United Airlines forcibly removes older man after overbooking flight

[Chuck]

Hey United Airlines..

https://www.yahoo.com/news/new-video-apparently-shows-bloodied-united-passenger-returning-plane-forcibly-removed-185220992.html

http://postgradproblems.com/im-beyond-jealous-of-that-dude-who-got-his-ass-dragged-off-the-united-flight/?utm_medium=short&utm_source=Instagram

https://streamable.com/fy0y7

[Jason]

[NJHalo]

Talk about bad publicity. How do you try to explain away that? 

Would have been easier to explain a plane crash.

[gotbeer]

New video apparently shows bloodied United passenger returning to plane after being forcibly removed

Quote

The Chicago Police Department issued a statement saying the man fell into the armrest and injured himself.

 

Yeah, right, he injured himself.  I'm sure he was taken out to the south side where he committed suicide with two bullets to the back of the head also. 

I wonder how many lawyers are lining up to represent him.  Chicago Police and United, with a plane full of witnesses, and video.  Just saw one of the video's.  He looks Asian.  So you can play the race card also.  Bank it brother, just bank it.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

And to think that I felt bad when United made me sit on an A320 at the gate at O'Hare for an hour and 40 minutes because the plane hadn't been refueled for the flight.

This guy could be in for a big payday - especially since they let him reboard the flight after they forcibly hauled him off.

All of this because United wanted the seats on a fully booked flight for crew headed for another flight.

[Tank]

This is wrong in every imaginable way. How do rationalize forcibly removing a paying customer? Put your crew on another flight and move on! The damage done to their image can't be recovered. And legally, this guy is about to cash in, and deservedly so. 

[Brandon]

the blowback on this one is top shelf by everyone, but even better is their terrible responses throughout the day.

[JAHV76]

United handled this poorly, but if you read the fine print on discount fare tickets you are subject to being bumped from flights. I also believe under the FAA guidelines you are required to follow flight crew instructions at all times. That is part of their preflight safety instructions that is why, I never buy the lowest fare option. I don't agree with what they did just adding some comments to the conversation.

[gotbeer]

United finds a new way to make itself look awful, and then its CEO shows how to make things worse

 

United Airlines CEO: There are lessons we can learn from this experience

To paraphrase.  We were right.  Customer was wrong.  Customer service is our #1 priority.  Having him beat and dragged off the plane is just our personal touch.

But on the bright side.  The vitrol shown has United the nation.

 

[gotbeer]

Talk about an industry that doesn't get it.

United passenger was 'immature,' former Continental CEO Gordon Bethune says

[arch stanton]

What's not to get? You get someone to drive you out to the airport, shuffle through security, wait your turn, get seated on the plane, but since we gave you a few bucks off your ticket we reserve the right to toss you out on your ass at our discretion. Try not to be so self-absorbed as to think that getting in the plane means we're letting you fly.

[mancini79]

Any word if Adam's uncle finally made his destination? 

[Blarg]

United is going to pay so much money for this screw up. They could have chartered private luxuary jets for each one of the four crew members for what their own lawyer costs will come to losing their case. Because no juror will side with the airline on this one.

[Docwaukee]

Interestingly, Oscar Munoz, the CEO of United had a heart transplant.  Apparently, it's not working.  

 

So a man books a flight, pays his money, gets on the plane and they randomly select him to get off without regard to the collateral effect it will have on his life.  Then, when he refuses, they call security to escort the shit out of him off the plane.  But that's just protocol.  

I can't think of a more vile and despicable industry.  

I was once about to get on a flight from Chicago to LA on American. About 30 mins before boarding they announced that due to weight restrictions, they could only allow the first class and premier members on the flight.   It was December and a storm was brewing so people were trying to get out.  Every outgoing flight was sold out.  There was an immediate meltdown at the gate.  Several attorney's stepped up and started arguing with the gate attendants to no avail.  A young black woman was vocally upset letting the AA staff know of her displeasure with a profanity laden tirade.  It was under control until........

The called security and several chicago PD officers responded to 'calm' the scene.  Once of which was a middle aged white woman who proceeded to step into the young black woman's face and say 'calm down sheniqua'.  Needless to say, the young black woman's name was not 'sheniqua'.  This obviously set her off into another dimension.  Another officer immediately intervened and removed the female cop while others tried but failed to calm the incensed AA customer.  

Come to find out that AA had additional cargo they would be carrying but they would not reveal what it was.  They backed off on their initial statement that they would only accommodate the first class and premier passengers to 'we will only allow a certain number of people on the plane'.  They boarded in the usual fashion.  First class and premier members first.  My family of four were the first in line for the 'remainder'.  We got to the front of the line where they scan the tickets and they told us we could not board.  I turned around immediately looking for the supervisor.  The young black lady was two passengers behind me and she went absolutely bonkers as did several others.  

They finally got everyone calmed down and started issuing vouchers.  Here is where the real fun began.  When they initially made the announcement, they asked for volunteer to give up their seats.  A few people accepted.  They were give a $500 credit for their ticket.  Those that didn't were given full price ticket credit now that they wouldn't be able to get on the flight.  About $1200 per ticket.  So those that volunteer were now upset that they weren't given the same deal.  The airline then argued that because the 'voluntarily' gave up their ticket, they were only entitled to the amount they agreed even though they wouldn't have been able to board the flight anyway.  

This started a whole new round of crazy requiring chicago PD to respond once again.  The airline did not relent on this.  

I noticed a women with a walkie off in the corner relaying all the goings on and decided to introduce myself.  She was the manager of managers and I was able to convince her to cut us a sweet deal and get us on the next flight out while she left the others to argue with her gate personnel.  She had no interest in getting involved in the fray.  So good for us in some ways although I literally had to put my hands over my kids ears to keep them from hearing some of the passenger tirades.  

At the end of the day, about 100 passengers got totally hosed and they only dealt with those who barked the loudest or had the where with all to recognize who was in charge.  It was a cluster of amazing proportions and there was no semblance actual empathy.  Only a slight intent for damage control.  They fully expected the meltdown and managed it as if they had a thought out protocol for it.  

We got lucky.  Big time.  My advice for anyone put in this sort of situation is to casually find the person off to the side and without attention being drawn, cut your own deal.  They have carte blanche power to accommodate but will only do so when absolutely necessary.  Mostly, they are looking to scatter and distract.  

It is a despicable trade.  

BTW, the person sitting next to me on the next flight out?  The young black woman above who showed me her check for 3k signed by american airlines.  Awesome stuff.  

[Blarg]

So Shaniqua all along knew how to play the system?

[Chuck]

[mancini79]

If an airline is allowed to overbook (which is common practice for many airlines), then they shouldn't be allowed to involuntarily remove passengers when they overbook. 

[Tank]

The entire overbooking thing is crap and needs to be addressed.

i hope this causes some legal changes. I find this whole thing so bloody unconscionable.

[Jason]

[gotbeer]

8 hours ago, mancini79 said:

If an airline is allowed to overbook (which is common practice for many airlines), then they shouldn't be allowed to involuntarily remove passengers when they overbook. 

That's the biggest frustration about this situation.  They overbooked.  Correctly loaded the plane, even overbooked.  Which probably means those standby's who are probably the people that are overbooked and late comers didn't get a seat. 

It's that after all this was settled, 4 crew members showed up and said we need a seat.  That's when everything went off the rails.

[red321]

Do not volunteer to give up your seat, they are trying to lowball people to get them off the plane. They have federal guidelines for how much they should pay if they cannot seat all the passengers.

http://lifehacker.com/if-your-flight-is-overbooked-dont-volunteer-to-get-bum-1722036179

I was on a recent flight to Orange County and it was raining. They asked for volunteers because of weight restrictions, they were offering $400, it then went to $800. I talked to the gate agent but they would not give me any guarantees on what flight I would be put on. Would I fly in to LA that night, or would it be the next day...until I gave up my seat they would not give me any information on when I would get home. They ended up not boarding folks, but unlike the clowns at United the folks at American didn't let them board in the first place.

[gotbeer]

Even a Dictionary is getting in on the action.

 

[Catwhoshatinthehat]

Saw this on one of the news stories when they were talking about this yesterday; United's new seating chart:

 

[Blarg]

[red321]

I don't think you need to make a meme of that last one...the original video of that cop and masked jihadists was scary enough and probably deserves its own thread.