I flew United on the budget ticket that is making some customers furious - here's why I'll never do it again

Less than a month after the highly publicized incident of a United Airlines passenger being forcibly dragged off an overbooked flight, I needed to purchase a return airline ticket from Austin, Texas to the New York City area.

On a tight travel budget, I was on the hunt for the most affordable ticket with the shortest travel time. Since getting to and from Austin can typically involve layovers on non-direct flights from New York City, I was enticed by the nonstop flights scheduled from Newark International Airport, in New Jersey, an airport that happens to be one of United's main hubs.

After searching my usual go-to's including Southwest (which I flew out to Austin on from Newark) and American, I begrudgingly went to United.com - an airline I hadn't flown since 2014. There, I found a very reasonable nonstop, direct flight for $188. I thought I had just won the lottery...until the email confirmations for my purchase came through.