Being bumped and being forcibly removed from the plane by police are completely different things... United just absolutely destroyed their Brand....
Fly the friendly skies? Try Fly the Ghestapo Skies.
The damage this one stupid incident has done to the United brand will be measured in 10s if not 100s of millions of dollars when all is said and done.... Just stupid as all get out.
If no one volunteers to get off, the crew can request that you get off. Not following crew requests is a felony offense.
All this is spelled out in the and agreed to when you bought your ticket.
They usually ask the people who bought their tickets most recently to leave. In this case there was a compelling interest to pick someone else other than the doctor, I agree. But if you don’t like the terms of agreement you agreed to when you bought your ticket, then don’t fly. YOU are the one breaking the agreement, not the airline.
I agree it is not good PR but having a standby flight crew on board is sometimes necessary because some of the crew may be close to over their required number of hours and need to be changed out in mid flight or for other reasons having to do with the destination. It can be a safety issue or just a scheduling issue. It’s a moot point because the airlines have the agreement in their favor.
Usually this is not a problem as they offer enough that people will volunteer to get off the plane. Only rarely is it a problem. I’ve even had the crew ask for volunteers to get off the plane so that family traveling to see a sick loved one can board. I’ve never seen this offer turned down.
Sure, the airline could abuse this, but it is not in their interest to make enemies.
Also, if they charged enough to cover for no-shows on flights, airline prices would be even more than they are now for everyone.