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[DontBeThatGuy]

we all have lives and appointments, if it wasn't life threatening he could have appointments rescheduled..shit happens..

You could say the same for the employees who need seats freed up so they could go somewhere... Employees who don't have patients.

 

[peteykirch]

I don't think you thought this through real well. If Mondo were to sell 250 prints and people cancelled so that they only sold 240, they could just sell the rest of the prints since they are a physical object and not time limited. Not to mention they don't allow cancellations. https://mondotees.com/collections/posters/products/inside-out-anger-poster.

Now imagine if Mondo sold 250 prints that could only be picked up at 10:55am on Saturday January 25th and if you didn't they would burn any unsold posters so Mondo eats that cost. One option would be for Mondo to not allow changes or cancellations (which they already do) which is what the airline COULD do so that they still get paid when you don't show.

However, United allows changes to flight plans so if you were to not show and they also don't get the full ticket price AND they didn't overbook then they would be left holding the bag for most of the cost of that seat.

Overbooking allows them to be a little more flexible. Mondo just won't refund you from what it says on their site. In that sense, Mondo is really scummy since they could just sell the extra product without any issues.

My point is, they can only sell 250 of something.

If the plane only has 100 seats, they should only be allowed to sell 100 seats.

I guess a better example would be a movie theatre with reserved seating.

They only have 50 seats, I've never heard of anyone being bumped out of a movie showing because they oversold a showing.

 

[flkraven]

so you're an airline employee. You are going to want to drive 5 hours? Surely not. Also, what is the liability for the airline if they get in a car crash? Employees usually need to be on a companies insurance policy to drive a vehicle. LOL. An airline employee driving a rental car gets in a accident and they are not on the companies insurance. talk about a lawsuit.

There are liability policy specifically designed for when employees are on the clock, but driving vehicles that are not owned by the company. I'm sure United has one.

However, they may not consider this 'on the clock'. It could just be 'commute' mileage.

Honestly, If I'm a United Airlines employee, ask for the $800 yourself and drive the 5 hours if that's all it is.

 

[Armaros]

No I mean the people that were asked to leave and got off before him

No one got up and left, that was literally the whole point of the altercation.

Reading comprehension?

 

[bloodydrake]

And if it was? If it was this guy just got punched in the face and kick off his plane.

There's a world of difference between a doctor seeing a patient in a hospital and your HR meeting.

horrible straw man
if this guy was needed in surgery that was life threatening you don't think he would have offered up the hospital's number to verify..you think that UNITED would just say.."whelp guess that patients gonna die..now get out."

 

[low-G]

If you fuck up, keep offering more money to passengers until it hits $3 million per seat. After that fly your own damm jet with your 4 fucking passengers.

Assaulting paying customers will not be tolerated.

 

[bachikarn]

Overbooking is such bullshit. Another problem with it is if your flight gets canceled, it is next to impossible to find an alternate flight in a reasonable time because all flights are overbooked and there isn't any extra room. If it is their fault (like a bad engine or whatever), they will at least book you on other airlines if needed. If it is weather related, they don't have to do that. I had a flight canceled due to weather and I was only able to fly out three days later.

 

[Macho Madness]

There's no way the airline could have believed it was doing the appropriate thing.

United owns the planes, they can fly them around empty if they want but they're not and this guy bought a ticket to be on this one. He has every right to be there if they ask for volunteers and he doesn't get off.

He's a victim.

Ftfy

 

[Armaros]

making shitty excuses for an entitled narcissist putting his time above everyone else cuz he's important.
cuts both ways no?

Yes he is a narcissist for not wanting to give up his seat when no one else did either.

 

[MultiCore]

Ftfy

You couldn't be more wrong.

He was absolutely doing the wrong thing. He doesn't get to fight for an airline seat.

 

[Tonedeff]

No one got up and left, that was literally the whole point of the altercation.

Reading comprehension?

Then, she said, a manager came aboard the plane and said a computer would select four people to be taken off the flight. One couple was selected first and left the airplane, she said, before the man in the video was confronted.

.

 

[bloodydrake]

Why do the customers have to "reschedule" everything in their lives because of a mistake United made, rather than United having to "reschedule" some employee shifts or, god forbid, throw their employees on a bus?

those crew members were to man another flight, they needed to be on this flight
so why does this one guy get to potentially cancel a whole nother flight.
why didn't they put him on a bus? thats a good question?

 

[TunaMarshmallow]

If NeoGAF posters don't stand up for United's rights, who will?

 

[Tall4Life]

I have absolutely zero sympathy for the company, even just from its overbooking. I almost got fucked over because of it. We were supposed to be flying out of the Caribbean and my mom was able to get on the United plane, but my dad and I weren't. They had overbooked the flight. AN INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT. AND THEY EXPECTED PEOPLE TO GIVE UP THEIR SEAT ON AN INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT FROM A VACATION DESTINATION. We couldn't go back to our hotel because our room was booked for the next night. The money they would have given us would not have been enough to stay at an okay hotel for the night, we would've had to pull from the bank. I had midterms coming up later in that week so I needed to be home.

After hours of torture they were able to fit us on the last flight of the day and we were able to make it back home that night after sprinting to the rest of our concourses. I can never ever excuse overbooking.

 

[Armaros]

If NeoGAF posters don't stand up for United's rights, who will?

Corporations are more Important people my friend

 

[Saya]

Yes he is a narcissist for not wanting to give up his seat when no one else did either.

You don't understand, the computer appointed him as one of the four chosen ones. He should've just accepted his fate.

 

[Frankfurter]

horrible straw man
if this guy was needed in surgery that was life threatening you don't think he would have offered up the hospital's number to verify..you think that UNITED would just say.."whelp guess that patients gonna die..now get out."

Who knows... they were stupid enough to generate this PR disaster in the first place.

 

[bachikarn]

I don't think you thought this through real well. If Mondo were to sell 250 prints and people cancelled so that they only sold 240, they could just sell the rest of the prints since they are a physical object and not time limited. Not to mention they don't allow cancellations. https://mondotees.com/collections/posters/products/inside-out-anger-poster.

Now imagine if Mondo sold 250 prints that could only be picked up at 10:55am on Saturday January 25th and if you didn't they would burn any unsold posters so Mondo eats that cost. One option would be for Mondo to not allow changes or cancellations (which they already do) which is what the airline COULD do so that they still get paid when you don't show.

However, United allows changes to flight plans so if you were to not show and they also don't get the full ticket price AND they didn't overbook then they would be left holding the bag for most of the cost of that seat.

Overbooking allows them to be a little more flexible. Mondo just won't refund you from what it says on their site. In that sense, Mondo is really scummy since they could just sell the extra product without any issues.

Most airlines only allow you to do that if you pay $200, which is more than the cost of the flight in a lot of cases.

The other thing is that a lot of these practices were implemented when jet fuel was expensive and needed to do it to survive. Jet fuel has come down in price but they are still overbooking like crazy.

 

[ColdPizza]

I have absolutely zero sympathy for the company, even just from its overbooking. I almost got fucked over because of it. We were supposed to be flying out of the Caribbean and my mom was able to get on the United plane, but my dad and I weren't. They had overbooked the flight. AN INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT. AND THEY EXPECTED PEOPLE TO GIVE UP THEIR SEAT ON AN INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT FROM A VACATION DESTINATION. We couldn't go back to our hotel because our room was booked for the next night. The money they would have given us would not have been enough to stay at an okay hotel for the night, we would've had to pull from the bank. I had midterms coming up later in that week so I needed to be home.

After hours of torture they were able to fit us on the last flight of the day and we were able to make it back home that night after sprinting to the rest of our concourses. I can never ever excuse overbooking.

They should have compensated you for bumping you. Sounds like you came away with nothing.

 

[Beer Monkey]

I've been bumped a bunch to good effect. A couple of times I've taken a bump that let me get home early and with less stops + cash.

One time I called for a bump after boarding and the plane was full because I was next to a crying/drooling/climbing lap baby. At that point they had given up but they called the gate agent back. The VIP that they'd been trying to accomodate with the bump looked at me in horror when he saw the crying baby. I drink beers on vouchers and got good cash, waiting two hours was better than taking that flight. Hint: If somebody volunteers to be bumped for you after taking their seat, maybe you don't want that seat after all.

If I got dragged off a plane I'd sue.

Also, fuck lap babies. Also start enforcing some kind of weight/size on the lap babies.

 

[Trojita]

I was surprised when I first found out overbooking was a thing. I was sitting in the terminal and they were asking for three people to volunteer to not fly. I asked the guy next to me how that even happens, and he was like "that's normal".

Can't believe they boarded people and then did this shit.

This doctor is getting paid.

 

[flkraven]

There's no way the passenger could have believed he was doing the appropriate thing.

United owns the planes, they can fly them around empty if they want. He has no right to be there if they tell him to get off.

He thought he wanted to fight, and lost. He's not a victim.

I'm sure social media will side with United. Great PR win for them.

Regardless, they handled this piss poorly and they are rightfully going to be raked over the coals for it.

 

[bloodydrake]

Yes he is a narcissist for not wanting to give up his seat when no one else did either.

2 other people did.. he was the 3rd and the only one to refuse

 

[cchum]

A doctor getting violently removed from a plane you say.

It will be extremely painful...

 

[platocplx]

If NeoGAF posters don't stand up for United's rights, who will?

there are people who side with the positions of power in like every thread its pretty sickening like clock work they will try to justify their actions. its wild to me.

 

[DontBeThatGuy]

You couldn't be more wrong.

He was absolutely doing the wrong thing. He doesn't get to fight for an airline seat.

lol, we'll see about that when he sues and gets a nice reward.

 

[Pie and Beans]

A doctor getting violently removed from a plane you say.

PERHAPS HE'S WONDERING WHY YOU'D OFFER TO PAY A MAN, BEFORE PUNCHING HIM AND THROWING HIM OFF OF THE PLANE?

 

[Valdfellgar]

Sorry but it's really disgusting how many of you put a corporation first before a person. We're not cogs in a freaking machine. Have some respect for yourself for God's sake.

 

[Calamari41]

those crew members were to man another flight, they needed to be on this flight
so why does this one guy get to potentially cancel a whole nother flight.
why didn't they put him on a bus? thats a good question?

The drive is 4.5 hours. This was the last flight of the night. Was the flight they needed to man in Louisville leaving 2-3 hours after the last Chicago flight of the night? Or the next morning?

This man wouldn't have been canceling the flight, anyway. United would be with their apparently horrible shift logistics. I mean, they didn't know that these employees needed to be on the flight until everyone had already boarded? Whoever is running the show over there needs to be canned.

And yeah, they could have offered this man a bus ride as well. Did they?

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

My point is, they can only sell 250 of something.

If the plane only has 100 seats, they should only be allowed to sell 100 seats.

I guess a better example would be a movie theatre with reserved seating.

They only have 50 seats, I've never heard of anyone being bumped out of a movie showing because they oversold a showing.

In this case, I don't think the flight was technically "overbooked", as it seems like every paying customer actually got a seat. The problem is that United needed to transport 4 of their own crew for a different flight. So it looks like United booked perfectly, but then decided at the last minute that their own crew needs were more important than paying customers.

Sorry but it's really disgusting how many of you put a corporation first before a person. We're not cogs in a freaking machine. Have some respect for yourself for God's sake.

Hey, it got Gorsuch a seat on the Supreme Court.

 

[Tall4Life]

They should have compensated you for bumping you. Sounds like you came away with nothing.

Yep, we got nothing. At that point we were so exhausted that we just wanted to get home.

 

[Big Blue]

making shitty excuses for an entitled narcissist putting his time above everyone else cuz he's important.
cuts both ways no?

You don't even know what narcissism means. At least look up the words before you use them

 

[MultiCore]

If NeoGAF posters don't stand up for United's rights, who will?

Corporations are more Important people my friend

Would you guys do the same thing in a taxi?

I'm sure social media will side with United. Great PR win for them.

Regardless, they handled this piss poorly and they are rightfully going to be raked over the coals for it.

Sounds like they did everything correctly: offer incentives(completely unnecessary, but they do it to attempt to compensate people), then randomly select people. It's the guy that refused to leave that handled it poorly. He had no chance of staying after he was selected to leave.

lol, we'll see about that when he sues and gets a nice reward.

For being obstinate? Twice? We're all screwed if he does.

 

[peteykirch]

In this case, I don't think the flight was technically "overbooked", as it seems like every paying customer actually got a seat. The problem is that United needed to transport 4 of their own crew for a different flight. So it looks like United booked perfectly, but then decided at the last minute that their own crew needs were more important than paying customers.

Here is another solution I just thought of...

This seems like it was the last flight of the day?

Did the flight crew working this flight have to actually be in Louisville for a flight or were they heading home?

Make the people who HAD to be on that flight to Louisville because they had another flight to work, work this flight, let the other flight crew stay in Chicago and fly them out first thing in the morning or have them drive to Louisville.

Either way there are more than a few solutions United could've used to rectify the issue.

 

[outunderthestars]

Thing is it's basically a united gift card only for plane rides, I'da taken it too otherwise

You can request a check for the voucher amount. In that situation I cannot imagine the airline refusing that option.

 

[bachikarn]

those crew members were to man another flight, they needed to be on this flight
so why does this one guy get to potentially cancel a whole nother flight.
why didn't they put him on a bus? thats a good question?

This is all missing the bigger picture point that United and other airline practices of overbooking lead to really shitty situations. They will keep doing it until the bad PR hurts their bottom line. Most people don't know when they buy a ticket, there isn't an actual guarantee they will leave at that time and that is horseshit.

 

[BronsonLee]

Sounds like they did everything correctly: offer incentives(completely unnecessary, but they do it too attempt to compensate people)

Nah b they're required to, they just didn't want to sweeten the pot enough

And guys renting a car for the crew isn't really an option, they're not gonna do that cause it counts against travel time

 

[bloodydrake]

You don't even know what narcissism means. At least look up the words before you use them

nar·cis·sist
ˈnärsəsəst/
noun
noun: narcissist; plural noun: narcissists

a person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves.
"narcissists who think the world revolves around them"

is exactly what i ment when i used it.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

Sounds like they did everything correctly: offer incentives(completely unnecessary, but they do it too attempt to compensate people), then randomly select people. It's the guy that refused to leave that handled it poorly. He had no chance of staying after he was selected to leave.

But why is $800 the point where they have to stop with their offered compensation? The plane was full of people, and no one wanted that deal, so maybe it was not enough?

Instead, rather than increasing the offer and letting the market decide what a fair price for this inconvenience is, United chose passengers at random to boot them off the plane. That's incredibly screwed up.

 

[newtypepilot]

Due to excessive traffic causing server overload, user bloodydrake has been randomly chosen to close their account. If he or she does not comply, he or she is a narcissist and will be removed forcibly by the gaf police.

 

[marrec]

Would you guys do the same thing in a taxi?

I'd download a taxi and 3D print it and give all my friends rides and if I overbooked I'd fucking strap myself to the hood and let someone else drive and I'd serve free mini cocktails and would only play good ass movies and I'd only ever call a cop if that cop was also a fucking stripper and on the side of my stolen 3D printed Taxi I'd write in big bold letters "FUCK UNITED"

 

[Prime crotch]

2 other people did.. he was the 3rd and the only one to refuse

So?

 

[Costa Kid]

What sort of compensation is this guy entitled to?

 

[Abounder]

$800 for a goddamn doctor is a borderline insult, what unfolded on that airline afterwards a travesty. A fuck up from United but don't see much happening here. Overbooking needs to be grounded, flight crews do take priority, and so should doctors & other emergency/military personnel - just kick someone else out. And if this is a preview of the automated future (considering how far along airlines already are in that area vs other industries) then godspeed to us all

 

[Forearms]

Due to excessive traffic causing server overload, user bloodydrake has been randomly chosen to close their account. If he or she does not comply, he or she is a narcissist and will be removed forcibly by the gaf police.

10/10

 

[bloodydrake]

But why is $800 the point where they have to stop with their offered compensation? The plane was full of people, and no one wanted that deal, so maybe it was not enough?

Instead, rather than increasing the offer and letting the market decide what a fair price for this inconvenience is, United chose passengers at random to boot them off the plane. That's incredibly screwed up.

Isn't it remotely possible they aren't authorized to offer more?. Not everyone has a Bat Phone to call to get company policy changed on the fly.

 

[gohepcat]

Can you please explain to me why the use of force was necessary in this scenario? Can you justify how the company were not able to determine that this passenger WOULD ACTUALLY RETURN TO THE PLANE without having to physically remove him first? The passengers motivations for travel would not have changed in that time.

You claim he made the situation worse but don't seem to care that the situation he was put in at all was ENTIRELY unnecessary.

They let him on the plane in the end, so why then was there ever a need to call security to forcefully take anyone off?

I'm just trying to think of sitting in an airplane seat, being told to vacate that seat by security and refusing to do so.

What was the next move when you are asked by security to leave an airplane? Seriously.

An hour stand off?
A 24 hour standoff?

As anyone who travels frequently knows. Flights get bumped, overbooked, canceled, and delayed, and your inconvenience is not going to stop 300 people and 500,000 pounds of jet from getting to it's destination. Its not the line at the supermarket. If you are asked to leave a plane by security, you do so. Throwing a tantrum to the point that you need to be dragged off a plane is ridiculous.

 

[MultiCore]

But why is $800 the point where they have to stop with their offered compensation? The plane was full of people, and no one wanted that deal, so maybe it was not enough?

Instead, rather than increasing the offer and letting the market decide what a fair price for this inconvenience is, United chose passengers at random to boot them off the plane. That's incredibly screwed up.

I won't disagree that being kicked off a flight you're seated in sucks, but it's not your plane, and if they want you to leave, you're not going to win that fight. It had nothing to do with them offering compensation.

 

[ItIsOkBro]

In this case, I don't think the flight was technically "overbooked", as it seems like every paying customer actually got a seat. The problem is that United needed to transport 4 of their own crew for a different flight. So it looks like United booked perfectly, but then decided at the last minute that their own crew needs were more important than paying customers.

Overbooking was still a problem because if they didn't overbook there would be empty seats that the crew could take.

 

[marrec]

Isn't it remotely possible they aren't authorized to offer more?. Not everyone has a Bat Phone to call to get company policy changed on the fly.

I like how they aren't authorized to offer more compensation, but they are authorized to call in people to come beat up customers.

A+ would fly again