Please THINK about the United Airlines passanger situation
A lot of unjustified outrage about the removal of the doctor from a UA flight, but let's actually THINK about what is going on
The ticket is a contract between the airlines and the passenger which SPECIFIES that the passenger MAY BE removed. Overbooking is a part of modern airline logistics which benefits the flyer at times:
the rate of denied boardings has been on the decline over the past two decades. (In 2000, 0.21% of passengers were denied boarding (voluntary and involuntary) by the largest US airlines. In 2015, 0.09% were.)
You might think airlines shouldn’t overbook, sell each seat one time. But if that were the case airlines wouldn’t really be able to allow passengers the freedom to switch flights at will either on refundable tickets or merely by paying a change fee. Show up 15 minutes late for the airport, buy a new ticket.
Source - Beating Up a Doctor on a United Flight Was Terrible… But Maybe Unavoidable
In this case, the airline was transporting a crew to fly a whole other plane full of other passengers. The doctor, was in effect, grounding TWO flights by refusing to leave the plane.
The doctor used physical resistance to leaving the flight. There is NO magical pixie dust which resolves physical situations other than force.
UA's Oscar Munoz defended his employees, stating that the passenger was being "disruptive and belligerent."
The physical resistance and RUNNING BACK ONTO THE PLANE qualify that statement.
The outrage industry in this country is despicable, please think before you participate in it.
Does this look like someone who is cooperating and peaceful?
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Good points, although I also think it would have been easier (and cheaper) if UA had just kept upping the payout until someone finally volunteered. Also, flying isn't cheap -- how much should you have to pay in order to expect a certain amount of reliable service? I've lost days of vacation when an airline postponed a flight because the pilots had reached their allowable hours. Seemed like poor planning on the airlines part, but as the customer, there was not much I could do about it besides sulk.
FYI - I followed you. Looking forward to seeing more of your posts.
I returned your follow, thank you!
It was just bad luck that the random selection resulted in someone as unreasonable as Dr. Dao. I saw that ABC did a hit piece on the doctor, but that was unnecessary. The airline's actions were reasonable, IMHO ;)
Buy 1st class or biz class, I've been reading the airlines try to avoid the higher comp they pay on these seats...also
https://www.businessinsider.com.au/how-to-avoid-getting-bumped-off-a-flight-2015-6
Thanks for the link. :-)
You're just trying to put Al Sharpton out of work! There's big money in the outrage business!
He'd be the first to go out of bizness in the "Stevoconomy" ;>
What about the children ?
LOL
Does this look like someone who is cooperating and peaceful?
No...that looks like an old asian guy who has been beaten unconscious.
from a guy that ran back on the plane after being removed once? I'm sorry he thought he had the right to ground two flights because he didn't understand his contractual obligation
we have an entitled society that does not understand they are not the center of the universe
He STILL looks like a guy who was beaten unconscious.
IF I were to travel by aircraft I would NOT fly United Airlines.
the UA claim was that he fell and hit his head. I haven't bothered to check either way b/c the underlying problem was that once he was told to leave, he was basically trespassing.
The airlines has the obligation of recompense in those situations where they remove passengers, but that doesn't mean they don't have the right to remove a passenger either; all part of the ticket deal.
UA has a bad rep, but they actually helped me out once...I forgot (yes, I was that stupid) I was flying out on a specific day and missed my flight...they got me on a later flight w/ no extra charge (this is one of the benefits to the passengers of overbooking)
yeah...I can see where he might have 'hit his head'.
If you wonder why people are angry this may enlighten you.
vol · A · teer
valəntir /Enviar
noun
1 .
a person who freely offers to take part in an enterprise or undertake a task.
synonyms: subject, participant, case, patient; informal guinea pig
"each volunteer was tested three times"
verb
1 .
freely offer to do something.
A company that overbooks a flight has NO "right" to injure with bodily harm a paying customer.
This person did not freely offer anything.... he was chosen and his freedom of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness were taken from him.
The airplane is the private property of the airline. You agree to follow certain rules when you purchase the ticket. One of those rules is that if a flight is overbooked, you may be removed (actually, I'm pretty sure they stipulate that they can remove you for any reason). If you refuse then they may use whatever force is necessary to remove you from their property because at that point you are essentially trespassing. If you don't like their terms, don't fly that airline (though I'm not sure there are any airlines with significantly different policies in that regard). Personally, I don't think it is a very good policy to overbook flights (and charge change fees on top of that if you change your flight for some reason) but poor policy on the airline's part does not justify the actions of this man who had to be forcibly removed.
I think JetBlue doesn't overbook
Do you really want to play the "definition game"? Try looking up "contract", a freely entered agreement which sets obligations on both parties; in this case, the doctor has an obligation to leave when asked.
The airlines offer compensation to volunteers to make the process more agreeable when they aren't dealing with unreasonable assholes.
so then you agree... the breech of contract was with United as he never was a VOLUNTEER.... when you are CHOSEN you are not a VOLUNTEER... and I will play the definition game all day. Now all of the United Contract between passenger and company is online. The wording for legal procedures will always favor the company. But if you insist that being a volunteer and being chosen are the same... why don't you book a United Flight and have that company overbook your flight and refuse to be Chosen.
It's friggin hilarious how every sporting event can seat and sell the correct amount of tickets but airlines cannot.
you have made it clear that you haven't read a word of the blog, or the two replies that you have been given.
the contract of a ticket makes it clear that a passenger can be removed from the flight at the airlines' discretion
stop looking for reasons to be outraged, especially in situations that people cause for themselves
there is more than enough tyranny, corruption, murder, and evil in the world to generate REAL outrage than to create it where it is unimportant
this is my last reply to you on this subject
that's never in contention nor did I say so... The fact of the matter is that a paying customer was never asked to volunteer but was chosen... Now with the wording of the United Contract this gives United carte blanche to remove any and all passengers at their whim with violence.
By the way those are the screams of a paying United customer. If you think this is correct form of behavior by a company than you have bigger issues no matter what their contracts state.
I can't even believe people are justifying the actions of this at all. That is the real fucking problem with modern day society. Yes we should all be outraged at this and people should boycott them. We are not to be treated this way at all. Fuck their contract.
Why should airlines be allowed to do this at all is what is really appalling. Imagine these rules at anywhere else tickets are sold. Do you see a problem now? Oh wait they get special privilege since 9/11. I also remember something about airlines getting bailed out from taxpayers money thanks for showing us the appreciation.
the airlines offers the contract to fly with overbooking in mind (yes, they COULD change that model)
the overbooking process does have a benefit for customers, though, the link above goes into more detail
airlines have benefited form government assistance long before 9/11. the government has subsidized jet fuel for a long time, which is one reason tickets are so (relatively) cheap
I will ask this question, though, would you get off the flight if another passenger refused to be randomly selected on an overbooking?
(this sounds like a "gotcha" question, but I don't mean it that way)
Once the doctor physically resisted removal, what other options were there?
The doctor does have a track record for having a shoddy decision making process. He lost his license over the misuse of prescribing prescription medications for sex.
He ran back onto the plane. Name any situation where someone who is noncomplient and belligerent runs back onto private property and it ends well for them. On the ticket it says they can remove you for any reason. Just like the time they removed that lady for screaming obscenities at the man next to her over politics. They can remove anyone at anytime when they are on the ground. It is their property. Source of the video refrenced:http://nypost.com/2017/01/23/woman-kicked-off-plane-for-berating-trump-supporter/