No Room On The Planes For Family Traveling On A Very Restricted Ticket

A family of four was stranded at the Salt Lake City airport for nearly a week before the largess of strangers managed to get them on their way home to Virginia.

The Saxton family was flying on a JetBlue "Buddy Pass," which gave them the opportunity to travel at a deeply discounted price. But when they got to the airport for their return trip Wednesday, there were no seats available for the family, and they were told to wait.

And wait. For five days.

By its policy, people traveling on a JetBlue Buddy Pass are only boarded after all other ticketed passengers, including standby passengers, have boarded the plane. The JetBlue flights from Salt Lake City to Virginia were booked solid, according to the airline, and there was nothing that could be done for the family, which included two children, ages 13 and 4. They told television station KTVX that they slept on airport benches and were down to about one meal per day as their money ran low. The four-year-old boy was at one point checked out by paramedics, but was given a clean bill of health.

While the experience was certainly harrowing, the station reports that according to airport officials, Curtis Saxton was offered and declined assistance for both lodging and food in the form of vouchers. Saxton reportedly told the station that, after the story first appeared, generous donors had helped with food, and that he did not want to leave the airport and risk losing a chance to get on an airplane.

An unidentified viewer who saw the story reportedly purchased four tickets for the family so that they could get home. The flight was scheduled for Tuesday morning, and a motel room for Monday night was donated by United Airlines.

FMI: www.slcairport.com