Overbooking - that should not even be legal. Period!
United should have taken their “standby” crew to Louisville on another flight, or rented a Cessna for them or something.
What if the ‘stand-by crew’ were Air Marshalls, and the threat level is elevated and we don’t know it? Only thing that explains this strong-arming. Besides Millennial employees.
Overbooking - that should not even be legal. Period!
All airlines overbook and have for decades. Based on history, there is a statistical percentage who cancel at the last minute. Without overbooking as an option, ticket prices would rise (someone if going to pay for the plane, the crew, and the fuel).
There is nothing wrong with overbooking, because folks don’t show up etc... but when you overbook you can’t FORCE people off the plane and beat them... This is going to crush United in so many ways...
Whoever decided that Randomly forcing removal of passengers rather than upping the offer to leave voluntarily for compensation is beyond an idiot.
United LITERALLY just destroyed their brand.... Never seen such stupidity.
That seemed like the solution to me. But I don’t fully understand the “standby crew” definition.
My nephew is a pilot with United. I know when he and his family are just “traveling” they only get on if there are enough extra seats. But when he’s alone, traveling back to his hub and home, on another flight that he isn’t piloting, I wonder if he’s considered standby crew. I’ll have to ask.
Until (lawyer) Ralph Nader got bumped and read them the riot act about them breaching their Contract with him, I think they didn't even have to put you on another flight. They'd just refund it to your credit card and tell you to have a nice day. Anything more than that was just how they felt that day.