United Airlines Passenger Forcibly Removed from Overbooked Flight
I was just going to post this under the head ing WTF United Airlines. So ... WTF!
But at least its employees won't be wearing leggings. That would be unprofessional.
United is really on a winning streak lately. They're just getting over the "you can't fly wearing those leggings" kerfuffle. This is a whole lot worse, especially since the guy kept saying that he was a doctor who was on his way to see patients.
Frequent flyers, tell me, is it common for people to be bounced from a flight after they board? Did this start as a mistake on the part of the gate staff?
(not that anything excuses the rough handling, imo)
Usually, you get bounced at the gate, not on the plane. This is where a big part of the error was, I think. Once you sit in a seat, you really don't want to give it up.
I don't know how they should handle it when the bribes don't entice people. Does this mean the bribes weren't big enough?
Tom_Reingold said:
Usually, you get bounced at the gate, not on the plane. This is where a big part of the error was, I think. Once you sit in a seat, you really don't want to give it up.
I don't know how they should handle it when the bribes don't entice people. Does this mean the bribes weren't big enough?
I think they offer the "bribes" to the passengers, just to see if anyone wants it, otherwise someone who didn't get on the plane gets the "free flight" or whatever they give someone to make up for the overbooking.
What I don't know is - why is the fellow who is in his seat, and wants to stay in it, less entitled to it than someone who probably arrived at the gate after him and isn't on the plane?
South_Mountaineer said:
What I don't know is - why is the fellow who is in his seat, and wants to stay in it, less entitled to it than someone who probably arrived at the gate after him and isn't on the plane?
Four passengers on a flight scheduled from Chicago to Louisville were asked to take a flight the following day so United employees could take the seats in order to arrive in Kentucky in time for their next flights, Courier-Journal.com said.
kthnry said:
South_Mountaineer said:
What I don't know is - why is the fellow who is in his seat, and wants to stay in it, less entitled to it than someone who probably arrived at the gate after him and isn't on the plane?
Four passengers on a flight scheduled from Chicago to Louisville were asked to take a flight the following day so United employees could take the seats in order to arrive in Kentucky in time for their next flights, Courier-Journal.com said.
Got it. So when this guy was dragged off the plane, it wasn't personal, it's strictly business.
The incentives are rarely (in my experience) sufficient to make up for the hassle. The $800 credit plus hotel room is one of the most generous I've heard of lately. But if the next flight isn't until the middle of the following day, is it worth it to spend a day in some boring hotel next to O'Hare.
If they wanted to give me an incentive, I'd want them to:
- upgrade me to first class on the later flight
- give me the $800 credit
- put me up in a nice downtown hotel in Chicago.
- give me a per diem for meals
Tom_Reingold said:
Usually, you get bounced at the gate, not on the plane. This is where a big part of the error was, I think. Once you sit in a seat, you really don't want to give it up.
I don't know how they should handle it when the bribes don't entice people. Does this mean the bribes weren't big enough?
kthnry said:
South_Mountaineer said:
What I don't know is - why is the fellow who is in his seat, and wants to stay in it, less entitled to it than someone who probably arrived at the gate after him and isn't on the plane?
Four passengers on a flight scheduled from Chicago to Louisville were asked to take a flight the following day so United employees could take the seats in order to arrive in Kentucky in time for their next flights, Courier-Journal.com said.
Sounds like poor planning on United's part.
ml1 said:
The incentives are rarely (in my experience) sufficient to make up for the hassle. The $800 credit plus hotel room is one of the most generous I've heard of lately. But if the next flight isn't until the middle of the following day, is it worth it to spend a day in some boring hotel next to O'Hare.
If they wanted to give me an incentive, I'd want them to:
- upgrade me to first class on the later flight
- give me the $800 credit
- put me up in a nice downtown hotel in Chicago.
- give me a per diem for meals
Tom_Reingold said:
Usually, you get bounced at the gate, not on the plane. This is where a big part of the error was, I think. Once you sit in a seat, you really don't want to give it up.
I don't know how they should handle it when the bribes don't entice people. Does this mean the bribes weren't big enough?
Change $800 credit to $800 cold hard cash in my hand and *maybe* I'd consider it.
We flew United for our last vacation. It was beyond horrible. The worst was on the flight back two of my kids got sick. My husband asked the flight attendants for new air sick bags since it happened early in the flight, they gave us ONE bag. He explained that two had been used (two kids puking) and we needed a second bag. They gave him a trash bag. I know we flew economy, but seriously, they're gonna ration f*cking puke bags!?! Another passenger helped me clean up my kids, the flight attendants couldn't be bothered to even ask if they were ok. The whole incident was a perfect example of how United doesn't give two sh*ts about their passengers.
I wonder who is running things at United. Continental used to be decent until they merged. They must have deep pockets since they don't seem to care for bad publicity or lawsuits. I go out of my way to fly JetBlue or Swiss Air whenever possible.
Maybe United should have found another carrier that could accommodate their employees. It would have cost A LOT less money than it's going to cost United now in bad PR and lawsuits.
wedjet said:
kthnry said:
South_Mountaineer said:
What I don't know is - why is the fellow who is in his seat, and wants to stay in it, less entitled to it than someone who probably arrived at the gate after him and isn't on the plane?
Four passengers on a flight scheduled from Chicago to Louisville were asked to take a flight the following day so United employees could take the seats in order to arrive in Kentucky in time for their next flights, Courier-Journal.com said.
Sounds like poor planning on United's part.
In a relatively short period of time, United destroyed what Continental had built over many years.
ElizMcCord said:
I wonder who is running things at United. Continental used to be decent until they merged. They must have deep pockets since they don't seem to care for bad publicity or lawsuits. I go out of my way to fly JetBlue or Swiss Air whenever possible.
United was probably the ONLY carrier flying from Chicago to Louisville. That's one of the problems. The airlines have monopolies or near monopolies on a lot of routes.
yahooyahoo said:
Maybe United should have found another carrier that could accommodate their employees. It would have cost A LOT less money than it's going to cost United now in bad PR and lawsuits.
wedjet said:
kthnry said:
South_Mountaineer said:
What I don't know is - why is the fellow who is in his seat, and wants to stay in it, less entitled to it than someone who probably arrived at the gate after him and isn't on the plane?
Four passengers on a flight scheduled from Chicago to Louisville were asked to take a flight the following day so United employees could take the seats in order to arrive in Kentucky in time for their next flights, Courier-Journal.com said.
Sounds like poor planning on United's part.
ml1 said:
United was probably the ONLY carrier flying from Chicago to Louisville. That's one of the problems. The airlines have monopolies or near monopolies on a lot of routes.
yahooyahoo said:
Maybe United should have found another carrier that could accommodate their employees. It would have cost A LOT less money than it's going to cost United now in bad PR and lawsuits.
wedjet said:
kthnry said:
South_Mountaineer said:
What I don't know is - why is the fellow who is in his seat, and wants to stay in it, less entitled to it than someone who probably arrived at the gate after him and isn't on the plane?
Four passengers on a flight scheduled from Chicago to Louisville were asked to take a flight the following day so United employees could take the seats in order to arrive in Kentucky in time for their next flights, Courier-Journal.com said.
Sounds like poor planning on United's part.
Nope. Southwest and American fly direct. Delta has a connecting flight.
Checked for this coming Sunday:
Nonstop 
American 1h 10m from $221
United 1h 20m from $221
Southwest 1h 0m unknown
Connecting
Delta 3h 25m+ from $229
Or they could give the emloyees a United van and have them drive to Louisville.
300 miles.
Someone has got to get fired over this.
ml1 said:
United was probably the ONLY carrier flying from Chicago to Louisville. That's one of the problems. The airlines have monopolies or near monopolies on a lot of routes.
yahooyahoo said:
Maybe United should have found another carrier that could accommodate their employees. It would have cost A LOT less money than it's going to cost United now in bad PR and lawsuits.
wedjet said:
kthnry said:
South_Mountaineer said:
What I don't know is - why is the fellow who is in his seat, and wants to stay in it, less entitled to it than someone who probably arrived at the gate after him and isn't on the plane?
Four passengers on a flight scheduled from Chicago to Louisville were asked to take a flight the following day so United employees could take the seats in order to arrive in Kentucky in time for their next flights, Courier-Journal.com said.
Sounds like poor planning on United's part.
Me thinks they could've chartered a private jet for what it will cost to make this stink go away.
What did they do to him to make him scream and bleed? Did they taser him?
I pay more and take inconvenient itineraries so I can fly Southwest rather than United.
The news said he hit his face on the armrest as they were removing him, causing a nosebleed.
Wow, this gets even worse. The article I initially read said they let him back on the plane. But now WaPo is saying that they cleared the plane and removed him again -- on a stretcher. OMG.
In another video, the man runs back onto the plane, his clothes still mussed from his forcible ejection, frantically repeating: “I have to go home. I have to go home.”
“He was kind of dazed and confused,” Bridges said. He recalled a group of high school students leaving the plane in disgust at that point, their adult escort explaining to other passengers: “They don’t need to see this anymore.”
The airline eventually cleared everyone from the plane, Bridges said, and did not let them back on until the man was removed a second time — in a stretcher.
In the end, Bridges and his wife got to Louisville about three hours late.
“It was a pretty tense flight,” he said.
Astonishing. United is the Donald Trump of airlines. Just when you think they can't get any worse they go and blow your mind again.
No-shows: don't most people buy non-refundable tickets? I do. If I don't show up, my ticket is still paid for. How is the airline losing $ on no-shows?
ligeti said:
No-shows: don't most people buy non-refundable tickets? I do. If I don't show up, my ticket is still paid for. How is the airline losing $ on no-shows?
I was thinking the same thing.
Maybe they played one too many games of musical chairs. In any case I can't think of a screw up more colossal in airline history.
ligeti said:
No-shows: don't most people buy non-refundable tickets? I do. If I don't show up, my ticket is still paid for. How is the airline losing $ on no-shows?
United gets the $ from the no-show's ticket. Then they get the $ from the standby passenger who gets the seat. They get two fares out of the same seat. I don't get it.
All that aside: in hindsight, would United now trade this PR debacle for one less airfare?
This passenger is going to get a real whopper of a settlement. No one should end up with a bloody face because they sat in a seat they paid for and was assigned.
The greed of corporations is truly amazing. This is why regulation is so essential to democracy. Otherwise, cops with anger management issues can do what they want. And corporations can sell you something, give it to you, then claw it back.
I've actually missed several flights (I know, I know) and they just rebook you on the next one. You don't forefeit the cost of the ticket.
Exactly. You won't get the cash back, but you'll have a credit for a future flight.
PurpleMonkeyDshwashr said:
I've actually missed several flights (I know, I know) and they just rebook you on the next one. You don't forefeit the cost of the ticket.
I was once on a flight that originated in another European city to Heathrow and then on to the States
I knew there was a problem since I could understand the language spoken between the clerk and her supervisor. The flight back to London was delightful because of my seat mate. At Heathrow I was met by an airline rep who told me I was bumped up to Business Class. What a pleasure...........left the sardine can seats and enjoyed an upgrade food served and wine. I am not a nervous flyer but this was the first time I could enjoy a nice nap. Was hoping to avoid the usual detention by Homeland Security but you can't have everything
theguradian.com: United Airlines Passenger Forcibly Removed from Overbooked Flight
https://www.theguardian.com/us...
https://heatst.com/biz/outrage...