Man Forcibly Removed Due United Flight Overbooking

[EricKei]

Y'all been playing nice And we appreciate that. Thank you. Kindly continue doing so, but keep in mind that we're keeping an eye on this one for obvious reasons

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Other news on this --

- CEO has come out with some interesting statements about this, which are probably best reserved for Fratching; ditto any debates regarding the legality of the situation (There are now claims going around that one's legal status changes once your butt is in the seat). If anyone wants to start a thread there, feel free to do so and link it in here.

- At least one of those security guys has been suspended, pending an investigation.

- There are a bunch of videos of the incident taking place. If the passenger decides to sue, he should have plenty of video backing up his case.

[mjr]

SOP for bio hazard.

Yes, that is blood from his mouth.

Ah, yeah. I posted before I saw that photo. I saw the photo of him being dragged off the plane.

I saw recently too that because United's stock has gone down, they've lost over $1 billion -- and people are attributing that directly to this.

[eltf177]

CEO has come out with some interesting statements about this...

THAT, sir, is an understatement. One would really think he'd get some good advise before opening his mouth in the wake of such a public relations disaster...

[Tama]

I was surprised this thread wasn't auto-locked, since it's such a huge thing.

[EricKei]

Well, as I said, everyone's being civil, keeping cool heads, and not soapboxing. As long as it stays that way, we cool ^_^

[csquared]

It does speak volumes for the members of this forum to be able to have a polite conversation on such a hot topic.

It will be interesting to see the outcome of this incident. Not only for clarification on passenger rights, but also on the "use of force" issues.

[Sliceanddice]

What i found interesting is how PR people are calling the response by United "brand suicide" and want to see if they do something smart and positive to try and salvage it.

[raw1989]

I don't understand why they had to clean the plane.

But aside from that, just like with hotels, I don't think overbooking should be allowed. I mean, I kinda understand why they do it, but that doesn't mean I have to agree with it.

Because once he re boarded after security lost him in the airport he got bodily fluids aka blood all over the plane and to make him get off the made everyone get off and they had to clean the plane cant have bodily fluids on the plane who knows what he could have. From my understanding as well he is a doctor and he can only practice on certain days so he was trying to get home to see his patients. I bet if they offered 1,000 or even 1,500 a family of 4 would have given up there seats.

[mjr]

What i found interesting is how PR people are calling the response by United "brand suicide" and want to see if they do something smart and positive to try and salvage it.

The CEO is going to be on "Good Morning America" tomorrow. That was fast.

I think what happened is he (or someone at United) heard the word "lawyer"...

[EricKei]

Side note --

Some info about the Doctor's (alleged) history has cropped up. That bit is absolutely Fratching material, as any discussion of its relevance to the incident would be.

[Ree]

It's interesting in that I just watched an interview with an eyewitness, and according to him, this man did originally volunteer to give up his seat until he found out that there was a 24 hour delay before the next flight. That was when he told them he was a doctor and had to be at work the next day for his patients, and couldn't take the later flight. The airline then chose him anyway as one of the passengers who had to give up their seats.

[raw1989]

Ive seen that info erickel ill leave it at that because it still wouldn't change my mind on this topic. Ree i would have to maybe but then not being able to rebook for 24 hours i could see why i don't think that needed to be disclosed till they told him 24 hours it seems like it will be a act of retaliation and he will most likely win a law suit im still not sure why if united needed these employees to get to this flight to get to the plane they needed to fly why they wouldn't have booked them and removed the seats from people buying because they obv are going to show up to the flight since its there job on the line.

he most likely thought there was a later flight .

[eltf177]

The CEO is going to be on "Good Morning America" tomorrow. That was fast.

I think what happened is he (or someone at United) heard the word "lawyer"...

That and the fact that this incident has United's name circling the bowl in a hurry - I've heard stock prices are dropping. And you KNOW this incident will end up in court if not settled, and the airline's probably going to lose. Even if they win the negative publicity isn't going to help.

Again, in this day and age one would think a CEO would be EXTREMELY careful in drafting a public response, ESPECIALLY after an incident like this. But he didn't and his ill-advised remarks are going to haunt him and United for years. Remember, the internet never forgets...

[Blue Ginger]

If i was on a plane that was overbooked, I wouldn't want to give up my seat unless I was getting a fair bit of money. And if there was a was a 24 hour delay before the next flight, I would be wanting a free night in a hotel and food money. And an upgrade to business or first class (depending on the length of flight).

It seems that he was happy to give up the seat before he found out how long it would be before the next flight. I'm sure if the airline had of made this known earlier, different people might have volunteered, especially if a night in a hotel was thrown in.

Oh and this shit should never have been pulled when everyone was already boarded. They should have sorted it out before boarding. Might have gotten more people willing. I know I wouldn't be moving once I was in my window seat.

[eltf177]

Several articles on THE CONSUMERIST today:

https://consumerist.com/2017/04/11/u...d-belligerent/

"In a letter to employees late on Monday night, United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz said he 'emphatically' stands behind workers amid the uproar over videos showing a passenger who was forcibly pulled from a flight on Sunday by airport police, after he became 'disruptive and belligerent.'”

The problem is none of the videos seem to confirm this statement...

https://consumerist.com/2017/04/11/u...he-seats-more/

"United Airlines is still in damage-control mode today in response to the public uproar over a passenger who was forcibly removed from a flight earlier this week. Now the carrier is clarifying that this flight wasn’t 'overbooked;' it just really needed the seats for United crew members."

Yeah, that statement really gets United off the hook...

https://consumerist.com/2017/04/11/d...suing-airline/

"A lot of people are saying the United Airlines passenger who was forcibly booted from a Sunday afternoon flight should sue the carrier, while others say he can’t sue because of fine print in United’s 37,000-word customer contract. Turns out he probably can take the airline to court, but whether or not he’d prevail is unclear."

While technically true, United will most definitely lose in the court of public opinion. As my uncle the lawyer used to say, "there are certain cases that should NEVER be allowed to get in front of a jury." And this is one of them. United might prevail on the legalities but that won't mean much if the public doesn't accept the outcome, and I don't believe they will. United would be wise to settle this out of court, regardless of cost.

There's been a lot of talk about this on media. One public relations guy spoke on WTOP News Radio yesterday saying the public won't accept any promises from United, they must step up and actually take steps to resolve this situation...