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United Airlines violently drag passenger off overbooked flight

I'm not sure I've ever seen angry Stan. I think I prefer him to fucking useless Stan or galloping knob rot Stan.

Anyway, as fun as this I must leave you to your evening.
 
In the US internal flight tickets are often fully flexible. So if you turn up at the airport early you can get an earlier flight or change to a later one if necessary. Cheap fully flexible fares have to be paid for some way and to keep the planes running full they overbook.

We have less of that in Europe but we don't have the flexible fares either (unless you pay through the nose).

Fully flexible tickets exist in Europe and the rest of the world too.

They don't exist on Easyjet or Ryanair, none are refundable, but even they have flexi fares where you can change at no cost. Since they introduced these fares they too have been overbooking passengers. I have had two passengers bumped from Easyjet to Milan this week alone, one from Luton and one from Gatwick.

The EU has a set fee of compo for when you're bumped, depending on the distance of the flight.
 
It's usually a voucher actually, loaded with limitations and caveats. And people use a book a flight at a particular time because they have to be somewhere at a particular time and $800 won't change that.

In the US it's normally a voucher for say $800 or $500 cash.
In Europe it's cash.
Either way, in addition the airline must hotel and feed you and you should ask that you are upgraded on the re-scheduled flight too, 90% chance they will.
 
They have 83,000 employees who are probably fretting about losing their jobs right now.

Stock price was pretty close to the highest its been for a year, if it had dropped by 50% it would have been close to as low as its been in that year. But it is going to do them some damage, and rightly so.
 
Factoid about United; started as a parcel shipping company, United Parcel Services, or UPS as they are still known. Business-bods started to hitch a lift with the parcels and passenger traffic was pretty much born.



UPS is still shite.
 

Well I guess this will teach me to check my sources won't it?

e2a: https://ftalphaville.ft.com/2017/04...liness-commitment-to-cost-efficiency-targets/

It seems the immediate effect was to boost share prices relative to United's competitors as investors apparently like to see a company treating people like shit to save half a buck. Evidently the unfolding PR shistorm ended up having the opposite effect.
 
People now know that uncooperative passengers will be removed in a timely fashion so their flight can get under way. :thumbs:

When it comes to airlines ticket price is by far the biggest factor, no one cares whether people-who-aren't-them get manhandled by security
No, I believe a company's safety reputation is the most important, could be wrong?
 
Ah I see you're keen to join in with the smearing.
In the US it's normally a voucher for say $800 or $500 cash.
In Europe it's cash.
Either way, in addition the airline must hotel and feed you and you should ask that you are upgraded on the re-scheduled flight too, 90% chance they will.

Few years ago, when thon BA flight crash landed at Heathrow, we were delayed at Newcastle on route to NZ, offered a 300% refund ( party of six 6, so a considerable amount) or a rescheduled flight on business class plus a high quality hotel,while BA sorted it out, ended up business class Heathrow Tokyo, cattle class Tokyo to Singapore, business class, Singapore to Christchurch,
Similar story when we were stranded in NZ following the Earthquake, Moral of the story? cheap often = nasty, if possible pay the bit extra to fly with a reputable airline, if flying outside of the EU.
 
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