This Bride Is Suing American Airlines for Allegedly Ruining Her Wedding Dress
It’s travel controversy all over again! Following earlier incidents on airlines such as United and American, during which a man was dragged off a flight for refusing to give up his seat and a woman was allegedly hit with a stroller, American Airlines is facing scandal once more as one woman claims the company ruined her gown… on purpose. What’s more, Yewande Otehshe is now suing for $3.4 million. Yowza!
According to Oteh, the incident occurred after she had boarded a flight from Philiadelphia to Jamaica for a destination wedding at her grandparents’ hotel in Montego Bay. Allegedly, things went terribly wrong when a ticketing agent advised her to take her gown out of her checked-in luggage and hang it in the employee aircraft closet instead. But when the passenger asked flight attendant Melanie Masters to place her dress in said closet, Masters became “indignant and agitated,” according to a 31-page lawsuit filed by Oteh’s mother, attorney Yvette Sterling. She also reportedly laughed at the bride-to-be when she mentioned she’d file a complaint and told her to place her frock in an overhead compartment.
The then 31-year-old opted to store her precious cargo in a first class bin, which she says was completely empty. Upon landing, however, she found her dress completely covered in red wine stains. According to the lawsuit, the “couple saw Masters and another attendant enter the bin at one point, then engage a third attendant in conversation,” giving way to suspicions that they had been behind the unfortunate event.
Though the nuptials did take place after the bride’s sister flew to Fort Lauderdale to buy a number of possible replacement gowns that “could not be fitted or returned,” the young bride was said to be “devastated” and canceled most of the activities she had planned for family and friends.
Sterling claims that “American Airlines and its personnel robbed [the family] of this once-in-a-lifetime experience,” and is now seeking “damages of more than $75,000 for [her daughter], as well as all four family members on the flight.
American Airlines has released a statement to say that it is “reviewing the incident.”
What would you do if your dress was ruined while traveling? Tweet us @BritandCo.
(Photo via Getty)