Incompetent United Air Lines Physically Drags Passenger Off Plane For Their (Airline) Mistake

[HenryBHough]

Not "probably" - certainly....well except for the more virulent progressives who love being dominated and abused.

 

[Divine Wind]

These are the type of cases where Congress gets involved in the airlines business

Congress has bent over backwards to allow airlines to set their own rules and police themselves
Public outrage over airlines abuse of passenger rights will cause Congress to step in

All because United does not understand customer service

They already regulate the compensation for involuntary denial of boarding, however those fines need to be upped a bit.

The ironic thing is the opening of air travel to the masses created the need for airlines to scrimp on customer service in the first place. With so many competitors prices drop, and airlines need to squeeze profit out of somewhere.

In this case United needed to show some compassion

Last flight of the day on Sunday with passengers needing to be home for work on Monday is not the place to offer your usual bare minimum compensation. Especially with the alternative flight being 3PM on Monday
United should have quickly realized the compensation being offered was insufficient for such a disruption in travel plans
They also should realize that THEY are responsible for booking passage for their crew and that a crew showing up after a full flight was boarded was going to cause outrage among those on board

The fact that it resulted in violence was caused by United and preventable

It was all preventable by United, and they are going to suffer for it, at least in the short term.

Suffer how? Passengers will protest and ride Greyhound?

With so many choices for airlines, people at least in the short term will probably think twice before booking with United.

Let them. You should check out Expedia or some other website before believing your own words.

1) Unless you want to through ATL, the only direct flights from ORD to SDF are on United and American.

2) An airliner has a finite number of seats. If American is filled up, then your choice is either Greyhound or United. Take your pick.

Chicago to Louisville Flights: Cheap Flights from ORD to SDF $202.07 | Expedia

 

[The Sage of Main Street]

With Computers these days, how hard is it to REALLY keep track of the fact that you have 150 seats on an airplane to fill and count down the number remaining as you sell the seats? It's MATH...and computer applications can even do THAT for you there days...

United Airlines, however, over-sold, over-booked their flight. When they figured that out at the gate (because evidently they could not figure out they had done so before that), they offered passengers $400 if they would take the next flight in an attempt to 'un-F*' the situation.

After quite a few people took them up on their offer, United allowed people to board the plane. Once on the plane United discovered there were still 4 passengers too many onboard the plane. At that point United asked 4 people to give up their seats, picking 4 people at random - one of them was 'THIS' guy:

United ASKED a man who had bought a ticket in advance and was told he was on this flight to give up his seat. He said, 'NO'. At that point United offered him $800 to give up his seat. He said, 'No'.

Even though the man told United that he was a doctor and had to be at his destination the next morning, United told the gentleman that he had NO CHOICE but to give up his seat:

"The manager told him that security would be called if he did not leave willingly, Bridges said, and the man said he was calling his lawyer. One security official came and spoke with him, and then another security officer came when he still refused. Then, she said, a third security official came on the plane and threw the passenger against the armrest before dragging him out of the plane."

Because United was too incompetent to count the number of seats on a plane versus how many they sold (or just being greedy and making it a policy to do so to ensure all seats are sold), United Airlines physically dragged a doctor off a plane.

I smell a major lawsuit! GOOD!

I have faced a similar situation with them, was forced to take the next flight....which was in the morning (though I did not make them drag my arse off the plane).

Over-booking is either incompetence or bad policy...or both. Physically dragging someone off the plane is also NOT an option. I don't care if United had to offer someone $2,000 or more before someone finally took their offer and gave up their seat voluntarily - it was their screw up. They should have had to keep raising the amount of the money until someone volunteered.

I have a feeling the doctor's lawyers are going to make United pay way more than $800.


Video: Security drags screaming United Airlines passenger off overbooked flight — literally - Hot Air

This New Age Grammar Was Forced on Us by Femininny Titwits

Your title should make your realize how dysfunctional it is to use "their" in referring to a singular. Fear of being misunderstood because of a usage that has no right to exist is what forced you to explain what "their" was referring to.

 

[danielpalos]

With Computers these days, how hard is it to REALLY keep track of the fact that you have 150 seats on an airplane to fill and count down the number remaining as you sell the seats? It's MATH...and computer applications can even do THAT for you there days...

United Airlines, however, over-sold, over-booked their flight. When they figured that out at the gate (because evidently they could not figure out they had done so before that), they offered passengers $400 if they would take the next flight in an attempt to 'un-F*' the situation.

After quite a few people took them up on their offer, United allowed people to board the plane. Once on the plane United discovered there were still 4 passengers too many onboard the plane. At that point United asked 4 people to give up their seats, picking 4 people at random - one of them was 'THIS' guy:

United ASKED a man who had bought a ticket in advance and was told he was on this flight to give up his seat. He said, 'NO'. At that point United offered him $800 to give up his seat. He said, 'No'.

Even though the man told United that he was a doctor and had to be at his destination the next morning, United told the gentleman that he had NO CHOICE but to give up his seat:

"The manager told him that security would be called if he did not leave willingly, Bridges said, and the man said he was calling his lawyer. One security official came and spoke with him, and then another security officer came when he still refused. Then, she said, a third security official came on the plane and threw the passenger against the armrest before dragging him out of the plane."

Because United was too incompetent to count the number of seats on a plane versus how many they sold (or just being greedy and making it a policy to do so to ensure all seats are sold), United Airlines physically dragged a doctor off a plane.

I smell a major lawsuit! GOOD!

I have faced a similar situation with them, was forced to take the next flight....which was in the morning (though I did not make them drag my arse off the plane).

Over-booking is either incompetence or bad policy...or both. Physically dragging someone off the plane is also NOT an option. I don't care if United had to offer someone $2,000 or more before someone finally took their offer and gave up their seat voluntarily - it was their screw up. They should have had to keep raising the amount of the money until someone volunteered.

I have a feeling the doctor's lawyers are going to make United pay way more than $800.


Video: Security drags screaming United Airlines passenger off overbooked flight — literally - Hot Air

/---- That's not how the airlines work you big dope. They over book intentionally because there are always last minute cancellations and no airline wants to fly empty seats. If it been any other sane passenger it would have been a non story

Isn't that why they should bump people with discount fares, that state that is the case, in the fine print. it could even include a bonus, in case of immediate need.

 

[rightwinger]

These are the type of cases where Congress gets involved in the airlines business

Congress has bent over backwards to allow airlines to set their own rules and police themselves
Public outrage over airlines abuse of passenger rights will cause Congress to step in

All because United does not understand customer service

They already regulate the compensation for involuntary denial of boarding, however those fines need to be upped a bit.

The ironic thing is the opening of air travel to the masses created the need for airlines to scrimp on customer service in the first place. With so many competitors prices drop, and airlines need to squeeze profit out of somewhere.

In this case United needed to show some compassion

Last flight of the day on Sunday with passengers needing to be home for work on Monday is not the place to offer your usual bare minimum compensation. Especially with the alternative flight being 3PM on Monday
United should have quickly realized the compensation being offered was insufficient for such a disruption in travel plans
They also should realize that THEY are responsible for booking passage for their crew and that a crew showing up after a full flight was boarded was going to cause outrage among those on board

The fact that it resulted in violence was caused by United and preventable




.

1) You are wrong, it wasn't the last flight. There was another flight at 9PM.

2) The cost of a one-way ticket ORD-SDF is $220. The airline offered an $800 travel voucher and, IIRC, a hotel room. ORD to SDF Flights | Expedia

3) Given how this played out, I'm sure Force Majeure applies.

Since nobody was offered a chance to board the 9PM flight it was the last flight

I have received travel vouchers in the past. I only ended up using a couple of them. You have to be willing to use it in one year or it is worthless. A hotel room is hardly compensation since United is the one forcing you to stay over. The fact that an airline full of passengers declined the $800 voucher shows what poor compensation it was

United Airlines using a term such as Force Majeure in their fine print shows the disdain they have for their passengers

 

[Divine Wind]

With Computers these days, how hard is it to REALLY keep track of the fact that you have 150 seats on an airplane to fill and count down the number remaining as you sell the seats? It's MATH...and computer applications can even do THAT for you there days...

United Airlines, however, over-sold, over-booked their flight. When they figured that out at the gate (because evidently they could not figure out they had done so before that), they offered passengers $400 if they would take the next flight in an attempt to 'un-F*' the situation.

After quite a few people took them up on their offer, United allowed people to board the plane. Once on the plane United discovered there were still 4 passengers too many onboard the plane. At that point United asked 4 people to give up their seats, picking 4 people at random - one of them was 'THIS' guy:

United ASKED a man who had bought a ticket in advance and was told he was on this flight to give up his seat. He said, 'NO'. At that point United offered him $800 to give up his seat. He said, 'No'.

Even though the man told United that he was a doctor and had to be at his destination the next morning, United told the gentleman that he had NO CHOICE but to give up his seat:

"The manager told him that security would be called if he did not leave willingly, Bridges said, and the man said he was calling his lawyer. One security official came and spoke with him, and then another security officer came when he still refused. Then, she said, a third security official came on the plane and threw the passenger against the armrest before dragging him out of the plane."

Because United was too incompetent to count the number of seats on a plane versus how many they sold (or just being greedy and making it a policy to do so to ensure all seats are sold), United Airlines physically dragged a doctor off a plane.

I smell a major lawsuit! GOOD!

I have faced a similar situation with them, was forced to take the next flight....which was in the morning (though I did not make them drag my arse off the plane).

Over-booking is either incompetence or bad policy...or both. Physically dragging someone off the plane is also NOT an option. I don't care if United had to offer someone $2,000 or more before someone finally took their offer and gave up their seat voluntarily - it was their screw up. They should have had to keep raising the amount of the money until someone volunteered.

I have a feeling the doctor's lawyers are going to make United pay way more than $800.


Video: Security drags screaming United Airlines passenger off overbooked flight — literally - Hot Air

/---- That's not how the airlines work you big dope. They over book intentionally because there are always last minute cancellations and no airline wants to fly empty seats. If it been any other sane passenger it would have been a non story

Isn't that why they should bump people with discount fares, that state that is the case, in the fine print. it could even include a bonus, in case of immediate need.

The airline has to offer compensation. However, since it's a $220 ticket, offering $800 seems fair.

Overbooked Flight? How (Not) to Get Bumped
....How to Avoid Getting Bumped from a Flight
If you have obligations in your destination city and absolutely cannot afford to be bumped from a flight, arrive as early as possible at the airport, especially if you're taking a popular route. Better yet, check in online before you even leave for the airport. The last passengers to check in for the flight are typically the ones who find themselves bumped involuntarily. If you're at the gate before the majority of the passengers have checked in, your chances of retaining your original reservation are favorable....

United's overbooking policy: The reason they can kick you off your flight
The often-overlooked reason United can kick you off your flight
wave of consternation centered on one question: How can they do that?

Part of the problem, at least, comes from the often-overlooked policy that allows airlines to stop passengers from boarding a plane if it's overbooked. You agree to it when you book your tickets.

It's standard practice for airlines to sell more tickets than there are seats. Carriers calculate how much wiggle room they have based on past stats that track no-shows and offer passengers vouchers if flights end up too full, and no two airlines have the same approach.

"Airlines overbook because people don't show up for flights and they don't want to go with empty seats," said George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com.

There are also scenarios in which the plane may be too heavy, an air marshal needs to board or flight staff have to get to work.

But in the case of the United flight, four crew members needed to board the United flight, operated by regional partner Republic Airlines, in order to work another flight in Louisville the following day or else that flight would be canceled, airline spokeswoman Maddie King said Monday.

Experts agree that what United is dealing with is not par for the course. For one, the back-and-forth usually happens at the gate -- not once passengers board the plane.

"This is pretty unusual, what happened," Hobica said.

When a flight is overbooked, federal rules require that airlines first check to see if anyone will give up his or her seat voluntarily, according to the Department of Transportation. Airlines dictate what the compensation looks like, but it's usually a travel voucher toward a future flight or a gift card.

These voluntary swaps occur "probably thousands of time every day on a national scale," said Robert Mann, the head of airline consulting firm R.W. Mann & Company.

If airlines can't get passengers to switch of their own volition, they're allowed to bump fliers involuntarily.

In 2015, 46,000 travelers were involuntarily bumped from flights, according to data from the Department of Transportation.

Airlines set their own policies when it comes to the order in which passengers are bumped. The terms are sketched out in "contracts of carriage" that passengers agree to when they buy their tickets.

On United flights, people with disabilities and unaccompanied minors should be the last to be kicked off, according to the company's carriage contract.

American Airlines says it denies boarding based on order of check-in, but will also consider "severe hardships," ticket cost and status within the carrier's loyalty program.

Delta Air Lines also takes check-in order and loyalty status into account, as well as which cabin a passenger is slated to sit in. The carrier also says it makes exceptions for people with disabilities, unaccompanied minors and members of the military.

JetBlue Airways advertises that it does not overbook flights, but the airline still reserves the right in its contract.

When airlines must involuntarily bump, there are rules to follow.

Passengers must get to their final destination within one hour -- or carriers have to start coughing up money.

If fliers get to their final destination one to two hours late (or one to four hours late if they're flying internationally), airlines are required to pay double the original one-way fare, with a $675 limit. If fliers get in more than two hours late (or four internationally), airlines have to pay 400% of the one-way fare, up to a $1,350 limit.

Passengers have the right to insist on a check in lieu of a free flight or a voucher when they're kicked off a flight involuntary, according to the DOT.

"Usually [airlines will] just up the compensation amount, and they'll find somebody at some price," Hobica said.

United offered passengers up to $1,000 to de-board the Sunday flight, according to an internal e-mail from CEO Oscar Munoz.

 

[Divine Wind]

These are the type of cases where Congress gets involved in the airlines business

Congress has bent over backwards to allow airlines to set their own rules and police themselves
Public outrage over airlines abuse of passenger rights will cause Congress to step in

All because United does not understand customer service

They already regulate the compensation for involuntary denial of boarding, however those fines need to be upped a bit.

The ironic thing is the opening of air travel to the masses created the need for airlines to scrimp on customer service in the first place. With so many competitors prices drop, and airlines need to squeeze profit out of somewhere.

In this case United needed to show some compassion

Last flight of the day on Sunday with passengers needing to be home for work on Monday is not the place to offer your usual bare minimum compensation. Especially with the alternative flight being 3PM on Monday
United should have quickly realized the compensation being offered was insufficient for such a disruption in travel plans
They also should realize that THEY are responsible for booking passage for their crew and that a crew showing up after a full flight was boarded was going to cause outrage among those on board

The fact that it resulted in violence was caused by United and preventable




.

1) You are wrong, it wasn't the last flight. There was another flight at 9PM.

2) The cost of a one-way ticket ORD-SDF is $220. The airline offered an $800 travel voucher and, IIRC, a hotel room. ORD to SDF Flights | Expedia

3) Given how this played out, I'm sure Force Majeure applies.

Since nobody was offered a chance to board the 9PM flight it was the last flight

I have received travel vouchers in the past. I only ended up using a couple of them. You have to be willing to use it in one year or it is worthless. A hotel room is hardly compensation since United is the one forcing you to stay over. The fact that an airline full of passengers declined the $800 voucher shows what poor compensation it was

United Airlines using a term such as Force Majeure in their fine print shows the disdain they have for their passengers

Intelligent, informed people know they can ask for a check.

Sue them and the lawyers will figure out if Force Majeure was, in fact, appropriate. Do you really think United would do this without good reason? Why would they want the headache?

 

[EverCurious]

I don't honestly give two shits what their fine print says. As I said, legal or not, customers do /not/ have to just accept being treated like that because of bullshit fine print. Fuck em, fly with someone else - and especially given that CEO's shitty response.

And folks, THIS is why CEO's are paid big bucks, because they have /this/ power over the future of the company. Here the CEO fucked up. The 2 minutes he spent printing that letter is going to trash United's reputation, and very likely harm their profits/stocks. Certainly it has with me, I won't fly United when their flight attendants work schedules are decided to be "more important" than my reason for being on said plane (whatever it might be) - and why should I risk being fucking dragged violently out of my seat because they forgot how to count?!? That's just rediculious.

 

[airplanemechanic]

Let's get one thing clear. I'm not defending United's actions. I think they couldn't have handled this situation worse than they did. I'm talking about from a strictly legal standpoint, they broke no laws.

Had they handled it well, it wouldn't be on the national news.

 

[rightwinger]

These are the type of cases where Congress gets involved in the airlines business

Congress has bent over backwards to allow airlines to set their own rules and police themselves
Public outrage over airlines abuse of passenger rights will cause Congress to step in

All because United does not understand customer service

They already regulate the compensation for involuntary denial of boarding, however those fines need to be upped a bit.

The ironic thing is the opening of air travel to the masses created the need for airlines to scrimp on customer service in the first place. With so many competitors prices drop, and airlines need to squeeze profit out of somewhere.

In this case United needed to show some compassion

Last flight of the day on Sunday with passengers needing to be home for work on Monday is not the place to offer your usual bare minimum compensation. Especially with the alternative flight being 3PM on Monday
United should have quickly realized the compensation being offered was insufficient for such a disruption in travel plans
They also should realize that THEY are responsible for booking passage for their crew and that a crew showing up after a full flight was boarded was going to cause outrage among those on board

The fact that it resulted in violence was caused by United and preventable




.

1) You are wrong, it wasn't the last flight. There was another flight at 9PM.

2) The cost of a one-way ticket ORD-SDF is $220. The airline offered an $800 travel voucher and, IIRC, a hotel room. ORD to SDF Flights | Expedia

3) Given how this played out, I'm sure Force Majeure applies.

Since nobody was offered a chance to board the 9PM flight it was the last flight

I have received travel vouchers in the past. I only ended up using a couple of them. You have to be willing to use it in one year or it is worthless. A hotel room is hardly compensation since United is the one forcing you to stay over. The fact that an airline full of passengers declined the $800 voucher shows what poor compensation it was

United Airlines using a term such as Force Majeure in their fine print shows the disdain they have for their passengers

Intelligent, informed people know they can ask for a check.

Sue them and the lawyers will figure out if Force Majeure was, in fact, appropriate. Do you really think United would do this without good reason? Why would they want the headache?

Force Majeure?
They blame an act of God?

Moving your employees around is under your control. United just chose to find the cheapest way without concern for their passengers

 

[MikeK]

Intelligent, informed people know they can ask for a check.

Sue them and the lawyers will figure out if Force Majeure was, in fact, appropriate. Do you really think United would do this without good reason? Why would they want the headache?

I doubt that United would have expected those cops to exercise such poor judgment. But poor judgment aside, if these goons are sworn peace officers, not just ordinary square-badge private security agents, they are protected from any liability by something called qualified immunity, which means they can say they believed their action was justified.

Qualified Immunity is how cops often get away with flagrant brutality -- even plainly unnecessary homicide ("I thought my life was in danger.") Typically, when cops exercise bad judgment and a civil suit is brought, it's not the cop who is sued but rather his employer.

What we've all seen in this video is extremely bad judgment on the part of those goon cops who obviously are fully aware of the protection afforded them by Qualified Immunity. But United Airlines is definitely liable for their unnecessarily brutal conduct and the harm it brought upon that doctor, either by their employees or by public officials whom they summoned. There were other ways that situation could have been resolved.

 

[DigitalDrifter]

Everyone agrees this was a bad situation caused by the airline, however at some point you need to act like an adult instead of screaming like a child.

That sounded more like a scream in pain than an I'm pissed off scream

Sounded like someone lacking adult behavior.

 

[TyroneSlothrop]

United Airlines: "Nobody could screw up their PR as stupidly as we have."



Sean Spicer: "Hold my beer and watch this!"

 

[rightwinger]

Let's get one thing clear. I'm not defending United's actions. I think they couldn't have handled this situation worse than they did. I'm talking about from a strictly legal standpoint, they broke no laws.

Had they handled it well, it wouldn't be on the national news.

United knew they were operating within their rights. They also had a right to offer higher compensation to real volunteers and a right to find another means to move their employees around

They must now pay the public relations price for beating up an elderly man

 

[Yarddog]

With Computers these days, how hard is it to REALLY keep track of the fact that you have 150 seats on an airplane to fill and count down the number remaining as you sell the seats? It's MATH...and computer applications can even do THAT for you there days...

United Airlines, however, over-sold, over-booked their flight. When they figured that out at the gate (because evidently they could not figure out they had done so before that), they offered passengers $400 if they would take the next flight in an attempt to 'un-F*' the situation.

After quite a few people took them up on their offer, United allowed people to board the plane. Once on the plane United discovered there were still 4 passengers too many onboard the plane. At that point United asked 4 people to give up their seats, picking 4 people at random - one of them was 'THIS' guy:

United ASKED a man who had bought a ticket in advance and was told he was on this flight to give up his seat. He said, 'NO'. At that point United offered him $800 to give up his seat. He said, 'No'.

Even though the man told United that he was a doctor and had to be at his destination the next morning, United told the gentleman that he had NO CHOICE but to give up his seat:

"The manager told him that security would be called if he did not leave willingly, Bridges said, and the man said he was calling his lawyer. One security official came and spoke with him, and then another security officer came when he still refused. Then, she said, a third security official came on the plane and threw the passenger against the armrest before dragging him out of the plane."

Because United was too incompetent to count the number of seats on a plane versus how many they sold (or just being greedy and making it a policy to do so to ensure all seats are sold), United Airlines physically dragged a doctor off a plane.

I smell a major lawsuit! GOOD!

I have faced a similar situation with them, was forced to take the next flight....which was in the morning (though I did not make them drag my arse off the plane).

Over-booking is either incompetence or bad policy...or both. Physically dragging someone off the plane is also NOT an option. I don't care if United had to offer someone $2,000 or more before someone finally took their offer and gave up their seat voluntarily - it was their screw up. They should have had to keep raising the amount of the money until someone volunteered.

I have a feeling the doctor's lawyers are going to make United pay way more than $800.


Video: Security drags screaming United Airlines passenger off overbooked flight — literally - Hot Air

Man I hate United anyways, always get your flight delayed, super long layovers, cramped seats. Just one more reason now not to fly United

 

[rightwinger]

Everyone agrees this was a bad situation caused by the airline, however at some point you need to act like an adult instead of screaming like a child.

That sounded more like a scream in pain than an I'm pissed off scream

Sounded like someone lacking adult behavior.

Roughing up a 69 year old man is not adult behavior

 

[CarlinAnnArbor]

Who is the clown they had to physically remove? This from Rush:

The unruly United Airlines passenger that was physically removed from the plane twice is a doctor. According to the U.K. Daily Mail, he is a “felon who traded prescription drugs for secret gay sex with patient half his age and took them himself — and he needed anger management, was ‘not forthright’ and had control issues, psychiatrist found,” said a psychiatrist. His name is Dr. David Dao. His “troubled medical past is revealed in court documents.

“His wife … — also a doctor — reported him to medical authorities and his secret inappropriate gay relationship with a patient was revealed.” Well, the guy was really desperate to get back to Louisville. “Father of five … was convicted of a felony — but avoided prison time — because he was giving the man prescription drugs in return for gay sex. He denied the gay sex even though he was caught on camera shirtless and in his pants.” It was the Putin look.

BREAK TRANSCRIPT

RUSH: So what do you make, folks. We’ve got the U.K. Daily Mail and the New York Post and I’m sure other publications, too, have now written stories on who this unruly passenger is, and it’s not a pretty picture. And they portray a guy here who’s had to see psychiatrists for drug addiction and anger management issues and that he nearly lost his medical license.

One doctor wrote that the guy here, Dr. David Dao, “would ‘unilaterally chose to do his own thing.’ He only got his license back after agreeing to be drug tested and polygraphed.” What’s gonna happen here now is that numerous people are gonna get angry that the victimized is being blamed and smeared in the process in order to defend United.

My New Ad Campaign for United Airlines

 

[MikeK]

Sounded like someone lacking adult behavior.

Not relevant.

 

[airplanemechanic]

Gosh to think he was probably having an orgasm in his pants getting drug away by big strong burly men.....

 

[MikeK]

Force Majeure?
They blame an act of God?

Moving your employees around is under your control. United just chose to find the cheapest way without concern for their passengers

I agree.

The underlying factor in this situation was money.

The conflict arose from United's deliberate overbooking to offset loss from prospective cancellations. It could easily have been resolved by United offering increasingly substantial (auction style) compensation for voluntarily surrendering a passenger's seat. I.e., "Who will leave for $800?" If no one, then "Who will leave for $900?" and so on until someone accepts. So there was a very simple alternative to the brutality we've witnessed and it's quite clear that corporate greed was the pivotal factor.