“What surprised me is that the ticket one purchases is not a contract”.
And another commenter says this:
“It’s unclear from United’s contract of carriage how either its rule regarding “refusal of transport” (Rule 21) or “denied boarding compensation” (Rule 25) applies to a passenger already seated and instructed to deplane to make room for a company employee rather than another paying passenger.”
If it is true that United’s contract of carriage is unclear, possibly meaning that they can remove a passenger any time they want after they are seated, because they want the seat for a different passenger- then we are crazy to EVER FLY ON UNITED!
Airline passenger associations need to go after United for this and go to Congress and demand that any airline fix this or they should be made to post this warning in large letters everywhere and in large letters at the gate! Everyone needs to quit acting like an airline can do whatever they want because it is THEIR airline- there are regulations and laws in place to protect passengers.
I think there are two issues here. First, is the written language of the contract which nobody reads. Second, is the common or excepted contract that we have with the airline we pay and expect to see it. That one, as in this case, will run to due course of the court of public opinion. You nine it has already lost that one, now it is a matter of what they lose in the courtroom as well. That carriage contract does not give them the right to assault and drag unconscious out of an airplane, a passenger.