United Airlines Tried to Cook My Toddler
An Easy Bake Plane and A Shrug From Corporate America
How It Began
In 2022, I planned two trips to Peru. To capitalize on the long international journeys, we applied for the top-tier United/Chase credit card. From those trips and beyond, we put every single purchase on the card. We hit milestones and bonus miles, eventually accumulating over 850,000 miles by 2025—an astonishing feat.
We’d been a bit limited on travel the past couple of years: we welcomed our first (and definitely only) child into the world in March of 2024. So we saved and we planned.
Travel opportunity found us this year. My brilliant wife had a medical research poster accepted to a women’s health conference in London, and my father-in-law turned 80 years old the same week. We meticulously planned a whirlwind trip: Portland, Maine → London, UK → Denver, CO → Omaha, NE → back to Maine. It was truly exhausting just to think about.
We decided that with our little guy needing a biiit more attention, we’d cash in the miles and fly first-class for the journey. A treat—and, at this point, necessary if we wanted to attempt any rest on our flights. Coach is now lightyears away from how it was when I first started traveling at 13.
The only part of our journey that wasn’t first class were our two flights home: Omaha to Chicago, and Chicago to Portland, ME. I don’t have nearly enough energy to get into all of the horrors we experienced—even in first class—so we’ll save those for a rainy day. The nightmare that was our last flight, from Chicago to Portland, is the one that takes the cake.
The Incident — Flight UA2668 (Chicago to Portland)
On June 29th, 2025, my family stepped aboard a smaller regional jet and began to settle into our seats. We did so early, as we had an infant/toddler—and let me tell you, that extra time is a lifesaver and breaker of bottlenecks. Parents can relate: we bring a lot of gear to care for our child—water, milk, snacks, entertainment, etc.—all in hopes that we can meet his needs and, real talk, keep him from screaming (which humans in that age group are prone to). We really do try our hardest.
As I was saying, we settled in, and the plane began to fill with other passengers. As it did, so did the cabin temperature. Outside in Chicago it was approximately 90°F, with a heat index of 95. Factor in the blacktop tarmac and a low-riding regional plane, and we turned into an oven.
My Garmin watch began to alert me to a rising heart rate. I suddenly became acutely aware of how incredibly hot it had become inside the cabin. I looked at the time—it had been 30 minutes since we boarded, with no sign of takeoff. I opened all three of our air vents and took off my son’s outer layers. If I’m roasting, he definitely is.
His main way of communicating with us is through a series of gestures that scientists are still working to decipher—early human grunts and whistle cries that can and will wake the ancestors. My son started grunting. I felt his little legs—they were hot to the touch. A moment later, a flight attendant spoke over the loudspeaker:
“Please, if everyone could open the air vents to try and circulate the air, it might make all of us a little less miserable. I apologize—I don’t have more information. I’m just a flight attendant and they don’t tell us anything.”
Not a great sign of things to come.
Opening all the vents seemed to have a negative effect. The A/C wasn’t on, and all it did was circulate increasingly hot air. I started using water from our dwindling supply, placing drops around my son and fanning him. He got more fussy, more squirmy. I pushed the call button. A few moments later, a flight attendant came over.
I said:
“I’m beginning to seriously worry about my son’s health. He’s only 15 months and can’t regulate his body temperature. We need off the plane, or the A/C needs to start cooling his body down.”
She replied:
“I’ve had other passengers tell me they’re starting to get lightheaded. I’ll go talk to the captain.”
I looked at the clock—over 45 minutes since boarding.
Another five minutes passed. A different flight attendant came by and dropped off a bag of ice for my child and immediately walked away. We were left speechless. I placed the bag of ice on my son’s back—not directly on skin; that’s dangerous. Reminder: he’s a toddler and has no clue why he’s melting or why I’m now trying to freeze his back.
At this point, I got my phone out while my wife attended to our son. I began composing a social media post saying I was boiling alive inside a United plane in Chicago.
As I was finishing it, the captain suddenly said:
“Prepare for takeoff.”
Cold air finally started pouring in as the engines fired up and we left the ground. By the Gods, my son began to cool down—no thanks to anyone at United.
Throughout this entire experience, we were never offered water or anything cool to drink. We were never given an explanation as to why we sat for so long, or why it was okay for United to treat us like a garbage barge.
Let me be clear: my wife is a physician. If it weren’t for her expertise, my son might not be as healthy as he is today. She and I worked together to cool him down. It took both of us.
United ignored the words of a physician and a parent. They endangered his life—and the lives of everyone else on that flight.
Public Pressure
We landed in Portland, and I immediately made my first post on Threads about United’s attempt to boil my son alive. I filed complaints with United. That night, they discreetly gave us $250 in flight credits via an automated message I could not reject.
I posted again to Threads—and that’s when things took off.
👉 [HERE]
My posts about our treatment have led to over 600,000 views, thousands of supportive likes, and hundreds of messages from others sharing their United horror stories.
The community came together.
United’s “Response”
After filing multiple complaints, this is what United has done:
Offered us $1,050 in vouchers (after we spent over 850k miles)
Quietly deposited 10,000 bonus miles into our account without comment
Had a Global Services rep call me—only to mock my demand for real accountability
And then... nothing
Media Engagement
On June 30th, I was contacted by Sara Machi, a reporter with CBS News Chicago. She wanted to do a story about our experience—her own parents had experienced something similar at O’Hare that same day.
My wife Andrea and I sat down for a Zoom interview the morning of July 1st (we need a lighting specialist), and the story aired later that afternoon:
🔗 https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/ohare-travel-nightmare-hot-tarmac-maine-family-baby/
Let me be clear: we expressed our concerns to the flight attendants, and fellow travelers on board heard us.
United’s representative is lying when they claim the crew “heard nothing.” They have not been “in close contact” with us. They are lying.
To date, I have sent over 12 emails to major executives and customer support.
They are silent.
They are ignoring me.
I will not be silenced.
Also: There are currently NO federal regulations for cabin temperatures.
If I had done what United did to my baby, I’d be in jail. CPS would take my child away.
United locked my child in a heated vacuum and called it “standard procedure.”
Further Action
I have filed complaints with:
Consumer protection organizations
The U.S. Department of Transportation
My congressional office
Both of my U.S. Senators
The district congressional office is now directly monitoring my DOT complaint.
The D.C. legislative team is actively researching federal legislative action.
A staffer told me directly:
“What you experienced is unacceptable.”
Congress is now on the case.
And United will continue to read my name.
Final Thoughts
This is bigger than just my family. I will never fly United again. Many folks don’t have that luxury—and maybe I won’t either someday.
But what I am asking for is federal oversight.
I’m asking that United—a mega-corporation that has received massive public assistance through bailouts and subsidies—be held accountable.
I’m calling for:
Federal regulations on cabin temperature
Time limits on tarmac idling based on plane type and ventilation capability
My son and my family were held hostage inside a plane—not by terrorists, but by corporate oligarchs whose only concern is the almighty dollar.
We need to restore the balance of power.
These companies need to remember they are nothing without us.
We the people are in control of this nation.
We the people demand action—from United Airlines, from the DOT, and from Congress.
I will continue to remind this corporation that they endangered the life of my beautiful son—and countless others. I will continue to be a thorn in their side.
Join me.
Call your representatives.
Demand action.
If you have a United Horror Story, please, share it below.
