Subscribe
Subscribe Now to receive Goldsea updates!
- Subscribe for updates on Goldsea: Asian American Supersite
United Kicked Wrong Asian Woman Off Plane, Lawsuit Alleges
By Romen Basu Borsellino | 23 Jun, 2025
Jacquelyn Chiao is suing United, alleging that she was kicked off a flight for actions that were committed by an entirely different Asian passenger.
Every airport baggage claim has a sign that encourages passengers to be sure they have the right bag, as many look alike. Maybe they should post a similar sign about Asians. At least in the United Terminal.
United Airlines is being sued for allegedly kicking the wrong Asian women off of a flight.
On August 29, 2024, Jacquelyn Chiao and her co-passengers were already experiencing the trip from Hell. Her 9am flight from Las Vegas to Washington Dulles Airport had been diverted to Baltimore due to thunderstorms and hail at Dulles. The passengers then spent five hours parked on the Baltimore runway, waiting for a gate to open before they were finally allowed off the plane.
At midnight, the new flight finally began its boarding process for Dulles. But when Chiao handed her boarding pass to the gate agent, she was told that she had been banned from the flight due to a flight attendant’s claim of unruly conduct by Chiao while on the tarmac.
This came as a shock to Chiao, who claims that she had spent the entire time on the tarmac quietly reading her Kindle. When three of Chiao’s travel companions jumped to her defense, all four were not only banned from the flight but escorted out of the airport by police. They are being accused of physically shoving the flight attendant, which they vehemently deny.
Hours earlier, while Chiao was quietly reading her Kindle on the tarmac, a verbal altercation was taking place just seven rows ahead of her between a flight attendant and passenger Christine Kim, who is Asian. It began when Kim’s friend was sweating profusely and experiencing chest pain, and the the flight attendant allegedly responded dismissively. Kim and the attendant were said to have exchanged verbal jabs.
Jacquelyn Chiao is now suing United, alleging that she was mistakenly punished for the behavior of Kim, who she had no connection to, other than both being realtors who had attended the same realtor conference in Las Vegas as numerous passengers had. The lawsuit states that Chiao was “incorrectly identified based on her ethnicity” and that the flight attendant failed “to note the seat number of the passenger they were complaining about, or take a more detailed description than ‘Asian female.'”
This isn’t the first time United has gotten bad press for its treatment of an Asian passenger. In 2017, a viral cell phone video depicted 69 year-old Dr. David Dao being violently dragged through the aisles of a grounded United plane because the flight was oversold. In hindsight, one might now wonder if United had gotten Dao confused with a different Asian passenger as well.
Just earlier this year, United paid a $99,000 settlement to an Asian former employer who claimed that his supervisor had leveled anti-Asian slurs at him and physically assaulted him while on the job.
But despite United’s deeply troubling pattern, we cannot blanket stereotype them (like they may do to Asians). An off-duty United employee who witnessed the entire incident has offered to testify on Chiao’s behalf.
Given the damning accusations against United, it is of course possible that this lawsuit results in a settlement rather than going to trial. If so, let’s hope United double checks that they’re giving their money to the right Asian.
The lawsuit states that she was “incorrectly identified based on her ethnicity” and that the flight attendant failed “to note the seat number of the passenger they were complaining about, or take a more detailed description than ‘Asian female.'”
Asian American Success Stories
- The 130 Most Inspiring Asian Americans of All Time
- 12 Most Brilliant Asian Americans
- Greatest Asian American War Heroes
- Asian American Digital Pioneers
- New Asian American Imagemakers
- Asian American Innovators
- The 20 Most Inspiring Asian Sports Stars
- 5 Most Daring Asian Americans
- Surprising Superstars
- TV’s Hottest Asians
- 100 Greatest Asian American Entrepreneurs
- Asian American Wonder Women
- Greatest Asian American Rags-to-Riches Stories
- Notable Asian American Professionals