Posted on 04/10/2017 2:59:25 PM PDT by grayboots
My husband is a Gold member on United and is totally disgusted by what they did to that poor man. I thought of a great marketing idea for other airlines. If they offered a comparable status on their airline to fly, my husband would jump at the chance to fly with them. Do you think the other airlines would think of this? I think so many people would switch over to their airline in a heartbeat. Or is this not an option for them?
While there is no excuse for what took place, this is not a flight that is actually operated by United Airlines.
They've backed away from that story. (Just one of several lies that they've been caught in). Now the story is that they had some some folks wanting to ride on company passes (one version to crew a plane scheduled to fly the next day).
Many years ago I was kicked off a flight I was seared on. But, I was a standby, and understood I was being kicked off in favor of a full fare, but late arriving, passenger.
This guy was kicked off for personnel trsnsfer. The airlines staffing procedures should be more robust.
I researched the customer of size issue ( after suffering a miserable flight next to a large person), and you are wrong.If the customer cannot put down the armrest, then the overweight customer has to disembark the flight. Not the passenger sitting next to the obese person.
I’m having trouble believing that the 4 company passengers bought their own tickets.
If any ‘paid for’ tickets were involved it’s my estimation that those tickets were ‘paid for’ by United, or whoever owns United Express.
I seriously doubt that the 4 employees ever reached into their own pockets.
Do you have some sort of evidence?
If so I may have to rethink my position.
No, they didn't. Don't believe their initial lies. They aren't even trying sell that load of excreta any more.
So the crew had plenty of time to make it before their scheduled departure from Louisville the next day.
” I researched the customer of size issue ( after suffering a miserable flight next to a large person), and you are wrong.If the customer cannot put down the armrest, then the overweight customer has to disembark the flight. Not the passenger sitting next to the obese person.”
Yes and no. Different airlines have different policies regarding customers of size. I know from a first hand experience that some airlines do not deny boarding to an obese person but will deny boarding to someone else per their policy.
They did not buy their own tickets. They were on a work order to travel to another city to work. They were needed most likely because of sick calls or “crew timeout” rules. It happens a lot because of weather.
What airline is that? Give me a name and I will look it up, but never have I read that an obese passenger can get another passenger kicked off. It is up to the obese passenger to fit safely in their seat, otherwise they are asked to disembark.
OK, fair enough. DOT rules for overbooking still apply whether or not more tickets were sold than seats or if the seats were needed for crew or something else. Anyone who flies a lot will know about weight and balance issues, runway condition issues, heck...even the temperature.
It’s harder for planes to climb in hot air than in cold air.
Air density plays a role in determining allowable take off weight.
Southwest Airlines.
Passengers with airline “status” trump all other “lesser” passengers. Because Beat-Up-Man appears to have found himself the least of the lessers, he can now expect to receive First Class “status” treatment for the rest of his natural life.
If you are obese, their policy is that you can purchase an extra seat in advance, and if the flight is not full they will reimburse you. They will also kick you off ( as evidenced by the lawsuits a google search will show you) that if you do not notify them in advance , and you cannot fit in a 17 inch wide seat- you will be denied a seat.
Congress needs to fix this. You are flying a cargo plane anyways right? Put a scale at every ticket counter. Want to save money? Don't pack so much crap or bring it on (medical/diaper/kids exempt). Want to save even more money? Discounts for skinny people. Lighter planes save airlines money.
“How do they decide who gets booted?”
Reportedly they consult their “Magic Eight Ball!”
What makes this so inexcusable is that Chicago is a HUB for United. It is hard to believe they did not have another plane available to fly their last minute crew.
Bumping 4 passengers, putting them up in a hotel and giving each a check for $800 adds up to at least $4K in cost. Much more now with the bad publicity and probably a lawsuit. But even the $4K might have been close to the actual costs of flying a second small plane of their own 300 miles. This fiasco made the flight two hours late. Seems like a lot of time to make other arrangements at their own hub.
“...why would they include in the “drawing” a paying customer who was already SEATED on the plane????”
I think the issue was that the plane was already boarded full when the airline made the decision that four of their crew people who were “deadheading” took precedence over the paying passengers. As you point out, rules or not, UAL and their surrogate feeder carrier (Republic) are going to get sued big time. Especially if this guy was a doctor and had a legitimate reason for needing to fly.
Under to United’s Contract of Carriage (or rules for passengers),
...
I’d say most airlines have a similar policy. If airlines didn’t overbook they’d charge more. For most people cost is all that matters. That’s why flying is generally unpleasant.
You are either a United senior manager or bucking to join up! With your attitude, you’ll rise right to the top of the UAL management team. And from where I sit, it sucks to be you.
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