United Airlines violently drag passenger off overbooked flight

[Idris2002]

Like Kafka rewritten by Monty Python.

 

[DexterTCN]

Like Kafka rewritten by Monty Python.

Tarantino more like.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

It looks like a lot of airlines have taken the whole security thing as a que to treat everyone like shit.

In the 70s, I used to take Greyhound buses. It wasn't exactly luxury travel. I think I'd rather travel Greyhound than United these days.

 

[skyscraper101]

#PRdisaster #Lawsuit #WTFWereTheyThinking

 

[CRI]

I don't know that much about US airlines, but can people actually boycott them without having to pay significantly more? Companies don't normally act like this unless they are pretty confident in their circumstances and so can deliver really shit customer service without worrying to much about the consequences.

It depends on how many airlines fly the route you want to travel on. If it's a main route, there will be several you can choose from and avoid the carrier you hate. After a crap experience with Continental about 25 years ago, I avoided them like the plague.

If it's not a popular route, like the Chicago-Evansville one I took to visit the folks, it was American, United or hire a car and drive. The choice then is much more limited, particularly if there are only a couple flights a day on each.

Even a slight delay inbound from London meant the connections were impossible, so last couple times I did a road trip with a break in the middle. But that involves negotiating the frankly terrifying expressways around Chicago. I invented new swear words each time. So now, anyone who wants to see me has to come here.

 

[CRI]

It looks like a lot of airlines have taken the whole security thing as a que to treat everyone like shit.

In the 70s, I used to take Greyhound buses. It wasn't exactly luxury travel. I think I'd rather travel Greyhound than United these days.

I think I read funding for Amtrak is being pulled, so that's going to be crap for the middle of the country.

Even in the late 70's where I lived, you had to drive an hour to the nearest train station, or Greyhound bus station. Even if you wanted to leave, they've never made it easy!

 

[UnderOpenSky]

It depends on how many airlines fly the route you want to travel on. If it's a main route, there will be several you can choose from and avoid the carrier you hate. After a crap experience with Continental about 25 years ago, I avoided them like the plague.

If it's not a popular route, like the Chicago-Evansville one I took to visit the folks, it was American, United or hire a car and drive. Even a slight delay inbound from London meant the connections were impossible, so last couple times I did a road trip with a break in the middle. But that involves negotiating the frankly terrifying expressways around Chicago. I invented new swear words each time. So now, anyone who wants to see me has to come here.

If I can drive over fly for shorthaul, I'd take that anytime. Don't matter how fast the plane is the bullocks either end massively eats in to it.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

, so last couple times I did a road trip with a break in the middle. But that involves negotiating the frankly terrifying expressways around Chicago. I invented new swear words each time. So now, anyone who wants to see me has to come here.

I enjoyed driving around Chicago! Traffic is heavy and fast-moving; but it's relatively 'well-mannered'. It's like Toronto driving. The freeway driving that sets my teeth on edge, is driving in the Los Angeles Basin.

 

[coley]

It'll be successful regardless of whether the passenger was breaking UA's rules or not because he was assaulted, humiliated and left traumatised.

The passenger will be fighting of major law companies wanting to 'represent him'

 

[coley]

Can't see them surviving this. Rightly so.

Is this the 'Trump Effect'?

Could be, there was some clapping and cries of "right on" as he was manhandled off the plane, in the clip I watched earlier.

 

[coley]

#PRdisaster #Lawsuit #WTFWereTheyThinking

They weren't.

 

[Dr. Furface]

Could be, there was some clapping and cries of "right on" as he was manhandled off the plane, in the clip I watched earlier.

I assumed all that was sarcastic - or at least I hope it was

 

[coley]

I assumed all that was sarcastic - or at least I hope it was

No, I was disturbed by the clip I watched, as seemingly some passengers seemed to approve of what was happening, though other were obviously distressed, just caught a news clip as I was getting ready for bed.

 

[petee]

The interstate around Indianapolis is always clogged.

you mean The Dave?

Interstate 465 - Wikipedia

 

[editor]

Good piece here:

Paste’s Jacob Weindling summarized it thusly:

So to recap, in a blind pursuit of profit, United overbooked the flight, didn’t offer enough to entice anyone to get off the plane, then in order to get their own employees on the flight, they removed ticketed passengers, and when one wouldn’t comply with their orders, they called the cops to pull a supposed doctor off the plane—bloodying his face in the process.

Weindling also answered the reflexive question: “Well, what were they supposed to do?”

I have an idea: don’t overbook the flight in the first place, and then make other people pay for your incompetence and greed…watching a multi-billion dollar business hire police to forcibly remove a paying customer not doing anything illegal is a jarring reminder of who really controls this country. Corporations clearly aren’t people, because citizens don’t have anywhere near this much power in the United Corporatist States of America.

You're Not Mad at United Airlines; You're Mad at America

 

[T & P]

United had a massive PR fuck-up only a couple of weeks ago when they banned two girls for wearing leggings How two teens in leggings became a PR mess for United Airlines and dug themselves into an even bigger hole in their response afterwards. It seems no lessons have been learnt.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Good piece here:

You're Not Mad at United Airlines; You're Mad at America

The reality is plain: United Airlines is not the disease. United Airlines is a symptom of an infected country whose institutions of power no longer respect the dignity or the sanctity of the individual life.

Yeah: we're all mad at capitalism.

But: you know? I've flown on Air Canada numerous times; but I have yet to be dragged screaming off a flight because they want to give my seat to some dead-heading stewards and stewardesses.

Companies don't value humans over profit: that's bad. But here, we've got a company that screwed up in a spectacular way, and it got recorded.

Blaming all of capitalism kind of lets this one bad company and its bad on-the-ground decision-makers, off the hook.

 

[Mation]

It'll be successful regardless of whether the passenger was breaking UA's rules or not because he was assaulted, humiliated and left traumatised.

Sadly, I wouldn't put much faith in the moral case delivering justice. It's good that they're fucked legally too. Not that I hold out much hope legally either.

I hope people won't forget this. That all those on Twitter vowing never to fly United again stick to their word. That the fuckers are put out of business and that there are jobs elsewhere for the flight crews who had / would have nothing to do with this.

 

[editor]

 

[Yossarian]

In an undeserved gift for United's PR people, the doctor involved appears to have a very sketchy past, according to an aviation forum - he is apparently the same David Dao who was stripped of his license in Kentucky in 2005 after being indicted on assorted drug charges and accused of "vocational sexual misconduct" including trading prescriptions for sex with a patient he was obsessed with - he was apparently allowed to practice medicine again in recent years after being treated for assorted mood disorders.

None of this does anything to excuse the disgusting way he was treated by United, of course, but I wouldn't be surprised if the airline starts smearing him after it spends another day or two apologizing.

Elizabethtown Doctor Indicted On 98 Drug Charges

 

[Gromit]

CEO states that passenger was belligerent and disruptive.

Is this the airline slut shaming equivalent of well he was asking for his face to be smashed in?

By 'disruptive' he means not doing what he was told I'm guessing.

Let me guess saying things like I've paid for my seat why the hell should I have to move is being 'belligerent'.

So dont be disruptive and beligerant if you don't want to end up with blood pouring down your face folks. You've been told.

 

[gosub]

CEO states that passenger was belligerent and disruptive.

Is this the airline slut shaming equivalent of well he was asking for his face to be smashed in?

By 'disruptive' he means not doing what he was told I'm guessing.

Let me guess saying things like I've paid for my seat why the hell should I have to move is being 'belligerent'.

So dont be disruptive and beligerant if you don't want to end up with blood pouring down your face folks. You've been told.

That's this bloke is going to sue, damage limitation, not most read story globally, type damage limitation. Bye bye United.

 

[Lord Camomile]

By 'disruptive' he means not doing what he was told I'm guessing.

Thus spake every entitled authority figure ever.

 

[editor]

 

[gosub]

shares currently 6% down before opening

 

[Gromit]

That's this bloke is going to sue, damage limitation, not most read story globally, type damage limitation. Bye bye United.

Just read an article about damage to their reputation and resulting loss of customers.
That what they should be concentrating on limiting rather than damages from one civil case.

 

[wiskey]

what was it before?

 

[Idris2002]

 

[Gromit]

what was it before?

"Low fares. Nothing to hide."

 

[Sirena]

Why didn't United just have their staff stand, for the duration of the flight, in the cabin crew area?

It's not going to be comfortable but at least it doesn't cause problems.