Ready for my next United Airlines Flight

[Fun4Me]

Was the flight overbooked? Or was the flight full and United wanted 4 seats for it's employees to work a downline connection in Louisville?

[soflabasser]

Saw the video of what happened to the passenger that didn't want to give up his seat that he paid for...very unprofessional airline company to say the least.

2 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

 

Maybe he had a shift to work, or maybe he wanted to go home. Maybe he had a graduation or wedding to get to. Maybe he just felt like going home because he paid money for a plane ticket. We have no idea why he needed to get home. It could be for any number of reasons. The fact that overbooking is a legal and common practice doesn't make it right or acceptable. In any other industry, the business would eat the cost of the no shows. 

 

I think the larger issue is that this practice of overbooking should never be allowed. If it wasn't, this situation would have never occurred. It's ridiculous that billion dollar airline industries will force paying customers to change their travel plans, financial plans and work plans just so they don't have to potentially eat the cost of a no-show coach ticket. I can't think of any other industry where this is allowed or accepted. Of course this is all made worse by the fact that they only had to "re-accommodate" this guy to make room for their employees. 

Well said

[Jrob78]

For me, the bottom line is you agree to this when you buy the ticket. Yeah it sucks but that's life. Dude should have gotten his butt out of his seat and off the plane, like the other 3 people did. Also, it wasn't the airline that drug him off the plane, it was the local (airport) police. When you act like a child, sometimes you get treated like one.

[flechero]

I used to fly a lot on business... in the good ol days, they would keep upping the offer until someone gave up a seat.. $2500-$3000 plus nice meal and hotel vouchers wasn't uncommon for a hub route.  I took a few, when I could but usually I had to be back.

 

What other industry can you sell what you don't have?  Double booking is bad practice... unless you truly buy out the seat of the person bumped.   It would be cheaper for them to sell 1-2 seats short to pad against this lunacy.  The stock took a $700 million hit today...  yes, I got a kick out of that and don't think it could happen to a more fitting airline.  

 

These days, I fly as little as possible.

51 minutes ago, Jrob78 said:

For me, the bottom line is you agree to this when you buy the ticket.

 

And that's the problem...  it's not a choice...  the issue is that you can't buy any ticket without this craptastic fine print.  If it was an option, NO ONE would opt for it.

 

Did anyone act appropriately in this fiasco, heck no... does that excuse the airline's policy- heck no.

[Jrob78]

14 minutes ago, flechero said:

And that's the problem...  it's not a choice...  the issue is that you can't buy any ticket without this craptastic fine print.  If it was an option, NO ONE would opt for it.

 

Did anyone act appropriately in this fiasco, heck no... does that excuse the airline's policy- heck no.

It's still a choice. He could have flown business, driven, taken a bus or a train, etc. 

 

I agree with you, the whole situation sucks but in the end, the dude should have gotten off the plane under his own power. I would have been mad too and I would've gotten everything I could from the airline in return for the inconvenience. Also, this really should have been handled before anyone boarded the plane.

[S. Sass]

16 minutes ago, Jrob78 said:

For me, the bottom line is you agree to this when you buy the ticket. Yeah it sucks but that's life. Dude should have gotten his butt out of his seat and off the plane, like the other 3 people did. Also, it wasn't the airline that drug him off the plane, it was the local (airport) police. When you act like a child, sometimes you get treated like one.

Exactly.^^^

 

I see a lot of excuses for those who think the Doc was done wrong or that the airline was wrong. It really smells of a lot of other things going on in society that are backwards. The overbooking has been a part of flying for years now one snowflake gets what he deserves, he broke the standing rule in place for years, and some people want to blame the airline because he was not following what he agreed to so we punish the cop and the airline. Yeeeeaaahhhh If you don't like the airline or the rules don't buy a ticket. Once you buy the ticket comply with what you signed up for period!

 

While we are bashing the airline for their conduct I felt it only right we give a shout out to DR. DAVID DAO

Quote

UNITED AIRLINES  DR. DAVID DAO
CONVICTED OF EXCHANGING DRUGS FOR SEX

The passenger who was savagely removed from United flight 3411 is a medical doctor with a sordid history.

Dr. David Dao was charged in 2005 with 98 felony drug counts for illegally prescribing and trafficking painkillers. Prosecutors claimed Dao fraudulently filled prescriptions for hydocodone, Oxycontin and Percocet.

Dr. Dao was also convicted on 6 felony counts of obtaining drugs by fraud and deceit and in 2005 was given 5 years probation.

Dao was also convicted for writing prescriptions and checks to a patient in exchange for sex.

In February, 2005, Dr. Dao surrendered his license to practice medicine in Kentucky. In 2015 the medical board lifted the suspension and allowed him to practice medicine with some restrictions. Last year, the medical board imposed even more restrictions -- now he can only practice internal medicine in an outpatient facility one day a week.

Interestingly, and relevant to the United incident, one doctor assessing Dao's case said he had interpersonal problems, noting "... he would unilaterally choose to do his own thing." 

 

source http://www.tmz.com/2017/04/11/united-airlines-doctor-convicted-drugs-sex/

[Gundog]

6 hours ago, Fun4Me said:

Was the flight overbooked? Or was the flight full and United wanted 4 seats for it's employees to work a downline connection in Louisville?

I believe both were the case. They needed the 4 seats for employees thus it was overbooked.

 

I thought it was interesting that one of the people who was asked to leave and did was the doctor's wife.

 

I have never flown but as I understand it, the agreement when purchasing a ticket allows airlines to overbook and offer compensation to passengers booted because of overbooking. If you have ever purchased a ticket to a concert or sporting event they have a extensive list of conditions that allow them to boot you from the arena. Some even state that they can have you removed for holding up a sign they do not like. It doesn't even have to be vulgar. No compensation, no apology, just get out and a big, burly guy behind you making that journey more hasty. It is what it is.

[Jar11591]

Wow this thread now reeks of ignorance.

[A-Jay]

Looks like this one may have run it's course ~

 

We may hear a bit more on & off about this story.

 

Guess we'll have to wait and see if anything that matters ends up changing as a result of it. 

 

I'm not expecting much.

 

A-Jay

 

[K_Mac]

30 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

Wow this thread now reeks of ignorance.

 

Some would say that your insistence that you would have behaved the same as the doctor if you had been bumped on your return flight from Mexico could be considered ignorant. Disagreement does not equal ignorance.

 

I used to fly often. I missed appointments, deadlines, and important family events as a result of all manner of airline issues. One delay cost me a large amount of money. Fly through Chicago often and you will miss deadlines. Anyone who flys much understands that there are few guarantees. 

 

Do you really think making security drag you off the plane is a reasonable plan?

[J Francho]

 

They've gotten away with overbooking for years.  Another unusual part of this event is that negotiations about bumping happen when you check in, not after you're seated on the plane.  I suspect some last minute screw up at the counter combined with some overzealous enforcement.

[K_Mac]

1 minute ago, J Francho said:

 

They've gotten away with overbooking for years.  Another unusual part of this event is that negotiations about bumping happen when you check in, not after you're seated on the plane.  I suspect some last minute screw up at the counter combined with some overzealous enforcement.

 

I think you're right. In all my travels I never saw such a mess. Letting people board, and then telling them they have to go is asking for trouble. 

[J Francho]

"Is there a doctor on this flight?  This woman is having a baby!"

 

"Uh, no.  He left...."

 

That's only way this story could have gone worse.  Meanwhile, there's a lot worse things happening in the world.

 

Try to be civil, folks.  Be careful using words like "ignorant" and "foolish" when addressing others.  It tends to amplify emotions.

[Fun4Me]

Looks like the CEO is falling on the sword. In a tv interview, he said the passenger did nothing wrong and that no police will board a plane to remove a paid passenger again. Hopefully they still will have a way to remove disruptive passengers, otherwize it looks like fair game for the disruptors, and those that don't want to follow rules. 

 

 

[J Francho]

I'm sure the no police will remove a passenger part is about bumping, not disruptive passengers.

[deaknh03]

8 minutes ago, J Francho said:

"Is there a doctor on this flight?  This woman is having a baby!"

 

"Uh, no.  He left...."

 

That's only way this story could have gone worse.  Meanwhile, there's a lot worse things happening in the world.

 

Try to be civil, folks.  Be careful using words like "ignorant" and "foolish" when addressing others.  It tends to amplify emotions.

Is there a doctor on the flight?

Um, no he was dragged off screaming and bloody.

[Jar11591]

35 minutes ago, K_Mac said:

 

Some would say that your insistence that you would have behaved the same as the doctor if you had been bumped on your return flight from Mexico could be considered ignorant. Disagreement does not equal ignorance.

 

I used to fly often. I missed appointments, deadlines, and important family events as a result of all manner of airline issues. One delay cost me a large amount of money. Fly through Chicago often and you will miss deadlines. Anyone who flys much understands that there are few guarantees. 

 

Do you really think making security drag you off the plane is a reasonable plan?

 

The fact is, if he wasn't going to be able to fly on that flight, he never should have been allowed to board and sit. That's not how the overbooking thing works. I fly somewhat often and I've been one of the people who didn't have a seat due to overbooking. They tell you at

the boarding gate that unless someone volunteers, you won't have a seat. That's how it works. The insistence that this guy somehow "got what he deserves" after he was allowed to board his flight and sit in his seat before getting dragged off and bloodied is completely ignorant. Same as with bringing up totally irrelevant things about this man's past. Especially without knowing why he needed to get home. People are also forgetting that he was kicked off a flight he was already sitting in to make room for airline employees. 

 

[Fun4Me]

8 minutes ago, J Francho said:

I'm sure the no police will remove a passenger part is about bumping, not disruptive passengers.

 

I hope so, but he didn't clarify that part.

[Fun4Me]

12 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

 

The fact is, if he wasn't going to be able to fly on that flight, he never should have been allowed to board and sit. That's not how the overbooking thing works. I fly somewhat often and I've been one of the people who didn't have a seat due to overbooking. They tell you at

the boarding gate that unless someone volunteers, you won't have a seat. That's how it works. The insistence that this guy somehow "got what he deserves" after he was allowed to board his flight and sit in his seat before getting dragged off and bloodied is completely ignorant. Same as with bringing up totally irrelevant things about this man's past. Especially without knowing why he did what he did or why he needed to get home. People are also forgetting that he was kicked off a flight he was already sitting in to make room for airline employees. 

 

 

I'm not  in the "he got what he deserved crowd", but this situation really comes down to legalese. I don't know what United's policy is, when it comes to the legal ability to deny a paying passengers rights to fly, once boarded, but if it's clearly spelled out that they had the right to deny a passengers flight to make room for an employee, then the passenger who acts like a 5 year old brat has some culpability in the situation IMO. Did he deserve to get dragged out of the plane? Maybe not, but at what point does the airline use different tactics to a passenger that refuses to get off the plane? 

 

Now, if United has no legal speak in their documents that allow for this type of thing, then it's a different story IMO.  

[Jar11591]

52 minutes ago, K_Mac said:

Disagreement does not equal ignorance.

 

 

You are right about this. I was referring to the insistence that this guy "got what he deserves" which is completely laughable.