United Airlines Worst Month Ever. Factoring in this was United also getting bad press a few weeks ago from the teenage girls wearing yoga pants controversy.
I have to side with the airline on this. Guy was asked multiple times to vacate his seat, guy refused and security was called. When Michael Brown refused to obey officers everyone sided with the officers. But because this is a Dr. suddenly he's above the law? Airlines have the right to block out seats any time they deem necessary. Maybe for weight, or someones kid shat in the seat, or crew needed on another flight. It happens. You cant take off with more people than seats and that crew was needed in Louisville. Take the money and get off the plane.
Not even close to analogous. Michael Brown did something wrong. The flight passenger's "crime" was drawing the short straw that he didn't sign up for. Justifying force for compliance for no reason is very Gestapo-like.
? I think the policy is the problem. If the airline weren't legally allowed to do this, there would be no resulting issue with "tactics and method". In fact, what other "tactics and method" are there to remove someone from a plane who is refusing? The best I can surmise is just keep bumping the voucher until somebody bites, but at a certain point that becomes unreasonable.
about 10 years ago i was told i was being removed from a flight b/c it was overbooked. this was after i was already in my seat. they came up to me and said they were overbooked and i was randomly selected to be removed. i told them that i was on my way to my grandfathers funeral, which i was, and they still told me i had to get off. i had gone so far as to get my luggage and was walking down the aisle towards the exit and complaining loud enough so other passengers could hear me saying "im just trying to get to my grandpas funeral". they must have realized how bad that looked so they let me stay and kicked someone off else instead.
I partly agree, but only if the airline had reached the cap on the compensation they were offering. They could have kept raising the flight credit/cash offered to the max allowed under their policies, then maybe gone to removing customers. I think it's more on them, and I don't pretend to know how their business works, to ask other United employees to cover for the crew they couldn't get to Louisville or whatever. Better that than make the customer be "inconvenienced." As others have mentioned, the first real mistake besides the overbooking was allowing customers to board. I've been at the gate a number of times, when they ask for volunteers there, not once we are already on the plane.
most likely someone would have got off if they double the offer to 1600 and waited 30 mins. 1600 is nothing compared to the bad PR they are dealing with.
The original crew in louisville timed out which means per FAA they can no longer fly without rest. An emergency crew was needed in louisville so flight of 60+ wouldn't get cancelled. A last minute change resulted in the need to remove 4 passengers and replace with 4 crew for Louisville flight. The only pilot base in Louisville belongs to UPS ... there was no other crew to cover the flight.
