Posted on 04/13/2017 5:10:20 AM PDT by Eric Pode of Croydon
Edited on 04/13/2017 7:04:23 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
I used to fly a lot. We now drive whenever possible. It works for us because I love to drive and it’s a lot more comfortable.
And I’ve never been through one of those full body scanners. I always opt out and go for the manual pat down. It’s important to never joke about bombs and stuff, so I’m careful about what I say when they are patting me down. I say things like, “do I look like a Muslim to you?” or, “Don’t I at least get a happy ending?”
The goal is to make it as uncomfortable for them as it is for me. It’s the only way you can be a part of the system changing. We live in an insane world these days. And no, that is not hyperbole.
OK,sweetie....tell me this.Which laws,if any,did United or any of the security/police personnel involved in that incident break? We’re talking legality here,not PR.
Legally, a store could be open only from noon to one pm, tuesday through thursday. It doesn’t mean they are going to stay in business.
I fly absolutely as little as humanly possible. That said, I’m flying to Seattle and LA this summer becuase I live in KY and those are the locations of two of my daughters’ weddings.
Unless I’m traveling to another continent I almost always drive because of the hassles and unreliability of today’s airlines. I made an exception last weekend and planned a 3-day weekend to visit my aging parents. I got caught in Delta’s horrendous service breakdown. I spent 11 hours in flight + delays and another 2 hours on the phone waiting and re-booking. I could have driven in 12 hours. Bad decision. Coming home was on schedule but very disturbing. I reported an unattended bag in the departure lounge to 4 different Delta gate agents, and not one of them would call security. One of them announced it over the intercom to ask that the owner come retrieve it. She actually moved the bag behind the counter to hide it from sight. I called security myself from a nearby shop. The airport police officer was disgusted at their refusal to follow security protocol. Nothing will come of it of course. We were lucky it was just a forgotten shopping bag - this time.
but once he was told to leave, he had to leave. Instead, he chose to make it a physical altercation with Security and not walk off the plane like a human.
Looks like this case has brought to the surface a real issue that just may finally be addressed. This could bring about significant positive changes to the passenger flying experience if it keeps its legs.
The United CEO - Oscar Munoz is an MBA making almost $6 million dollars a year in salary and bonuses.
He has exercisable stock options valued at more than ONE BILLION DOLLARS!!!
But the airline is run like it’s being managed by Josef Stalin and the Marx Brothers comedy team..
https://s15.postimg.org/4p14h0l5n/MUNOZ_BIO.png
However, the meager offers they give of a heavily limited ticket is a pathetic option and not worth considering.
“The stewardess union fought for smaller carry-on bags and limiting the number of carry-ons. They thought it was taking people too long to deplane and a general nuisance. “
I didn’t know that and wouldn’t have thought so to see how things have changed since the airlines started charging for baggage.
These days I see folks carrying on two large roller bags, a back pack and a shopping bag full of stuff - and not a word from the flight/gate attendants.
I see folks with duffel bags big enough to contain bodies and they spend five full minutes trying to jam them into the overhead... nobody stops them...
Its like the crew doesn’t even care to enforce carry on regulations anymore. Even when it delays take off time.
But they freak out about other crap...
Yes they are.
A great part of the article was that they did not break laws because they are backed by a government that allows them to be assholes with impunity. They did not break any laws, but they behaved like Soviet tyrants and people are getting tired of it. Just because the government allows them to be assholes does not mean they should be.
I am getting the impression that flying is now becoming a right, and all terms and conditions will be defined by the masses. Easier solution is to make informed choices, up to and including choosing not to flying. Talk about beating a dead horse
And it is not a dead horse. What it is is a slab of Limburger cheese that has been rotting in the sun for decades and it looks like the smell has finally gotten so bad that it’s about to be cleaned up.
Or there just may be a passenger revolt.
One by one, more and more of us ONLY fly when we have to, like with my two daughters getting married on the left coast and me living in Kentucky. I NEVER fly because I WANT to go somewhere. I only fly because I HAVE to go somewhere. And even then, if it’s less than a ten hour drive, I’ll drive.
I completely agree, with one exception:
It’s not just UAL. They are just the ones that got caught.
Exactly. She is simply another cringing whiner, oh life is so unfair....
Isn't Federal Regulation of industry just great?
This is a good read and a different perspective.
Though I agree, this whole “overbooking” thing needs to be reigned in. This has gotten crazy. It used to be that on RARE occasion they had to entice people to leave. They have figured out that since it is no skin off their nose if they “pay” people to leave because so many of them don’t even use the “free” ticket, that they can overbook with little to no financial fallout.
That is, until this story went viral. Now there are PR consequences. Just as people used to be scared of lost luggage, now they are scared of being bumped. It will affect some people’s decisions to fly if they really don’t absolutely have to. It could affect the industry in a way that forces them to make changes.
In my case, their major competition is my car. We live in KY and our grand kids are in Chicago. We always drive. The airlines are just not worth the hassle. And I love the drive. We usually take the back roads and it only costs us an extra half hour.
The man was not compliant with Federal Police and re-entered the secure area without authorization after being told not to.
The should have hammer locked the asshole and “helpfully walked” him into the terminal, and Federal custody.
It's now worth less than a billion dollars due to his mismanagement and cluelessness.
The analogy to Stalin is appropriate. The larger and more protected by government a corporation is, the more it resembles a government agency. As a result, air travel is about as pleasant as going to jury duty or the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The government doesnt allow them to be assholes.
IT REQUIRES IT.
The entire incident was spawned because United had to get the other crew to the next stop for an ajoining flight to meet Federal Regulations.
In a way, I kinda hope I get caught up in something like this doctor did, because I don’t yell. My argument style is this: I’m Mr. Spock. And the angrier I get, the more like Mr. Spock I become. My motto is that if I show emotion, I’ve lost.
Also the broken record technique.
They ask me to leave, and I politely tell them I paid for my seat - the one I’m sitting in. I will vacate the seat when I reach my destination to which I paid your company to deliver me.They say, “but you need to leave the plane because...”, and I give them eye contact, smile, and say, I paid for my seat - the one I’m sitting in. I will vacate the seat when I reach my destination to which I paid your company to deliver me.
They accuse me of being uncooperative, I repeat the exact same words. If it gets physical, I apply what was learned in the early 70’s riots. I go Cadaver on them. I do not fight. I go completely limp. They had better be careful because If they damage me, it’s on them. And I weigh 250 lbs.
It’s explained in Roadhouse. Be nice. No matter what, be nice.
But don’t cooperate with their trampling over your - dare I say it - HUMAN rights.
i.e. only a fool plans a trip around the assumption that the airline will actually get them to where they want to go, remotely withing the time frame that makes the trip worth doing at all.
Got it.
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