Finance: United is under fire for giving away a child's $1,000 seat even though he was too old to sit on his mother's lap (UAL)

A passenger was forced to hold her son in her lap after United resold his seat to a standby passenger.

United Airlines has apologized after reselling a toddler's seat to a standby passenger on a flight from Houston to Boston late last week.

As a result of the incident, Shirley Yamauchi was forced to hold her 27-month-old son in her lap for the duration of the nearly four-hour flight.

That may have violated United's policies regarding children, which say children under the age of 2 may be allowed to travel on their parent's lap. However, Yamauchi's son was over that age limit.

United Airlines was not immediately available for comment regarding the age limit.

While there isn't a federally mandated age limit on a child who can sit in their parent's lap on a flight, the Federal Aviation Administration advises against it regardless of age. Instead, the agency suggests parents purchase seats for their children and use approved safety seats or restraint devices onboard flights.

"Your arms aren't capable of holding your child securely, especially during unexpected turbulence," the FAA says on its website, adding that it "strongly urges you to secure your child in a [child safety restraint system] or device for the duration of your flight. It's the smart and right thing to do so that everyone in your family arrives safely at your destination."

Yamauchi, a middle school teacher from Hawaii, told ABC affiliate KITV that she declined to speak up during the flight out of fear that it could cause a scene.

"I'm scared. I'm worried. I'm traveling with an infant. I didn't want to get hurt. I didn't want either of us to get hurt," she told KITV. "I had him in all these contorted sleeping positions. In the end, very sadly, he was standing up between my knees."

Yamauchi told Hawaii News Now that she paid nearly $1,000 for her son's seat.

In response, the airline has refunded both the mother's and the toddler's tickets from Hawaii to Boston.

In a statement to Business Insider, United Airlines wrote:

"We deeply apologize to Ms. Yamauchi and her son for this experience. We are refunding their tickets and providing compensation as a goodwill gesture. We are also working with our employees to prevent this from happening again."

A United spokesman told The Washington Post that the toddler's boarding pass had been improperly scanned, allowing the computer to release the seat to a standby passenger.

A passenger was forced to hold her son in her lap after United resold his seat to a standby passenger. Read Full Story