United Airlines Forces Man off of oversold flight

[Soldier's*Sweeties]

Does it add another layer?

Was he actively doing any of these things on the flight?

Exactly.

Which was it? He was randomly chosen or not?

They can't back pedal and blame him now.

 

[amberpi]

Yup. SW does it all the time.

And sw quickly offers cash. I travel a lot and sometimes they've offered enough in a desirable location for me to just stay over. Friday flight out of miami that I'm coming back to on Sunday? I can pocket the unused flight, use the cash for the weekend, and I assure you when the offers become cash, the equation changes fast.

 

[pigletto]

UAL PR is busy working to slander their assault victim as if the majority of people are going to change their mind and side with UAL.

No kidding. Because if we can turn the victim into a villain here, the court of public opinion will be silenced. I caution against being swayed by such tactics. Scumbag or not .. what they did was wrong.

 

[sunshinehighway]

Then don't call it asking in your PR response. Because that isn't true. It's being told, and there is a distinct difference. They are choosing the language they use for their spin.. and I take issue with it.

Yes exactly. What it comes down to is United's stance is "do as you are told without question or we'll have you physically removed and since we can legally do it, too bad for you." Calling the guy belligerent and saying he was asked to volunteering to leave and everything else is just a bunch of bs. Asking someone to do something is giving them a choice, you can't force someone to volunteer and if you are saying you have to leave if we tell you to then you aren't asking. It says a lot when you have to use creative wording to defend yourself. It's dishonest and really its condescending to think people are so stupid that they are going to miss what you are really saying.

 

[anniemae]

Local TV reported this morning that one of the other 3 passengers was the guy's wife, also of Chinese descent, who agreed to leave and unsuccessfully persuaded him to do the same.



Better not fly Delta, American, Southwest, etc. either, because you can be forced off their planes as well to accommodate staff members.



The original $400 and $800 offered to volunteers was almost certainly in travel vouchers for future flights.

Once it became an involuntary situation, the airlines MUST provide the compensation in cash (or check) if the passenger insists.



Doesn't matter, This guy wasn't going to leave of his own volition even if they offered him $20,000.

Never heard of any of these airlines dragging paying customers off. Maybe they overbooked and offered incentives, thats fine. Never heard or saw any video like I saw of the United incident.

 

[RedAngie]

They sent in the B-team.

Still real police with authority.

 

[anniemae]

I read he is 69, not old by modern standards, but it also sounds as though he was highly anxious and confused. Perhaps he has dementia setting in which would explain his behavior and, in my opinion, would make the case against United and the handling by the officers stronger. I hope the man can recover mentally from this incident and that this case stays in the spotlight for sometime if only to make the airlines realize they need to respect the customers more and that they are being watched.

I don't know what to think about him. There was a video of him running back on the plane after the incident and he was saying over and over, "I have to go home, I have to go home, I have to go home."

 

[dlavender]

What it comes down to is United's stance is "do as you are told without question or we'll have you physically removed and since we can legally do it, too bad for you."

That's their motto: "Not enough seating, prepare for a beating"

Credit: Someone online.

 

[RedAngie]

Never heard of any of these airlines dragging paying customers off. Maybe they overbooked and offered incentives, thats fine. Never heard or saw any video like I saw of the United incident.

United didn't drag off any paying customers either. They overbooked and offered compensation, that's fine.

The police dragged off the passenger, not United staff.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

United didn't drag off any paying customers either. They overbooked and offered compensation, that's fine.

The police dragged off the passenger, not United staff.

OK. United just called them in to drag their paying customer off the plane because THEY mismanaged their crew travel.

Awesome.

 

[declansdad]

OK. United just called them in to drag their paying customer off the plane because THEY mismanaged their crew travel.

Awesome.

I don't think it is fair to say this went directly from I won't get off to let's drag him off the plane.

 

[DopeyDame]

As far as the police, I read an interesting point on another thread by a guy who is a cop at an airport (he didn't say which airport)
He said that in all liklihood, the police didn't know why this guy was being asked to be removed. They trust the airline employees that if the captain says "remove this guy" there's a reason. They will immediately remove the guy, assuming that airplane safety is on the line, and then once the person is removed, they'll figure out the story and arrest the person or not, depending on what else is going on.

He said that his training is not to get involved in disputes like this, and to just have the airline employees deal with it, but that once the captain says a person has to be removed, they don't question it, they just remove the person.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

I don't think it is fair to say this went directly from I won't get off to let's drag him off the plane.

Wait: did they or did they not call in "authorities" to remove him from the plane if he refused to leave??

Let's not split hairs THIS finely!

 

[mi*vida*loca]

He did seem a "bit off" when he ran back on the plane but sometimes that happens after you've been whacked in the head. Especially an older person.

 

[anniemae]

United didn't drag off any paying customers either. They overbooked and offered compensation, that's fine.

The police dragged off the passenger, not United staff.

Yes, but United started the ball rolling. They offered money, nobody bit. Upped the ante, still nobody bit. They called in the security, they chose to randomly select people and send in the enforcers to make sure they complied. United was behind it. United orchestrated it. It's like when the president declares war. He does not fight in the war, he sends in the troops for that. But he starts the war.

 

[Gracie09]

I don't know what to think about him. There was a video of him running back on the plane after the incident and he was saying over and over, "I have to go home, I have to go home, I have to go home."

after his head had been hit into a metal armrest and he was bleeding from it? I'm not 69 and I would be confused.

 

[DisBabe94]

I don't think it is fair to say this went directly from I won't get off to let's drag him off the plane.

But it did. There was a point in which a decision was made by the United staff - they said okay, we need this guy off the plane and that's it. Bring in the authorities. That decision is where United went horribly horribly wrong.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

But it did. There was a point in which a decision was made by the United staff - they said okay, we need this guy off the plane and that's it. Bring in the authorities. That decision is where United went horribly horribly wrong.

I'd argue they went wrong several steps earlier... and kept making wrong calls!!

 

[sunshinehighway]

As far as the police, I read an interesting point on another thread by a guy who is a cop at an airport (he didn't say which airport)
He said that in all liklihood, the police didn't know why this guy was being asked to be removed. They trust the airline employees that if the captain says "remove this guy" there's a reason. They will immediately remove the guy, assuming that airplane safety is on the line, and then once the person is removed, they'll figure out the story and arrest the person or not, depending on what else is going on.

He said that his training is not to get involved in disputes like this, and to just have the airline employees deal with it, but that once the captain says a person has to be removed, they don't question it, they just remove the person.

If that is true it just points to the problem of airlines having too much power.

 

[JaxDad]

I'm probably in the minority, but my only issues with United are (1) Did they really need to involuntarily bump anyone (i.e., could they have accommodated the employees with other transportation and/or could they have offered more incentives for volunteers), (2) How did they pick this particular passenger to involuntarily bump, and (3) What effort was made to bump him before law enforcement was called? I have not read anything that fully answers these questions.

Everything else is on law enforcement. If I was a PR guy for United, I'd be saying "The passenger was being uncooperative, but we certainly do NOT support this particular response by law enforcement."

I have not read that the passenger was charged with anything. If he was, he will be much more limited in what he can seek in a civil case. He might also have to pay fines and lose his medical license (not sure about the status of that). If he wasn't charged, he can shoot for the moon! As I posted earlier, I think he should lawyer up and settle ASAP.