But I’m sure you can see that this stopped being about the legal rights of passenger vs. airline policy the instant the video first hit social media. This is the world we live in today where everyone has a camera and the internet. Expensive equipment and a satellite truck are no longer needed, virtually anyone can be an instant national news reporter with what they carry in their pocket or purse.
So United will only argue the legalisms at the peril of it’s own stock price and market value. This has become one of the biggest PR nightmares of the last decade at least, on par with the time the auto industry execs flew private jets to DC to beg for bailouts, or the Bridgestone tire fiascon.
In every case it matters as much how quickly the company responds as what they say, and United punted on both. It’s kinda hard to imagine them handling this any worse, and it’s going to cost them big-league money. Better sooner than later.
Yes, their biggest loss will be a precipitous drop in their passenger revenue as travelers seek out seats on their competitors aircraft.