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Doctor violently dragged from full United flight (1 Viewer)

Seems like it was handled poorly but it's only like a 5 hour drive...if you really had to be back you could grab a 1 way rental car 

 
Seeing the "I have to go home, I have to go home, I have to go home" video...don't think I'd want him as my doctor. Coo Coo!

And poorly handled by United and security. Terrible. Between this and Delta's issues it's been a bad week for airlines.

 
United and the air marshalls are idiots and deserved to be sued. If nobody is volunteering to leave, up the offer for someone to volunteer and eventually someone will. Dragging off and assaulting a customer is insane.

Not sure why it matters that the passenger is a doctor though. Would it have been less bad if he was a bartender?

 
I'll happily get dragged off my next flight for the lawsuit that is sure to come from this...
It would have been a lot cheaper for United to keep upping the dollar amount until they found a volunteer.  Going to pay a lot more than the $800 that they offered.

 
Bad PR without question, but:

1) the airline is within its rights to deny a properly ticketed seat to anyone, for any reason - with legislated compensation amounts based upon the alternate travel options available, and:

2) he resisted instructions from the flight crew leading to a need to forcibly remove him from the aircraft

 
If United needed to get a flight crew to Louisville and it is only a 5 hour drive...... why not send the crew on a roadtrip :shuked: :shrug:

or keep upping the offer to leave the flight. $400 - probably not; $800 - still no; $1500 - I bet you start to find takers.............

 
Bad PR without question, but:

1) the airline is within its rights to deny a properly ticketed seat to anyone, for any reason - with legislated compensation amounts based upon the alternate travel options available, and:

2) he resisted instructions from the flight crew leading to a need to forcibly remove him from the aircraft
Get outta here with that.

 
How anyone on earth could defend the airline here is incomprehensible.  Legally, yes, they can do whatever they want, and they did.  It's their plane and they used their security to drag a man off the plane.

But what an absolute joke and a total embarrassment for the company.  It's a horrible way to treat a paying customer.  Perhaps the worst business decision I've ever seen.  I guarantee a bunch of people on that flight will never fly United again.  Same for many people who now see the video.  And why?  So they could get some EMPLOYEES on the flight????

Employees should ALWAYS come behind customers.  Always.  No exceptions.  If you forget that, you don't deserve to stay in business.  

If it's an urgent, urgent matter, you offer 500, 1k, 2k, 3k, whatever it takes to get a seat open.

 
If United needed to get a flight crew to Louisville and it is only a 5 hour drive...... why not send the crew on a roadtrip :shuked: :shrug:

or keep upping the offer to leave the flight. $400 - probably not; $800 - still no; $1500 - I bet you start to find takers.............
Because it's written into the ticket contracts that you will voluntarily give up your seat if called to when the flight is overbooked. They already had the out...they just chose to use it.

With that said...their stupidity in handling this situation (not upping the $ amount until someone volunteers) is baffling. They deserve whatever lawsuit and bad PR comes from this.

 
United and the air marshalls are idiots and deserved to be sued. If nobody is volunteering to leave, up the offer for someone to volunteer and eventually someone will. Dragging off and assaulting a customer is insane.

Not sure why it matters that the passenger is a doctor though. Would it have been less bad if he was a bartender?
Agreed.  Doctors are so arrogant anyway for people who generally just guess.  

 
How anyone on earth could defend the airline here is incomprehensible.  Legally, yes, they can do whatever they want, and they did.  It's their plane and they used their security to drag a man off the plane.

But what an absolute joke and a total embarrassment for the company.  It's a horrible way to treat a paying customer.  Perhaps the worst business decision I've ever seen.  I guarantee a bunch of people on that flight will never fly United again.  Same for many people who now see the video.  And why?  So they could get some EMPLOYEES on the flight????

Employees should ALWAYS come behind customers.  Always.  No exceptions.  If you forget that, you don't deserve to stay in business.  

If it's an urgent, urgent matter, you offer 500, 1k, 2k, 3k, whatever it takes to get a seat open.
Not defending them by any means (they should have kept increasing the compensation up to the $1,300 IDB compensation amount) but there's a difference between bad customer service and legal liability.  

 
Not defending them by any means (they should have kept increasing the compensation up to the $1,300 IDB compensation amount) but there's a difference between bad customer service and legal liability.  
That's why I said that legally they could do what they did.

 
Bad PR without question, but:

1) the airline is within its rights to deny a properly ticketed seat to anyone, for any reason - with legislated compensation amounts based upon the alternate travel options available, and:

2) he resisted instructions from the flight crew leading to a need to forcibly remove him from the aircraft
1) They were not offering the compensation required by law

2) You shouldn't board people if you are overbooked.  You figure it out before you board people.

3) Doesn't appear he was read his rights as required by law.

4) United sucks

 
Yeah it's actually possible to do.  
Imagine you were at a fine steakhouse in Baltimore.  You waited 30 minutes, were seated, got your wine and ordered your steak.  Then the restaurant comes to you and says "I'm sorry but we need you to leave.  We need a table for some of our employees who are on break.  But hey, we have a Washington DC location, you can always go there!"

 
1) They were not offering the compensation required by law

2) You shouldn't board people if you are overbooked.  You figure it out before you board people.

3) Doesn't appear he was read his rights as required by law.

4) United sucks
:mellow:

 
Imagine you were at a fine steakhouse in Baltimore.  You waited 30 minutes, were seated, got your wine and ordered your steak.  Then the restaurant comes to you and says "I'm sorry but we need you to leave.  We need a table for some of our employees who are on break.  But hey, we have a Washington DC location, you can always go there!"
If they offer me $800 and a free dinner I'm driving to DC. :shrug:

 
The people defending the airline on any point should wonder when it was exactly they lost their sense or right and wrong in life. @shader must feel like he's arguing with a brick wall in here.

F'n lol at "the guy could have drove it's not that far" in particular. C'mon. 

 
https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/fly-rights

DOT requires each airline to give all passengers who are bumped involuntarily a written statement describing their rights and explaining how the carrier decides who gets on an oversold flight and who doesn't. Those travelers who don't get to fly are frequently entitled to denied boarding compensation in the form of a check or cash. The amount depends on the price of their ticket and the length of the delay:

  • If you are bumped involuntarily and the airline arranges substitute transportation that is scheduled to get you to your final destination (including later connections) within one hour of your original scheduled arrival time, there is no compensation.
  • If the airline arranges substitute transportation that is scheduled to arrive at your destination between one and two hours after your original arrival time (between one and four hours on international flights), the airline must pay you an amount equal to 200% of your one-way fare to your final destination that day, with a $675 maximum.
  • If the substitute transportation is scheduled to get you to your destination more than two hours later (four hours internationally), or if the airline does not make any substitute travel arrangements for you, the compensation doubles (400% of your one-way fare, $1350 maximum).
  • If your ticket does not show a fare (for example, a frequent-flyer award ticket or a ticket issued by a consolidator), your denied boarding compensation is based on the lowest cash, check or credit card payment charged for a ticket in the same class of service (e.g., coach, first class) on that flight.
  • You always get to keep your original ticket and use it on another flight. If you choose to make your own arrangements, you can request an "involuntary refund" for the ticket for the flight you were bumped from. The denied boarding compensation is essentially a payment for your inconvenience.
  • If you paid for optional services on your original flight (e.g., seat selection, checked baggage) and you did not receive those services on your substitute flight or were required to pay a second time, the airline that bumped you must refund those payments to you.
Like all rules, however, there are a few conditions and exceptions:

  • To be eligible for compensation, you must have a confirmed reservation. A written confirmation issued by the airline or an authorized agent or reservation service qualifies you in this regard even if the airline can't find your reservation in the computer, as long as you didn't cancel your reservation or miss a reconfirmation deadline.
  • Each airline has a check-in deadline, which is the amount of time before scheduled departure that you must present yourself to the airline at the airport. For domestic flights most carriers require you to be at the departure gate between 10 minutes and 30 minutes before scheduled departure, but some deadlines can be an hour or longer. Check-in deadlines on international flights can be as much as three hours before scheduled departure time. Some airlines may simply require you to be at the ticket/baggage counter by this time; most, however, require that you get all the way to the boarding area. Some may have deadlines at both locations. If you miss the check-in deadline, you may have lost your reservation and your right to compensation if the flight is oversold.
As noted above, no compensation is due if the airline arranges substitute transportation which is scheduled to arrive at your destination within one hour of your originally scheduled arrival time.

If the airline must substitute a smaller plane for the one it originally planned to use, the carrier isn't required to pay people who are bumped as a result. In addition, on flights using aircraft with 30 through 60 passenger seats, compensation is not required if you were bumped due to safety-related aircraft weight or balance constraints.

The rules do not apply to charter flights, or to scheduled flights operated with planes that hold fewer than 30 passengers. They don't apply to international flights inbound to the United States, although some airlines on these routes may follow them voluntarily. Also, if you are flying between two foreign cities -- from Paris to Rome, for example -- these rules will not apply. The European Commission has a rule on bumpings that occur in an EC country; ask the airline for details, or go to http://ec.europa.eu/transport/passengers/air/air_en.htm [external link].

Airlines set their own "boarding priorities" -- the order in which they will bump different categories of passengers in an oversale situation. When a flight is oversold and there are not enough volunteers, some airlines bump passengers with the lowest fares first. Others bump the last passengers to check in. Once you have purchased your ticket, the most effective way to reduce the risk of being bumped is to get to the airport early. For passengers in the same fare class the last passengers to check in are usually the first to be bumped, even if they have met the check-in deadline. Allow extra time; assume that the roads are backed up, the parking lot is full, and there is a long line at the check-in counter.

Airlines may offer free tickets or dollar-amount vouchers for future flights in place of a check for denied boarding compensation. However, if you are bumped involuntarily you have the right to insist on a check if that is your preference. Once you cash the check (or accept the free flight), you will probably lose the ability to pursue more money from the airline later on. However, if being bumped costs you more money than the airline will pay you at the airport, you can try to negotiate a higher settlement with their complaint department. If this doesn't work, you usually have 30 days from the date on the check to decide if you want to accept the amount of the check. You are always free to decline the check (e.g., not cash it) and take the airline to court to try to obtain more compensation. DOT's denied boarding regulation spells out the airlines' minimum obligation to people they bump involuntarily. Finally, don't be a "no-show." If you are holding confirmed reservations you don't plan to use, notify the airline. If you don't, they will cancel all onward or return reservations on your trip.

 
The people defending the airline on any point should wonder when it was exactly they lost their sense or right and wrong in life. @shader must feel like he's arguing with a brick wall in here.

F'n lol at "the guy could have drove it's not that far" in particular. C'mon. 
I don't see anyone here defending the airline.  

 
The people defending the airline on any point should wonder when it was exactly they lost their sense or right and wrong in life. @shader must feel like he's arguing with a brick wall in here.

F'n lol at "the guy could have drove it's not that far" in particular. C'mon. 
Who is defending the airline?

 
Saying that the airlines have protected themselves from this, and that the guy was stupid to resist >< defending the airline.

 
If United needed to get a flight crew to Louisville and it is only a 5 hour drive...... why not send the crew on a roadtrip :shuked: :shrug:

or keep upping the offer to leave the flight. $400 - probably not; $800 - still no; $1500 - I bet you start to find takers.............
This!  But I blame United for not offering that up first on the plane as they would have had takers,

My wife and I were flying out of Ft Myers last year and the flight was overbooked on a 7am Saturday morning flight.  They asked before we boarded if anyone would like to give up their seat..nobody was really answering. I finally walked up and asked what do you get for giving up the seats?  They offered me 2 round trip vouchers if I gave up out 2 seats and if we could not get out on another flight that day they would pay for a hotel and meals.  We really did not have to be home until work on Monday so I took the deal.  They stored our luggage and said they would be in text contact with me.  My wife and I took off for the beach and sat in a Tiki bar and walked around the beach.  At 4pm I got a text saying that they had 2 seats on the 7:00pm nonstop flight to Detroit.  So instead of getting home at 9:30 in the morning we got home at 9:30 at night.

We used the tickets to fly to Vegas for our anniversery. So they were worth around 750.00 Plus they gave us 50.00 in food vouchers to use at the airport..50 does not go far at an airport but we did get some drinks.

 
Last edited by a moderator:
Exactly.  But what if you said "Nah, I'm good.  I want my steak, and I'm going to keep my table".
They have the right to remove me (have me removed by security/law enforcement). And they would be skewered on the internet.

 
Doesn't the Air Marshall work for the federal government?  Maybe he didn't have much of a choice as the airline acted legally and the passenger didn't.

I find it hard to believe United would sit a passenger and then ask them to leave.  This is an infinitely more difficult situation to handle than dealing with it prior to boarding.  Just a really bad policy.

 
Ha.  In no way am I defending United, just pointing out that this guy's chances of seeing a dime out of all of this (other than maybe a gofundme account) are close to zero - unless United decides (probably rightly, although the precedent may be overly problematic) to do a public mea culpa and settlement in order to attempt to reverse the latest airline-related PR disaster.

 
The people defending the airline on any point should wonder when it was exactly they lost their sense or right and wrong in life. @shader must feel like he's arguing with a brick wall in here.

F'n lol at "the guy could have drove it's not that far" in particular. C'mon. 
Exactly. At what point in society have we come to the point where it's OK to forcefully drag a customer off a flight because it's over booked (legal or otherwise).

This country has gone loco with what it's OK to do because it's been "documented" rather than applying common sense.

 
https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/fly-rights

DOT requires each airline to give all passengers who are bumped involuntarily a written statement describing their rights and explaining how the carrier decides who gets on an oversold flight and who doesn't. Those travelers who don't get to fly are frequently entitled to denied boarding compensation in the form of a check or cash. The amount depends on the price of their ticket and the length of the delay:

  • If you are bumped involuntarily and the airline arranges substitute transportation that is scheduled to get you to your final destination (including later connections) within one hour of your original scheduled arrival time, there is no compensation.
  • If the airline arranges substitute transportation that is scheduled to arrive at your destination between one and two hours after your original arrival time (between one and four hours on international flights), the airline must pay you an amount equal to 200% of your one-way fare to your final destination that day, with a $675 maximum.
  • If the substitute transportation is scheduled to get you to your destination more than two hours later (four hours internationally), or if the airline does not make any substitute travel arrangements for you, the compensation doubles (400% of your one-way fare, $1350 maximum).
  • If your ticket does not show a fare (for example, a frequent-flyer award ticket or a ticket issued by a consolidator), your denied boarding compensation is based on the lowest cash, check or credit card payment charged for a ticket in the same class of service (e.g., coach, first class) on that flight.
  • You always get to keep your original ticket and use it on another flight. If you choose to make your own arrangements, you can request an "involuntary refund" for the ticket for the flight you were bumped from. The denied boarding compensation is essentially a payment for your inconvenience.
  • If you paid for optional services on your original flight (e.g., seat selection, checked baggage) and you did not receive those services on your substitute flight or were required to pay a second time, the airline that bumped you must refund those payments to you.
Like all rules, however, there are a few conditions and exceptions:

  • To be eligible for compensation, you must have a confirmed reservation. A written confirmation issued by the airline or an authorized agent or reservation service qualifies you in this regard even if the airline can't find your reservation in the computer, as long as you didn't cancel your reservation or miss a reconfirmation deadline.
  • Each airline has a check-in deadline, which is the amount of time before scheduled departure that you must present yourself to the airline at the airport. For domestic flights most carriers require you to be at the departure gate between 10 minutes and 30 minutes before scheduled departure, but some deadlines can be an hour or longer. Check-in deadlines on international flights can be as much as three hours before scheduled departure time. Some airlines may simply require you to be at the ticket/baggage counter by this time; most, however, require that you get all the way to the boarding area. Some may have deadlines at both locations. If you miss the check-in deadline, you may have lost your reservation and your right to compensation if the flight is oversold.
As noted above, no compensation is due if the airline arranges substitute transportation which is scheduled to arrive at your destination within one hour of your originally scheduled arrival time.

If the airline must substitute a smaller plane for the one it originally planned to use, the carrier isn't required to pay people who are bumped as a result. In addition, on flights using aircraft with 30 through 60 passenger seats, compensation is not required if you were bumped due to safety-related aircraft weight or balance constraints.

The rules do not apply to charter flights, or to scheduled flights operated with planes that hold fewer than 30 passengers. They don't apply to international flights inbound to the United States, although some airlines on these routes may follow them voluntarily. Also, if you are flying between two foreign cities -- from Paris to Rome, for example -- these rules will not apply. The European Commission has a rule on bumpings that occur in an EC country; ask the airline for details, or go to http://ec.europa.eu/transport/passengers/air/air_en.htm [external link].

Airlines set their own "boarding priorities" -- the order in which they will bump different categories of passengers in an oversale situation. When a flight is oversold and there are not enough volunteers, some airlines bump passengers with the lowest fares first. Others bump the last passengers to check in. Once you have purchased your ticket, the most effective way to reduce the risk of being bumped is to get to the airport early. For passengers in the same fare class the last passengers to check in are usually the first to be bumped, even if they have met the check-in deadline. Allow extra time; assume that the roads are backed up, the parking lot is full, and there is a long line at the check-in counter.

Airlines may offer free tickets or dollar-amount vouchers for future flights in place of a check for denied boarding compensation. However, if you are bumped involuntarily you have the right to insist on a check if that is your preference. Once you cash the check (or accept the free flight), you will probably lose the ability to pursue more money from the airline later on. However, if being bumped costs you more money than the airline will pay you at the airport, you can try to negotiate a higher settlement with their complaint department. If this doesn't work, you usually have 30 days from the date on the check to decide if you want to accept the amount of the check. You are always free to decline the check (e.g., not cash it) and take the airline to court to try to obtain more compensation. DOT's denied boarding regulation spells out the airlines' minimum obligation to people they bump involuntarily. Finally, don't be a "no-show." If you are holding confirmed reservations you don't plan to use, notify the airline. If you don't, they will cancel all onward or return reservations on your trip.
I stand by my :mellow:

 

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