No United airlines thread ? VOL....Delta won

[SC kid]

A public relations disaster for United Airlines is transforming into an international incident in one of its most important markets.

Video of a passenger being dragged off a Chicago-Louisville flight, bloodying his nose and leaving him dazed in the process, has gone viral online in China, attracting tens of thousands of outraged posts.

The man, who has not yet been identified, was overheard saying he was being profiled for being Chinese, a passenger told CNN, before police officers forcibly removed him from his seat on the overbooked flight.


'Discrimination'

The incident, which unfolded on Sunday, was the number one trending topic Tuesday on Weibo, China's answer to Twitter, attracting more than 100 million views.

Many commenters called for a boycott of United, accusing the airline of discriminating against the passenger because he is Chinese.

"It's straight up discrimination," one widely shared post said, while another commenter said they would never "fly with United again in my lifetime."

Joe Wong, a Chinese-born comedian who has performed multiple times on the "Late Show with David Letterman," said on Weibo "many Chinese people feel they've been subject to discrimination."

"They stay silent because they fear losing face," he said. "That's why the Western mainstream media and public don't take discrimination against Asians seriously."

China is the second largest aviation market in the world and a key focus for United, which claims it "operates more nonstop US-China flights, and to more cities in China, than any other airline."

Representatives for United in China did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Forcibly removed

In a statement, the airline said four crew members needed to get to a flight departing from Louisville otherwise it would be canceled. Passengers on the Chicago-Louisville plane were asked to give up their seats voluntarily.

When no one volunteered, the airline was forced into an "involuntary de-boarding situation," airline spokesman Charlie Hobart told CNN. Four passengers were selected, including the man in the video. United denied accusations the man was chosen based on his ethnicity.

The man refused, saying he was a doctor and needed to see patients. The airline said it then followed US Department of Transportation protocol in calling local law enforcement to forcibly remove the man from the plane after he refused to disembark.

The Chicago Department of Aviation said in a statement that the incident "was not in accordance with our standard operating procedure and the actions of the aviation security officer are obviously not condoned by the department."

PR disaster

The incident, which quickly went viral in the US and other countries as well as China, has become a public relations nightmare for United.

Following a concentrated backlash on social media, United CEO Oscar Munoz issued a statement calling the incident "upsetting" and apologized "for having to re-accommodate" customers.

Ed Zitron, a PR expert and author of "This Is How You Pitch," said United's response to the incident "was a classic case of a company too afraid to make a categorical statement of compassion for fear of a lawsuit."

"Had United shown compassion and intent to make things right, they could have come out of this at the very least looking like an airline that cares. Instead they've just made it even worse," he said.

As of Tuesday morning ET, #NewUnitedAirlinesMottos was the number one trending topic on Twitter in the US, and the third trending topic worldwide, with commenters suggesting new slogans such as "not enough seating, prepare for a beating."

 

[jjs07]

He's in for a HUGE pay day. Also, heads should roll for this. The cop should be fired, those responsible for calling out this "order," and also the person/people responsible for losing track of the guy and letting him run back on the plane.

 

[queencity45]

UNITED where you come as a doctor and but you leave as a patient.
UNITED, our prices are unbeatable, but our passengers aren't.

 

[ck1301]

I've watched the clips and I definitely sympathize with him cause of the way they dragged him off the plane. On the other hand I'm pretty sure he was asked multiple times by different airline employees to vacate the plane before the police got involved. This isn't racism cause this happens to Muslims when that is clearly racism and no one says a word, it's non compliance and a tone deaf PR department. The videos shouldn't shock you we see this all the time with police.

 

[kvsm23vs24]

Homie about to get paid

 

[kingkoopa]

They offered people $800 and a free night in a hotel.

l would of took it.   

 

[Fozz]

Still surprised they waited until everyone boarded and then began announcing that the flight had been overbooked. Crazy stuff.

 

[jadakhanman]

I hope I see that his face as the united logo the next time I go to the airport but ghere's probably some fine print about being forced to give up your seat and also we live in a police state now so you know how that goes.

 

[jjs07]

They offered people $800 and a free night in a hotel.

l would of took it.   

Simple way of looking at it. You wouldn't take that money if you had somewhere to be. Which was clearly the case of this 69 year old.

 

[rillo561]

They offered people $800 and a free night in a hotel.

l would of took it.   

Sometimes your time is way more valuable than this. I hope he sues and wins bigly.

 

[wayniac211]

Still surprised they waited until everyone boarded and then began announcing that the flight had been overbooked. Crazy stuff.

Gate agent fault. Only folks u pull off are non revs (stand by) when seats all taken. If not gotta up the ante. According to FAA you can actually get I think 1500 or 2k for overselling seats but GP don't know bout that.
F UA. Ever since US Air saved AA it's AA >

 

[jjs07]

And that $800 was in travel vouchers...not cash.

 

[slighted]

 

 

 

[SC kid]

Sometimes your time is way more valuable than this. I hope he sues and wins bigly.

View media item 2400990

 

[ninjahood]

this is a media relations nightmare, that dude gonna have to see some M's in his account.

 

[Mark Antony]

They offered people $800 and a free night in a hotel.

l would of took it.   

Simple way of looking at it. You wouldn't take that money if you had somewhere to be. Which was clearly the case of this 69 year old.

This.

 

[jjs07]

Another thing....united overbooked by 3/4 seats, right? Did the accost other passengers, or was this guy the first person they went to?

 

[Mark Antony]

Still can't believe this is how you get treated after paying for your ticket.

 

[Mark Antony]

Another thing....united overbooked by 3/4 seats, right? Did the accost other passengers, or was this guy the first person they went to?

There were 3 others who took the 800 and hotel deal.

 

[macbk]

Below is the text of the letter United Airlines' parent company CEO Oscar Munoz sent to employees after a passenger was dragged from a United plane at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. The summary below the letter was compiled by United:

Dear Team,

Like you, I was upset to see and hear about what happened last night aboard United Express Flight 3411 headed from Chicago to Louisville. While the facts and circumstances are still evolving, especially with respect to why this customer defied Chicago Aviation Security Officers the way he did, to give you a clearer picture of what transpired, I've included below a recap from the preliminary reports filed by our employees.

As you will read, this situation was unfortunately compounded when one of the passengers we politely asked to deplane refused and it became necessary to contact Chicago Aviation Security Officers to help. Our employees followed established procedures for dealing with situations like this. While I deeply regret this situation arose, I also emphatically stand behind all of you, and I want to commend you for continuing to go above and beyond to ensure we fly right.

I do, however, believe there are lessons we can learn from this experience, and we are taking a close look at the circumstances surrounding this incident. Treating our customers and each other with respect and dignity is at the core of who we are, and we must always remember this no matter how challenging the situation.

Oscar

What a PR nightmare. The CEO should have never openly defended the staff this soon, or (likely) at all for that matter.

 

[JVII]

And that $800 was in travel vouchers...not cash.

Travel vouchers? Man they can keep that ****

 

[beacon ave south]

I read somewhere that those 4 seats were gonna be for the united STAFF

 

[slighted]

 

Another thing....united overbooked by 3/4 seats, right? Did the accost other passengers, or was this guy the first person they went to?

There were 3 others who took the 800 and hotel deal.

Interesting, they couldn't just leave this dude alone and approach someone else?

Where was the foresight?

 

[oidreez]

I read somewhere that those 4 seats were gonna be for the united STAFF

Yup. They should have found an alternate method to get the staff down to louisville

 

[iamdef]

Gate agent fault. Only folks u pull off are non revs (stand by) when seats all taken. If not gotta up the ante. According to FAA you can actually get I think 1500 or 2k for overselling seats but GP don't know bout that.
F UA. Ever since US Air saved AA it's AA >

From what I heard there is no max amount they can offer

I've watched the clips and I definitely sympathize with him cause of the way they dragged him off the plane. On the other hand I'm pretty sure he was asked multiple times by different airline employees to vacate the plane before the police got involved. This isn't racism cause this happens to Muslims when that is clearly racism and no one says a word, it's non compliance and a tone deaf PR department. The videos shouldn't shock you we see this all the time with police.

whether it was fueled by race, idk it wouldn't surprise me tho but even still, how do you as a company prefer to drag a customer off a plane instead of increasing incentives for a volunteer?