In a new report, United Airlines admits several mistakes were made before, during and after a man was violently dragged off a flight earlier this month, including calling in law enforcement to resolve an incident that was neither a safety nor security issue.
In the report, released Thursday, the airline says it had allowed internal policies to distract from the need to treat passengers with dignity and respect and it outlines what the company intends to do to prevent a repeat of the incident.
This is a turning point for all of us at United and it signals a culture shift toward becoming a better, more customer-focused airline, CEO Oscar Munoz said in a statement that accompanied the release of the report on the April 9 incident at Chicagos OHare International Airport. Our customers should be at the center of everything we do and these changes are just the beginning of how we will earn back their trust.
With the report, Munoz makes good on a public promise he made several days after David Dao, 69, was dragged out of his seat, down the aisle and off the plane after he refused to give up his seat for off-duty crew. Other passengers captured the incident on their phones and shared video that has been viewed millions of times worldwide and sparked international outrage.
Lawyers representing Dao said he suffered a concussion, broken nose and two missing teeth, among other injuries. Four aviation security officers involved in the incident have been placed on leave while the investigation continues.
United Airlines takes full responsibility for what happened, reads the reports introduction. The intention of this report is to communicate concrete and meaningful actions that will avoid putting our customers, employees and partners in impossible situations.
The report lays out five ways in which United says it failed both its passengers and employees. In addition to unnecessarily summoning law enforcement, the airline should not have tried to find space on the flight for crew members at the last minute. It also should have offered more compensation or more transportation options in order to entice customers to give up their seats voluntarily, but it acknowledged that agents did not have the authority to make such decisions. Finally, the report said the airline has not provide regular training for employees on how to deal with denied boarding situations.
Our review shows that many things went wrong that day, but the headline is clear: Our policies got in the way of our values and procedures interfered in doing whats right, Munoz said.
The report, which outlines 10 changes the airline is making to prevent a repeat of the incident, is the most detailed account yet of the events that led to Daos removal from Flight 3411,
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That moment, captured on video by other passengers aboard the flight, showed Dao yelling as he is pulled from his seat and then dragged down the aisle of the plane.
But United is promising change.
Under the airlines new customer-first policy, travelers who voluntarily give up their seats will be eligible to receive up to $10,000 in travel certificates. United employees will be given new authority to find creative solutions to get bumped passengers to their final destinations even if it means booking them on another airline or sending them to another airport.
In addition to increasing the compensation for passengers who voluntarily give up their seats, the airline will create an automated system to identify passengers willing to give up their seats and allow them to set the level of compensation they would be willing to accept. Starting in August, the airline also will offer additional training for front-line staff and later this year will roll out an app that will allow employees to immediately compensate customers when a service issue arises. It also will create a customer solutions team charged with finding ways to get displaced passengers where they need to go.
Even though United officials say only a small percentage of passengers are involuntarily bumped from the airlines flights, they said they will reduce overbooking on those flights where volunteers are less likely to come forward. Overbooking is not illegal, but has drawn new scrutiny from members of Congress following the airlines treatment of Dao.
