volunteered to do so. Four volunteers were removed from the flight and each offered $500 in gift vouchers, hotel accommodation and food vouchers.

Haugen said a Delta supervisor at Boston Logan Airport asked Haugen and another volunteer passenger—a 26-year-old graduate student who requested to be named only by her first name, Akshara—to book another hotel within the price range of around $100 per night.

With all the hotels near the airport costing around $400 to $500 a night, Haugen and Akshara booked their stay at the Doubletree Boston hotel, which cost $180 per night at the time and was around 30 minutes away from the airport. They informed the supervisor about the hotel and he said it was fine, Haugen said.

The fees for transportation to and from the hotel were also to be covered by the airline and Delta arranged to have a Lyft journey booked for her and Akshara.

According to Haugen, the Delta supervisor said that he needed to enter a specific "wrong address" as the destination to book the Lyft ride. He claimed "that's just the way that the system works."

In a statement shared with Newsweek via Haugen, Akshara said: "He explained that entering this inaccurate address information was a mandatory part of the process of arranging a ride that would be paid for by the airline, due to Delta's partnership with Lyft."

Haugen said the supervisor told the women "not to worry about the address discrepancy on the reservation" and instructed them to provide the correct hotel address to the driver when they get in the car. He said "the driver would change it on his end."

According to Haugen, "The supervisor said the driver would know Delta was paying for the ride, and how this process works. So when I got a text about the reservation, and saw an incorrect address, it did not raise alarm bells."

Haugen said when they later told the driver the correct destination, "he nodded and said he would take us to the hotel." The mom of two said they spoke to the driver during the ride about how the women met and "at the time he seemed to be laughing and listening."

However, Akshara said: "It soon became apparent that the hotel should have been reached, prompting both Ashley and I to grow increasingly anxious, exchange text messages..."

Haugen use the GPS on her phone and was shocked to find that the car was heading further and further away from the hotel, driving in the complete opposite direction.

The women initially wondered whether the driver was taking a longer route to their hotel in order to make more money on the journey.

But panic ensued when the driver didn't stop the car after being repeatedly asked to do so. He "insisted we were going to the hotel," Haugen said, and later pointed to his navigation screen, which showed a Rhode Island address.

According to a screenshot of the Lyft journey shared with Newsweek, the car was headed to Warwick, Rhode Island. Haugen later learned that the destination address was that of Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport.

Haugen recalled thinking: "We're in the middle of nowhere, to my knowledge; it's pitch black dark, it is super late at night, we have no idea where we are..."

She said the driver "shouted at us when we begged him to stop [the car]." The women "yelled back and eventually he claimed he couldn't speak English." The driver appeared to speak Spanish.

Haugen later asked the driver whether he could read. He nodded and pulled the car over on the side of a highway.

According to a screenshot shared with Newsweek, Haugen used ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot, to translate some sentences into Spanish to explain that the "airline made a mistake."

She later managed to book another Lyft car that took her and the other passenger back to Boston Logan Airport, where she spent the night before catching her flight to Austin the following morning.

Haugen said: "I was so scared and shaken up. I just wanted to go home. I feel so stupid for ever volunteering my seat. What happened to us highlights potential vulnerabilities in the airline's passenger care procedures after they voluntarily give up their flight."

Akshara said: "The supervisor's guidance regarding Delta's Lyft reservation process led to confusion and miscommunication, placing myself and Ashley in an unsafe and vulnerable situation.

"You never know what people have in their cars. I shudder to think of the potential consequences had we [Ashley and I] not elected to travel together that night, we may not have made it home to our husbands," Akshara added.

Haugen noted that "if supervisors have to put in an address that isn't the passenger's hotel destination, it should be one that is within walking distance of the airport."

According to Delta, the partnership between the airline and Lyft allows Delta airport staff to provide Lyft services to passengers on a case-by-case basis, generally for transport to another airport nearby if that would be a quicker option for the customer during an operational issue with the airline.

Delta said the latest case has been passed onward for an internal review "to understand exactly what happened."

A Lyft spokesperson said: "Safety is fundamental to Lyft and we take reports like this incredibly seriously. After conducting a thorough investigation, we have determined that the ride was arranged through a third party who inadvertently entered an incorrect destination, TF Green Airport, in the app.

"Though we found no reason to believe the driver intended harm, we are sorry that the riders experienced this ordeal, and we have reached out to offer our support," the Lyft spokesperson said.

In an email sent to Haugen that was shared with Newsweek, a representative from Lyft's safety team said: "I can assure you that the concerns you have brought to our attention have been investigated and the necessary actions have been taken with this driver," who was named as "Haldry" in the email.

The safety team representative also explained that the Lyft app has a safety feature allowing you to "signal to ADT [a security provider] that you are in need of assistance."

"You will then be connected to one of ADT's owned and operated monitoring centers, where an ADT security professional will alert authorities as needed so they can arrive at your location, equipped with detailed incident information."

Akshara hopes that the incident serves as "a wake-up call" for Delta staff members, who need to be better trained to ensure passengers volunteering to be bumped from an oversold flights are provided with "accurate and comprehensive information."

Both Haugen and Akshara urged that it is "crucial" for women to be aware that Lyft drivers cannot change the destination address for journeys, to help "recognize any misinformation or deceptive practices" and avoid an "unsafe situation."

Haugen said what happened to her and Akshara is "absolutely terrifying and horrific" and "I don't want anybody else to go through this."

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