Man Forcibly Removed Due United Flight Overbooking

[mjr]

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.

I could be wrong, as I haven't really read much about this, but my understanding is that the United employees who were supposed to be on that flight got there late (after boarding started) for some reason or another. Again, I could be wrong. I still don't understand, though, how/why United didn't find the employees another means of getting there (chartered limousine, whatever).

Several articles on THE CONSUMERIST today:
The problem is none of the videos seem to confirm this statement...

Not to mention that there was a story that came out that said he was bloodied because "he fell". It's a story that a lot of people doubt, and is best left for the other site.

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."

37,000 words? Wow! If you printed that out on paper, with a 12 point Arial font, it would be just a little over 82 pages long. For perspective, the U.S. Constitution has 4,543 words (including signatures, etc), and would take a little more than 10 pages to print at the same 12 point Arial font. A 500 word essay is just a bit over 1 page in that same format.

Who's actually gonna read an 82 page "customer contract"? I'd guess that most people would have to run it by a lawyer, too, so that they could understand it all.

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."

This is true. The court of public opinion is often the cruelest court.

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...

Again, this is true. But like you said, many believe it won't happen. Not because it's United, but because things like this have happened in the past with other people/entities, and it's made the general public somewhat cynical.

[notalwaysright]

I'm feeling bad for the regular United employees, the ones that had nothing to do with this, and are probably experiencing some unjustified fallout.

[eltf177]

I'm feeling bad for the regular United employees, the ones that had nothing to do with this, and are probably experiencing some unjustified fallout.

I agree with you, this wasn't their fault but they're the ones the public deals with so you know they're not having an easy time right now...

[Ree]

They weren't totally at fault in this incident, but it's really indicative of the poor customer service from this airline overall.
In many cases, when I hear from someone with complaints about a bad flight and lousy service, it is almost always United.

[Dreamstalker]

I was under the impression that disobeying the flight crew can be considered a criminal act.

Ree, I've had problems with United as well; the last time I flew them I was stranded in Atlanta overnight (hotel was out-of-pocket which I could barely afford) after them promising passengers that they would make connections. When I finally got home I had to wait a week for them to find my luggage--which had somehow wound up in NY

[wolfie]

Since nobody's posted it yet, here is the link to the thread on Fratching.

[raw1989]

Since nobody's posted it yet, here is the link to the thread on Fratching.

so is the owner the same person as here im not a member there unless I use the same long in im so lost now

[EricKei]

Separate logins. If you're not a member on Fratching, you need to create a new User (with whatever name you prefer) over there Fratching is our "less formal" sister site (same owner), where politics, religion, debates, and other contentious matters that are disallowed here are all encouraged. Its existence is a part of what keeps this site civil.

[eltf177]

Two new updates:

https://consumerist.com/2017/04/13/u...ersial-flight/

"United Airlines remains in damage control mode after video of a passenger being forcibly removed from his seat and dragged down the aisle of a plane generated a public backlash. In the next step on its stumbling apology tour, United has announced that every other passenger who was on that flight will be compensated for their fare."

Translation: We're going to bribe these people to try and stop any more videos from appearing to destroy us in court...

https://consumerist.com/2017/04/13/p...e-but-not-yet/

"In a press conference today, the legal team for the passenger who was forcibly removed from his seat and dragged off a United Airlines flight on Sunday by Chicago aviation officers who have since been placed on administrative leave pending investigation says the 69-year-old man will 'probably' file a lawsuit over the incident, but not quite yet."

I'm sure no one saw this coming.

United needs to settle this mess before things get any worse. Boilerplate not withstanding they stand to lose a LOT if this gets in front of twelve citizens...

[mjr]

Sidebar, your honor...This isn't as bad as the dragging incident, but still doesn't make the airline look good.

http://www.latimes.com/business/laza...412-story.html

TL;DR;

A passenger paid $1,000 for a first class ticket. Gets on the plane, and is in his seat. He's told to get off the plane because apparently a "higher priority" passenger showed up at the last minute. Stands his ground. He alleges that he was told he'd be put in handcuffs if they needed to.

The "compromise" is that he was downgraded, and had to sit in the middle seat between a married couple that was in the midst of a heated fight and argued the whole flight.

[eltf177]

Boy, United seems to be going out of their way to prove that these sorts of things aren't an aberration. Already in the midst of a serious public-relations disaster and now this?

I love the final comment:

"Reporter asked if [Fearns] will ever fly United again.

Fearns could only laugh. 'Are you kidding?'”

Just how many times can United shoot itself in the foot before they bleed to death?

[EricKei]

This one was touchy from the start, but we all knew that. Can't say we didn't warn you, guys.

Take it to Fratching. Here's the link: http://www.fratching.com/showthread.php?p=168264