Posted on 04/10/2017 7:30:51 AM PDT by grayboots
A United Airlines flight from Chicago to Louisville was overbooked, so the airline sought 4 passengers to voluntarily give up their seats in exchange for cash and a free night in a hotel.
When no one took the offer, the airline used a computer to choose “volunteers” at random. One man chosen refused, saying he was a doctor who had to see patients in the morning. That’s when police were called and the man was physically dragged down the aisle and off the plane.
United Airlines said they needed the seats for airline employees who had to be in Louisville on Monday for their jobs.
The airline originally offered $400 and a night in a hotel to anyone who gave up their seat. When no one took the offer, the cash was upped to $800. Failing to find any volunteers, the computer chose random passengers.
Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2017/04/10/police-drag-man-off-flight-because-united-overbooked-it-video/#ixzz4drCUxIQi
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycaller.com ...
I refuse to fly United. I can’t tell you how many connecting flights I’ve missed because of their “unexpected delays.”
We’ve slept at Fort Lauderdale Airport literally overnight. At one time there was literally no explanation for a flight delay other than tardiness on the fault of one of the stewardesses. Once again missed my connecting flight.
I used to think the movie Planes Trains and Automobiles was an exaggeration until I flew United
The punchline is:
“So the hippie says to the pilot: ‘No man, we’re cool! The smartest woman in the world just jumped out of the plane wearing my backpack!’”
“I would not fly a regional carrier, ever!”
I agree! I have found many of their employees unprofessional. I wish everyone knew they are NOT United. Those regional airlines and their employees are NOT under United’s management. They are not the same as “United.” Different companies altogether!
I just read a person’s comment on another site saying that they will fly American or Delta next time. I have to laugh because this regional airline (Republic), where the incident happened, also serves American and Delta. lol
So you're saying that the plane that these pilots/attendants were flying to, would be delayed 4 hours, and the people on THAT plane would misconnect on THEIR flight and have to fly standby on those flights, snowballing down the hill.... . There are ALWAYS two side (or usually 10's of sides) of a decision like this. The crew probably would have gone "illegal" (they can only by on duty for so many hours a day) causing another flight later in the day cancelling, continuing the snowball. . Not saying they should have dragged the guy off the plane, but in United's mind and probably in anyone who had all the facts, those employees flying were MUCH more important than someone else. . You DONT want to be a involuntary bump because usually being a voluntary gets you much more. Not saying United isn't at some fault here, but lets not pretend we have all of the information (or even half of it)....
A 4 hour drive. OMG! I’d have driven my Navigator and never even thought about flying, especially in steerage.
"...let's not pretend we have all of the information..."
Rule 25-4-A addresses itself specifically and solely to compensation for being denied boarding involuntarily. The man was not denied boarding. He was removed from the plane after he had been duly granted boarding by the airline. Maybe the airline has a disclaimer or rule more pertinent to this particular situation, e.g. "Compensation for Passengers Physically Removed by Law Enforcement after Authorized Boarding Solely Because We Screwed Up."
No amount of money can buy this kind of publicity - for your competitors.
They probably offered a voucher that’s so restrictive and requires you to fly within a year, that for most, it’s not worth it.
funny thing is he could drive from Chicago to Louisville in about the same amount of time it takes for him to 1) drive to the airport, 2) get through security, 3) board/fly/deboard, 4) drive home/hotel. It’s a pretty straight shot through Indiana...In the worst case scenario 8 hours. It took them longer than that with the 2 hour delay they had.
I haven’t read all the comments, but didn’t United KNOW they needed 4 seats for the flight attendants BEFORE they booked?
Eeeny—Meeeny—Miny—Mo.
The real story? NOBODY wants to STAY in Chicago any longer than they have to !!
If I buy a Kindle edition of a book from Amazon, I don’t really own it — Amazon can take it back if they “have a reason”.”””
I don’t use Kindle-—
But, a person told me years ago that if I bought a book-—I COULD NOT share it or give it to another person.
I told them——CATCH ME IF YOU CAN.......
And- Why didn’t they sue all the USED book stores???
I really like physical books — for the precise reason that I own the thing and I can do what I want with it, including lending it, giving it, or selling it.
But If I have a book on my Kindle, Amazon can sneak in and delete the book. Maybe something went wrong with copyright, or some other legal snaffle. I understand that (in theory) but if a physical book is on my shelf, I’d like to see them knock on my door and ask for it back. The Kindle should operate the same way — what’s mine is mine — but it doesn’t.
"...it's cool man, the smartest woman in the world just jumped out of the airplane with my backpack..."
At what point is the boarding procedure complete?
When the door is closed?
If at all possible, I would have given him my seat. That was terrible.
I don’t know. I do know that it wouldn’t be smart for United to compound their public relations disaster by playing cute with industry jargon and definitional technicalities that may or may not help in a court of law. (A plain English meaning of “boarding,” as understood by the average consumer, would seem to be the standard, imho.)Still, United is free to do the fandango on the head of a pin in a court of law if it wishes. But it would be PR suicide in the court of public opinion.
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