United passenger forcibly removed from overbooked flight..

[bitchstewie]

tim0409 said:

Just because something is in the airlines T+C's doesn't make it/them legally enforceable (certainly the case in the UK).

I would be reasonably sure that the aircraft crew can order you off an aircraft for pretty much no reason at all.

Whether it stands up in court after the event is a different matter but that's separate to the fact that if they tell you to get off the aircraft, one way or another you're getting off the aircraft.

[Chim]

La Liga said:

PurpleAki said:

Yeah just give in and ruin all your travel plans and possibly the care of his patients. Why should he?

Because when he bought his ticket he agreed to the T&Cs / contract that would cover such eventualities and circumstances.

Are you smoking dope or are you also a graduate of the trump school of public relations

[dazwalsh]

Surely this could have been sorted out before boarding, at the gate once numbers of checked in passengers are known?

Or give the staff members the 800 dollars and tell em to make their own way there and keep the change. Hey presto, no PR disaster.

[anonymous-user]

Is it really that poor PR?

EasyJet sales used to increase when that rubbish tv programme was on,years ago, all it showed was loads of people on stag dos and drunks complaining and getting gecked off flights.

Ryanair deliberately make controversial statements just to get in the news each month,

I don't think it's great for United but I doubt it willl do them much harm at all.

It certainly wouldn't stop me flying with them.

[ReallyReallyGood]

El stovey said:

Is it really that poor PR?

EasyJet sales used to increase when that rubbish tv programme was on,years ago, all it showed was loads of people on stag dos and drunks complaining and getting gecked off flights.

Ryanair deliberately make controversial statements just to get in the news each month,

I don't think it's great for United but I doubt it willl do them much harm at all.

It certainly wouldn't stop me flying with them.

They weren't getting beaten up by the Airline though were they, they were beating each other up!

[unrepentant]

dazwalsh said:

Surely this could have been sorted out before boarding, at the gate once numbers of checked in passengers are known?

Or give the staff members the 800 dollars and tell em to make their own way there and keep the change. Hey presto, no PR disaster.

Yep. Chicago to Louisville is a 5 hour drive. A one way rental of a large sedan maybe $100. Would have saved them tens of millions.

[carinatauk]

Welcome to the USofA.

Whilst UA are getting flak about this, it was security guards that removed him. UA need to look a better passenger selection process.

Whilst I feel for the guy, in a country which is very solid with its security and law management, it might have been a bit stupid to fight back. As a doctor you would have had enough sense that he probably should have thought about resisting.

It will be interesting to see if a compo package is offered.

[Chim]

BIANCO said:

I hope the next time all the people who are defending this guy are on a flight and are in a similar situation where someone is asked to leave and doesn't. And then spend the next 4 hours sat at the terminal trying to resolve the issue because they don't get off.
I do wonder how supportive of the person they would be then.

If where on that flight, what would you have wanted them to do, pick someone else which then could have been you?

The idea that if you buy a ticket you somehow then own the plane is just stupid. Has for people saying he did nothing wrong, he did he didn't get off when told to.

I'm all for a good level of consumer rights but it does seem many people have now got a massive over inflated expectation of what they can and cannot expect.

Edited by BIANCO on Monday 10th April 18:58

Hell yes, bloody ridiculous attitude. How dare this idiot, just because he bought a ticket, paid for it, got on the plane and sat down. How dare he expect the airline to actually take him where he needed to go. People have way to high an expectation of our corporate overlords, just because we pay for something does not mean we should actually expect them to provide it.

[valiant]

Shamelessly nicked from Twitter

[amusingduck]

Chim said:

BIANCO said:

I hope the next time all the people who are defending this guy are on a flight and are in a similar situation where someone is asked to leave and doesn't. And then spend the next 4 hours sat at the terminal trying to resolve the issue because they don't get off.
I do wonder how supportive of the person they would be then.

If where on that flight, what would you have wanted them to do, pick someone else which then could have been you?

The idea that if you buy a ticket you somehow then own the plane is just stupid. Has for people saying he did nothing wrong, he did he didn't get off when told to.

I'm all for a good level of consumer rights but it does seem many people have now got a massive over inflated expectation of what they can and cannot expect.

Edited by BIANCO on Monday 10th April 18:58

Hell yes, bloody ridiculous attitude. How dare this idiot, just because he bought a ticket, paid for it, got on the plane and sat down. How dare he expect the airline to actually take him where he needed to go. People have way to high an expectation of our corporate overlords, just because we pay for something does not mean we should actually expect them to provide it.

[John145]

Bianco, la liga, et al come across as complete tts.

The only circumstance in which you should be forced off a plane is if you've fked up.

You mustn't in a civilised society be able to man handle someone off your plane because your airline has cocked up the bookings.

Let's be clear; a man who did nothing wrong was assaulted be an unnamable, faceless authority.

No wonder the Nazis got away with such st initially with these authoritarian apologists so common.

Be sure, if this man didn't stand up for himself the airline would've gotten away with assaulting (even just the threat of violence which is assault in itself) their customers.

I'm glad he did it and I hope if I was in his situation I'd have the balls to do what he did.

[Sonic]

BIANCO said:

I hope the next time all the people who are defending this guy are on a flight and are in a similar situation where someone is asked to leave and doesn't. And then spend the next 4 hours sat at the terminal trying to resolve the issue because they don't get off.
I do wonder how supportive of the person they would be then.

If where on that flight, what would you have wanted them to do, pick someone else which then could have been you?

The idea that if you buy a ticket you somehow then own the plane is just stupid. Has for people saying he did nothing wrong, he did he didn't get off when told to.

I'm all for a good level of consumer rights but it does seem many people have now got a massive over inflated expectation of what they can and cannot expect.

Ah yes all perfectly acceptable so long as you aren't the "volunteering" passenger, right?

[Hoofy]

John145 said:

You mustn't in a civilised society

Funny you write this - I was thinking, "You expect this kind of st in a third world country."

[bitchstewie]

Nanook said:

If I was on that flight, what would I have wanted them to do?

Beat a man up, for sitting in the seat that he'd paid for, and been shown to, allowed to sit down in it?

No.

I don't see anybody saying that it's acceptable, rather that in the US if you're told to get off an aircraft and the Police are called in it's only going to end one way if you don't do what they tell you.

I don't agree with how United acted but put yourself in the passengers shoes, once United made their decision, whatever the rights or wrongs of that decision, and given the US don't fk about with that kind of thing, what are the possible outcomes that don't end with you getting off the aircraft?

[amusingduck]

BIANCO said:

Chim said:

BIANCO said:

I hope the next time all the people who are defending this guy are on a flight and are in a similar situation where someone is asked to leave and doesn't. And then spend the next 4 hours sat at the terminal trying to resolve the issue because they don't get off.
I do wonder how supportive of the person they would be then.

If where on that flight, what would you have wanted them to do, pick someone else which then could have been you?

The idea that if you buy a ticket you somehow then own the plane is just stupid. Has for people saying he did nothing wrong, he did he didn't get off when told to.

I'm all for a good level of consumer rights but it does seem many people have now got a massive over inflated expectation of what they can and cannot expect.

Edited by BIANCO on Monday 10th April 18:58

Hell yes, bloody ridiculous attitude. How dare this idiot, just because he bought a ticket, paid for it, got on the plane and sat down. How dare he expect the airline to actually take him where he needed to go. People have way to high an expectation of our corporate overlords, just because we pay for something does not mean we should actually expect them to provide it.

Obviously in what ever you do for a living you have never ever made any form of mistake and let down a customer and always provided the service or product on time. If not no doubt when you haven't you have refunded them around 3X the origanl cost and done the job for free as soon as physically possible.

Haha it was just the other day that I made a mistake with a customer and his face got smashed off an arm rest. Just one of those days, I guess.

[Troubleatmill]

bhstewie said:

.....whatever the rights or wrongs of that decision, and given the US don't fk about with that kind of thing, what are the possible outcomes that don't end with you getting off the aircraft?

Which is why any cabin crew with half a brain would surely think - everyone in the plane has a camera in their phone... this is going to blow up in the CEO's face. The damage to the brand will be huge. Let's just up the increments by $100 until someone bites.

You can argue T&C's and legalities all you want.
But if the result of this is no-one buys your product/ service - you will go bust PDQ.

[bitchstewie]

Troubleatmill said:

Which is why any cabin crew with half a brain would surely think - everyone the plane has a camera in thieir phone... this is going to blow up in the CEO's face. The damage to the brand will be huge. Let's just up the increments by $100 until someone bites.

Did the CC drag him off the plane?

Genuine question as I'm not clear on that part as I thought it was the Police.

[Dindoit]

Is there anything more adenoidal than someone saying "I think you'll find under section 21b of the terms and conditions he signed up to when he entered the contract of sale..."?

[essayer]

United have fked this up not by trying to deplane the passenger and his wife, but in their cack handed PR response.
In return the Twitter train has long since sailed and the US networks' evening news will all be carrying a clip of a disorientated doctor with a bloodied face stood at the rear of a United plane repeating "I want to go home.. I want to go home" .. a victory for corporate America and US law enforcement

[Troubleatmill]

bhstewie said:

Troubleatmill said:

Which is why any cabin crew with half a brain would surely think - everyone the plane has a camera in thieir phone... this is going to blow up in the CEO's face. The damage to the brand will be huge. Let's just up the increments by $100 until someone bites.

Did the CC drag him off the plane?

Genuine question as I'm not clear on that part as I thought it was the Police.

It was the Police/ authorities.
But reputation management for the brand is shot.
Once Police called, there is a fair chance a passenger will still stay put and heavy tactics are used. And it is caught on camera.

The Police should have never been called. Just up the compo until someone bites. It just takes a few minutes and someone will bite. And all is well.