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1ClassyLady 68F
3114 posts
4/10/2017 8:05 pm
United Airlines Passenger Is Dragged From an Overbooked Flight

The disturbing scene captured on cellphone videos by United Airlines passengers on Sunday went beyond the typical nightmares of travelers on an overbooked flight.

An unidentified man who refused to be bumped from a plane screamed as a security officer wrestled him out of his seat and dragged him down the aisle by his arms. His glasses slid down his face, and his shirt rose above his midriff as uniformed officers followed.

At least two passengers documented the physical confrontation and the man’s anguished protests, and their videos spread rapidly online on Monday as people criticized the airline’s tactics. A security officer involved in the episode has been placed on leave, the authorities said, and the federal Transportation Department is investigating whether the airline complied with rules regarding overbooking.

Tyler Bridges, a passenger on Sunday’s flight who posted a video to Twitter, said in a telephone interview on Monday that “it felt like something the world needed to see.”

The shocking scene raised questions about the common practice of overbooking and how far airlines will go to sell all of their seats. Particularly annoying, Mr. Bridges said, was that the airline was looking for extra seats for some of its employees.

The videos show a security officer removing the unidentified man from his seat and dragging him off the plane as he screams. The flight was scheduled to depart O’Hare International Airport in Chicago for Louisville, Ky., at 5:40 p.m. but was delayed two hours.

Charlie Hobart, a United spokesman, said in a telephone interview on Monday that “we had asked several times, politely,” for the man to give up his seat before force was used.

“We had a customer who refused to leave the aircraft,” he said. “We have a number of customers on board that aircraft, and they want to get to their destination on time and safely, and we want to work to get them there.

“Since that customer refused to leave the aircraft, we had to call” the police, and they came on board, he said.

The Chicago Department of Aviation said in a statement on Monday that the incident “was not in accordance with our standard operating procedure” and that an officer had been placed on leave pending a review of the matter. The department declined to identify the officer.

Airlines routinely sell tickets to more people than the plane can seat, counting on several people not to arrive. When there are not enough no-shows, airlines first try to offer rewards to customers willing to reschedule their plans, usually in the form of travel vouchers, gift cards or cash. The arrangement — which is usually negotiated before passengers board the plane — can be lucrative to flexible travelers and is crucial for airlines to maximize profit.

“A bakery doesn’t want to have a lot of extra pastries at the end of the day they have to throw out,” said Seth Kaplan, managing partner at Airline Weekly, an industry publication. “To an airline, an empty seat is basically the same thing as stale bread. It’s something they can never sell again.”

But involuntarily bumping passengers is rare. In 2016, United involuntarily denied boarding to 3,765 of its more than 86 million passengers on oversold flights, according to the Transportation Department. An additional 62,895 people voluntarily gave up their seats.

The event on Sunday was the second social media stir for United in two weeks. In March, two girls were barred from a flight because they were wearing leggings, which the company said violated its dress code for a benefit for United employees and their dependents. Critics called the policy sexist and overbearing.

On Sunday, Mr. Bridges said that when he arrived at the gate about 20 minutes before boarding, United had announced that the flight was overbooked; the airline was offering $400 vouchers to anyone who would give up their seat, Mr. Bridges said.




Honesty is the best policy.


1ClassyLady 68F
3276 posts
4/13/2017 10:29 am

    Quoting  :

I am sorry to learn you have been mistreated by an airplane company before. Hope after this incident (Dr. David Dao), all the airplane companies in the world will learn a lesson "don't overbook, don't drag customer with force", "raise the price if ask for volunteer to be bumped out".

Today there was a press conference, Dr. Dao's attorney said "United passenger David Dao has concussion, broken nose; says dragging more horrific than fleeing Vietnam". They are preparing for a hearing on Monday and possible a lawsuit.



Honesty is the best policy.


1ClassyLady 68F
3276 posts
4/12/2017 5:53 pm

The Department of Transportation limits the amount an airline can compensate passengers who are involuntarily bumped from a plane to a maximum of $1,350. There is no federal limit, however, on the amount an airline can offer volunteers to give up their seat.

Trump said today "remove that limit of $1,350" so, in the future airline companies need to offer more money until someone raise hand to take the incentive offer.

That UAL CEO apologized again today and toned down his voice said "this thing won't happen again". However, it is too late, he should apologize yesterday instead of saying "the passenger (David Tao) is disruptive and belligerent".

That doctor named David Tao has hired two law firms to sue United Airline. This thing is far from over yet. United Airline should drive those 4 crew members to the destination as one of the customers on that plane said in the video, then this incident wouldn't happen.

A Chinese online shopping company called JD dot com CEO called out to all of his employees not to take United Airline for business trips. That bring down UAL stock price 4% in the early trading this morning but closed 2.26% lower. UAL should repair its PR disaster.



Honesty is the best policy.


1ClassyLady 68F
3276 posts
4/11/2017 9:37 pm

    Quoting  :

Hello Kayra,

Long time I didn't read your blog or comment. How have you been? Have you travel anywhere?

Seeing that video that Asian doctor has been "computer selected" to bump and been dragged away like animal. It was outrageous scene. That 4 seats were given to UA employees. UA CEO made worse comment "the passenger is disruptive and belligerent". He didn't apologize for what had done to their customer and blamed to customer. There are more than 2,000 signatures collected for a proposition to ask UA CEO to resign.

You and I are travelers. Seeing that video made me feel the airline mistreated customers. They overbooked first and then asked 4 people to volunteered to leave. That Vietnamese doctor refused to leave so they called the security to drag the "uncooperative customer" out of plane. That doctor then came back to his seat but again he has been taken out on a stretcher. UA is completely ruined their PR reputation.

Nice to talk to you again, Kayra.



Honesty is the best policy.


1ClassyLady 68F
3276 posts
4/11/2017 8:35 am

United Airlines says a man wouldn’t give up his spot on an overbooked flight Sunday.

So, according to witnesses and videos of the incident, he was pulled screaming from his seat by security, knocked against an arm rest and dragged down the aisle and back to the terminal at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport.

United refused to answer questions about the incident, which horrified other passengers on the Louisville-bound flight. An airline spokesman only apologized for the overbooked flight, and said police were called after a passenger “refused to leave the aircraft voluntarily.”

What happened was captured on cellphone video by at least two passengers.

Tyler Bridges recalled trouble starting almost as soon as he and his wife boarded.

An airline supervisor walked onto the plane and brusquely announced: “We have United employees that need to fly to Louisville tonight. … This flight’s not leaving until four people get off.”

“That rubbed some people the wrong way,” Bridges said.

Passengers were offered vouchers to re-book, he said, but no one volunteered.

So the airline chose for them.

A young couple was told to leave first, Bridges recalled. “They begrudgingly got up and left,” he said.

Then an older man, who refused.

“He says, ‘Nope. I’m not getting off the flight. I’m a doctor and have to see patients tomorrow morning,’” Bridges said.

The man became angry as the manager persisted, Bridges said, eventually yelling. “He said, more or less, ‘I’m being selected because I’m Chinese.’”

A police officer boarded. Then a second and a third.

Bridges then began recording, as did another passenger — as the officers leaned over the man, a lone holdout in his window seat.

“Can’t they rent a car for the pilots?” another passenger asks in the videos.

Then the man, out of frame, screams.

One of the officers quickly reaches across two empty seats, snatches the man and pulls him into the aisle.

“My God!” someone yells — not for the first time.

He goes limp after hitting the floor.

“It looked like it knocked him out,” Bridges said. “His nose was bloody.”

His glasses nearly knocked off his face, the man clutches his cellphone as one of the officers pulls him by both arms down the aisle and off the plane.

“This is horrible,” someone says.

“What are you doing? No! This is wrong.”

And with that, Bridges said, four United employees boarded and took the empty seats.

They were not popular among the passengers, he recalled.

“People were saying you should be ashamed to work for this company,” Bridges said.

And it wasn’t over.

In another video, the man runs back onto the plane, his clothes still mussed from his forcible ejection, frantically repeating: “I have to go home. I have to go home.”

“He was kind of dazed and confused,” Bridges said. He recalled a group of high school students leaving the plane in disgust at that point, their adult escort explaining to other passengers: “They don’t need to see this anymore.”

The airline eventually cleared everyone from the plane, Bridges said, and did not let them back on until the man was removed a second time — in a stretcher.

In the end, Bridges and his wife got to Louisville about three hours late.

“It was a pretty tense flight,” he said.

United Chief Oscar Munoz tweeted that everyone at the airline was upset about it.



Honesty is the best policy.


1ClassyLady 68F
3276 posts
4/11/2017 8:08 am

That video is certainly very disturbing. United Airline should use more diplomatic methods to ask passenger leave.

In the modern world, people have smartphone that can take pictures and videos and post them on social media instantly. The news will spread like a wild fire.



Honesty is the best policy.


1ClassyLady 68F
3276 posts
4/11/2017 6:35 am

    Quoting  :

I have never been bumped, knock on wood. However, they forcefully remove a customer is disruptive and belligerent. Don't they know "Customer is always right??" If that passenger is really a MD already scheduled to treat a patient and if he wants to sue United Airline, he probably will win this case.



Honesty is the best policy.


1ClassyLady 68F
3276 posts
4/10/2017 11:34 pm

Should we boycott United Airline??



Honesty is the best policy.


1ClassyLady 68F
3276 posts
4/10/2017 8:41 pm

Nowadays, almost everyone has smartphone to take pictures or video, United Airline has ruined their PR (Public Relation). The airline's image and reputation has been went down to the drain. Even UA CEO apologized and offered compensation but it is too late. Many people said they won't book UA in the future.

Everyone on CNBC said they were surprised that United Airline stock, UAL, traded up when CNBC repeatedly replayed the video many times. Go figure !!



Honesty is the best policy.


1ClassyLady 68F
3276 posts
4/10/2017 8:16 pm

I can't provide the video here, so please Google this blog's title and see the video for yourself.

If you've ever read my previous blogs or my profile, you know how much I like to travel and often time overseas. I actually went to Hawaii for my birthday in 2016 and I took United Airline round trip.

Today's incident of dragged passenger out of an overbooked plane is unbearable to see. United Airline shouldn't overbook the seats in the first place. I can't believe how they treat their customers this way. OMG !!!




Honesty is the best policy.