United Airlines violently drag passenger off overbooked flight

[Yuwipi Woman]

Ah, I thought you thought the R4 programme were talking about it yesterday. Well, the business bods having a chat about it didn't think the incident would have much impact on ticket sales for UA. Flying is like getting a bus, but worse because you have to turn up hours beforehand and unpack repack and remove articles of clothing, just to sit down and wait for another hour.

Buses have more room for passengers, which makes a huge difference.

 

[skyscraper101]

Only eclipsed by emplane, which has started to be used now.

What was wrong with 'board' and 'disembark' ? Who are these language debasers?

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

What was wrong with 'board' and 'disembark' ? Who are these language debasers?

I would blame the Shermans, but I first heard emplane in India, so that kind of fucks my theory.

 

[gosub]

Ah, I thought you thought the R4 programme were talking about it yesterday. Well, the business bods having a chat about it didn't think the incident would have much impact on ticket sales for UA. Flying is like getting a bus, but worse because you have to turn up hours beforehand and unpack repack and remove articles of clothing, just to sit down and wait for another hour.

Bit different to a bus, yes some places do still have rival bus firms running competing routes - most likely with a bus you get on the first turn up after you do.. Plane its chose who you fly with then turn up to be treated like cattle.



One thing I noticed from Portillo's last two series :US trains empty EUrope massive investment going into rail.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I have to wonder how much of this is related to infrastructure. You've got more and more flights going through older and older airports. After a while they're going to start taking short cuts just to make the short window between planes taking off. Even so, it doesn't excuse what United did. It only highlights the huge need to infrastructure spending.

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

Bit different to a bus, yes some places do still have rival bus firms running competing routes - most likely with a bus you get on the first turn up after you do.. Plane its chose who you fly with then turn up to be treated like cattle.



One thing I noticed from Portillo's last two series :US trains empty EUrope massive investment going into rail.

There's one other option for travel. A lot of business people are moving to shuttle vans to get to meetings in other cities. Smaller vehicle, fewer passengers, more room, often free coffee or snacks. And, you don't have to put away the cell phone or laptop.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Not much you can do about airport or TSA staff, but if Jet Blue or Southwest flies the route you need, they are by far the best domestic US carriers to fly with.

 

[skyscraper101]

Not much you can do about airport or TSA staff, but if Jet Blue or Southwest flies the route you need, they are by far the best domestic US carriers to fly with.

Virgin America?

(not for much longer mind)

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Virgin America?

(not for much longer mind)

They're next in line for decent, but they have a fairly limited route network, same with Alaska who are also not too shabby.

 

[bi0boy]

There's one other option for travel. A lot of business people are moving to shuttle vans to get to meetings in other cities. Smaller vehicle, fewer passengers, more room, often free coffee or snacks. And, you don't have to put away the cell phone or laptop.

Much more likely to die on the journey though

 

[skyscraper101]

They're next in line for decent, but they have a fairly limited route network, same with Alaska who are also not too shabby.

They'll soon be one and the same of course, but I had to choose, it'd be Virgin for their live TV, wifi, and colourful interior mood lighting

 

[editor]

It was this morning - I was driving to work, listening to radio 4.

One hour ago United’s stock is set to fall 2% and wipe $500 million off the airline’s market cap

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

Much more likely to die on the journey though

Yes, but I doubt if the users of that service see it that way. Our company started using them when some staff got stranded after 911. I think it's pretty set in their minds that airplanes are dangerous and vans are safe, despite the stats.

 

[Ted Striker]

Airlines that offer fully flexible fares have to overbook, or else they go bust.

However announcements of overbooking should be done at check in. Can't recall an airline ever asking people already seated on the aircraft to get up and sod off.

Total clusterfuck, followed by bloodying your passenger. Whoop

You can run such an operation, just factor in the chance and estimated cost of enticing someone to be delayed. They were too cheap here. This all about being cheap. There's no such thing as 'not enough people to kick off' only the wrong price to offer them.

 

[Ted Striker]

Anyone mentioned 'Plane Happy' yet?

 

[gosub]

Anyone mentioned 'Plane Happy' yet?

thats an entirely different kind of flying, altogether.

 

[High Voltage]

. . . There's no such thing as 'not enough people to kick off' only the wrong price to offer them.

Exactly, if they'd offered a cool mil in hard cash, people would be fighting to get off the plane

So, drop it to $100k, same thing would happen but I've just "saved" their airline $900k per person bumped

Then it's just a question of fine tuning down from the $100k price to make it attractive

(for the record, my price would be around the $10k mark)

 

[gosub]

Exactly, if they'd offered a cool mil in hard cash, people would be fighting to get off the plane

So, drop it to $100k, same thing would happen but I've just "saved" their airline $900k per person bumped

Then it's just a question of fine tuning down from the $100k price to make it attractive

(for the record, my price would be around the $10k mark)

just do an auction.

 

[Ted Striker]

thats an entirely different kind of flying, altogether.

 

[High Voltage]

just do an auction.

Yep, could've been done and dusted in 5 minutes and everyone happy

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

One hour ago United’s stock is set to fall 2% and wipe $500 million off the airline’s market cap

It'll bounce back though. If not that's gonna be a lot of people out of work.

Some twonk was on the radio a minute ago saying he flies twice a week with United but never again now. Utter shite, he clearly needs to travel for work and he's not really gonna give up his elite frequent flier status cos some people who are not United Airlines employees bashed some bloke's face.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

President Trump has been quick to herald United Airlines staff and security as ‘my kind of people’ after footage emerged online of an elderly foreign-looking doctor being violently thrown off a plane.

According to White House staff, Trump sat down to watch the footage with his daughter Ivanka and appeared to thoroughly enjoy watching how the airline staff dealt with the Asian-looking troublemaker.

Senior aide Chuck Williams told reporters, “If there’s one thing President Trump loves more than golf and touching himself in front of the mirror, it’s sitting down with Ivanka to watch footage on the Internet of an individual from a minority background getting beat up on an airplane.

“He nearly spilled his popcorn when they threw the stunned passenger onto the floor, and he was cheering so much you’d have thought he was watching the Superbowl.”

President Trump addressed White House press shortly afterwards saying, “Listen people, what United Airlines did today was great, just great. These are the kind of things that will help make America great again, bigly.

“They told this guy to volunteer to give up his seat, and he refused. Sad! So un-American.”

He added, “It’s not clear whether this guy is Mexican, Muslim or Korean, but whatever he is, he’s obviously a bad person, and this is how we deal with people like that.

“Some people are saying he’s a doctor. Fake news! He’s a bad hombre, end of.”

 

[EastEnder]

Well they were talking about this incident on the R4 Today programme, you're not going to like this but basically they mentioned that it did nothing to their share price, it didn't register at all. Some business bod said we have short memories, we have to fly, and our expectations are at an all time low as to how we are treated. They pretty much shrugged it off as just another example of bad treatment from an airline.

Sounds about right.

Whenever anything like this happens, the indignation & public outcry will rebound across the internet & media outlets for a few days, then everyone will find something else to be outraged by.

Will it make any difference to future bookings on United Airlines? Yes, but only if when someone is looking to book a flight: They can book with a different airline, flying from the same airport, to the same desired destination, for a comparable price, at a similar time & date.

If not, they'll suck it up & go with United, consoling themselves with the inevitable realisation that "they're all as bad as each other" and "even if they are crap, I need to get where I'm going", and so forth.

 

[nuffsaid]

One hour ago United’s stock is set to fall 2% and wipe $500 million off the airline’s market cap

My comment was more to do with the assumption that people will generally shrug and get on with it, as per Eastenders comment above. The R4 programme spoke more of how such events have, historically, been felt only short term when it come's to any impact on airlines.

 

[petee]

United Airlines CEO blames the passenger in forced removal incident

 

[Yossarian]

Sounds about right.

Whenever anything like this happens, the indignation & public outcry will rebound across the internet & media outlets for a few days, then everyone will find something else to be outraged by.

Will it make any difference to future bookings on United Airlines? Yes, but only if when someone is looking to book a flight: They can book with a different airline, flying from the same airport, to the same desired destination, for a comparable price, at a similar time & date.

If not, they'll suck it up & go with United, consoling themselves with the inevitable realisation that "they're all as bad as each other" and "even if they are crap, I need to get where I'm going", and so forth.

Yep, Ryanair's whole business model seems to be "Fuck you, we know you're going to fly with us anyway."

 

[Teaboy]

Yep, Ryanair's whole business model seems to be "Fuck you, we know you're going to fly with us anyway."

Well European airlines do operate differently than in the states. You don't get the fully flexible tickets (if you miss your plane your fucked) but on the plus side you're unlikely to be dragged screaming from your seat and duffed up because some off duty crew want your seat.

 

[editor]

United Airlines CEO blames the passenger in forced removal incident

Yeah, that's going to work!

 

[editor]

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

I'll just drop this here and back away slowly...