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United Airlines violently drags a doctor off a plane so employee could take his seat

Why do you fly United?


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RS4-

Member
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Not everyone on the plane was yello...Asian!

The amount of backpedalling from the United CEO. Fucking garbage.

I wish I had that much legroom on planes.
 
So was the "no angel" smear campaign fake news, or was the "the got the wrong guy" fake news?

I can't tell which fake news is not fake and which not fake news is not not fake anymore.


I still don't see any actual news sites claiming they got the wrong guy. My guess is it's fake news, and the no angel smear campaign was true but irresponsible news.
 

TyrantII

Member
I have a friend who works for United posting all kinds of inflammatory shit about customers this week and defending the airline.

I'm thinking I should tell them they are one screenshot away from ending up in the national news cycle and out of a job.

They should probably stop being a dumbass.

Speaking like that about the company you work for is tantamount to making public statements on behalf of the company and is a fireable offense for most places, since you're not involved in the company messaging or PR.
 

Eidan

Member
Still some people will do their best to say he is because he didn't obey.
Some of these people are just apologists to any figure of real, or imagined, authority. Putting the victim at fault helps them cope with a world where injustice happens everyday.
 

Gattsu25

Banned
WTF?!

What makes you think that 2 people with different names are the same person???
Has that actually been confirmed? I want it to be true in order to neuter the irrelevant smear campaign (all the 'news' organizations digging up unrelated details on the victim are pieces of shit, people that spread those details are complicit) but I need to see receipts that it really is a case of mistaken identity
 

Zoe

Member
The odds of there being two men with similar names, same profession, in the same vicinity, and the wrong one just so happening to have a criminal past aren't high enough for me to automatically believe the mistaken identity story.
 

Tovarisc

Member
United won't use police to remove overbooked passengers - CEO

United Airlines will no longer use law enforcement officers to remove passengers from overbooked flights after global outrage erupted over a video showing a passenger dragged from one of its planes in Chicago.

"We're not going to put a law enforcement official... to remove a booked, paid, seated passenger," United Continental Holdings Inc Chief Executive Officer Oscar Munoz told ABC News on Wednesday morning. "We can't do that."

Munoz said the incident on Sunday resulted from a "system failure" that prevented employees from using "common sense" in the situation and that Dr. David Dao, whom security officers pulled by his hands from the cabin before takeoff, was not at fault.

An online petition calling for Munoz to step down as CEO had more than 45,000 signatures on Wednesday morning, but he told ABC that he had no plans to resign over the incident.


Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ual-passenger-idUSKBN17E1GN
 
United won't use police to remove overbooked passengers - CEO

United Airlines will no longer use law enforcement officers to remove passengers from overbooked flights after global outrage erupted over a video showing a passenger dragged from one of its planes in Chicago.

"We're not going to put a law enforcement official... to remove a booked, paid, seated passenger," United Continental Holdings Inc Chief Executive Officer Oscar Munoz told ABC News on Wednesday morning. "We can't do that."

Munoz said the incident on Sunday resulted from a "system failure" that prevented employees from using "common sense" in the situation and that Dr. David Dao, whom security officers pulled by his hands from the cabin before takeoff, was not at fault.

An online petition calling for Munoz to step down as CEO had more than 45,000 signatures on Wednesday morning, but he told ABC that he had no plans to resign over the incident.


Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ual-passenger-idUSKBN17E1GN

This should have been the first statement released, not the 3rd or 4th or whatever we are on now. What an absolute clusterfuck.
 
Is there a reason NPR hasn't mentioned that the customer was bleeding from the mouth over the encounter? Does it somehow go against unbiased news rules to mention that?

If I didn't see the video and pictures myself, and just heard about it on the radio, I might not think it's as terrible as it is.

Edit: may as well add I'll never fly United again too.
 
Damn that gma interview was really good. No softball questions. The dude has his case completely made. Ceo admitted complete liability and said the Dr. Dao is in no way at fault.
 
Ah man any representative of any American airline should never criticize any foreign airline. We may be a first world country but our airlines are below third world.

American airlines are straight garbage.
 
Ya domestic vs international is like a whole new world

When I flew Qatar like four years ago I felt like a king and I was in goddamn economy
 

Aruarian Reflection

Chauffeur de la gdlk
I didn't want to doxx a fellow doctor, but as far as I can tell, the "mistaken identity" speculation is not true and he does have the history that has been dug up (which is entirely irrelevant to the story)
 
I'm surprised no one has said how this is also good for him as a doctor. Who else can advertise that they were willing to be beaten and dragged to see their patients on time?
 
Just watched the interview on GMA.

He needed to say these things Monday morning, voluntarily outside of an interview, and before any of his initial written statements. Had he done that, he would be being praised today.

Oops.
 

Rolodzeo

Member
Munoz said the incident on Sunday resulted from a "system failure" that prevented employees from using "common sense" in the situation and that Dr. David Dao, whom security officers pulled by his hands from the cabin before takeoff, was not at fault.


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Just watched the interview on GMA.

He needed to say these things Monday morning, voluntarily outside of an interview, and before any of his initial written statements. Had he done that, he would be being praised today.

Oops.

The sucky part is that he should've known his emails to employees were going to be leaked and posted

Dude fucked up and kept the avalanche goin
 

Socivol

Member
This should have been the first statement released, not the 3rd or 4th or whatever we are on now. What an absolute clusterfuck.

Had he apologized and said this to begin with people would be upset it happened but would've had more faith in the airline to make sure it didn't happen again. As it stands, this is just lip service to hush the masses.
 
They don't

But I have feeling my comment won't change your opinion so I'll leave it at that

I doubt it's going to be worse than any other large airline especially in Asia.

They dont.

Well you guys can keep telling yourself that if you want to keep using them, while still being able to sleep at night. I mean, as long as you're comfortable as a passenger, who gives a fuck about the employees, right?

if you want to know the truth, you should read this
 

Audioboxer

Member
United won't use police to remove overbooked passengers - CEO

United Airlines will no longer use law enforcement officers to remove passengers from overbooked flights after global outrage erupted over a video showing a passenger dragged from one of its planes in Chicago.

"We're not going to put a law enforcement official... to remove a booked, paid, seated passenger," United Continental Holdings Inc Chief Executive Officer Oscar Munoz told ABC News on Wednesday morning. "We can't do that."

Munoz said the incident on Sunday resulted from a "system failure" that prevented employees from using "common sense" in the situation and that Dr. David Dao, whom security officers pulled by his hands from the cabin before takeoff, was not at fault.

An online petition calling for Munoz to step down as CEO had more than 45,000 signatures on Wednesday morning, but he told ABC that he had no plans to resign over the incident.


Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ual-passenger-idUSKBN17E1GN

If only they had said that days ago. It's not just using airport security bullies, but also employee autonomy, even at a management level, being stripped so "common sense" as it's put is stricken out of employees from fear of discipline from chain of command going "how dare you think for yourself and solve this problem on your own".

Large-scale debates about overbooking and bumping aside, cabin crew and management should just have backed down that this one was a traveller who was not going to give his seat up, full stop (given the stats for bumping in 2015/2016 it appears someone does indeed give in eventually). Randomly move onto someone else until someone took the $800~$1000 cash. That would have been management acting with autonomy and acting sensibly.

Yes employee rules, conduct and handbooks exist for a reason, employees/management cannot just be the wild wild west, but one of the worst erosions of autonomy in any "big corporation" is furiously trying to treat every single member of staff, including management, as if no one can think individually, on the spot or with their brains to tackle awkward/troublesome or problematic situations. Take away autonomy and replace it with group-think or employees will face hellfire rained down on them. Involuntary bumping has a zero tolerance denial rule? Well, get the fucking army on the plane to force that one passenger off.... Or, think on the spot, realise some people will just not leave even if you pay off their home mortgage, and move the fuck on to another passenger. Write it up in any needed report for the sanity of the flight/company, you used a bit of autonomy to give in to a handful of passengers but quickly/eventually selected someone who took the cash and ran.

That could largely avoid situations like this. Will companies learn? Of course not, they'll just discipline/fire people as they always do. Can't be having any of the boots on the front-line (grunts), low-tier managers included, thinking on the spot for themselves. Tow the company line/handbook or else, woo woo!

Safe to say in every customer service job I've worked I've gone against "company guidelines" multiple times when an educated look at an individual problem resulted in me being able to sort things out "my way". Again, I accept there has to be rules/guidelines for a reason, but every now and then you get that one insane case/problem with a customer that does require a brain to be used, and not just a script read, or some basic response that will only infuriate the customer and 9 times out of 10 cause a massive shitstorm for everyone. One thing I will say is do not just chuck money at people, no matter how "easily" that may solve an issue. That will get you disciplined or maybe even fired! I more so mean using a bit of common sense as UA put it to try and solve a situation with the least amount of problems for both the company you work for and the customer. Sometimes the customer is wrong, but that does not apply here, involuntary bumping is not the customer's fault, so it's up to the airline to sort it out without doing what UA did here.

This mess will genuinely be in the books for students to study in business schools in Universities around the world. Both from a PR mess (and how the world of social media is changing things for companies), and from the angle of autonomy in the workplace.
 

Kuro Madoushi

Unconfirmed Member
United won't use police to remove overbooked passengers - CEO

United Airlines will no longer use law enforcement officers to remove passengers from overbooked flights after global outrage erupted over a video showing a passenger dragged from one of its planes in Chicago.

"We're not going to put a law enforcement official... to remove a booked, paid, seated passenger," United Continental Holdings Inc Chief Executive Officer Oscar Munoz told ABC News on Wednesday morning. "We can't do that."

Munoz said the incident on Sunday resulted from a "system failure" that prevented employees from using "common sense" in the situation and that Dr. David Dao, whom security officers pulled by his hands from the cabin before takeoff, was not at fault.

An online petition calling for Munoz to step down as CEO had more than 45,000 signatures on Wednesday morning, but he told ABC that he had no plans to resign over the incident.


Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ual-passenger-idUSKBN17E1GN
Nothing causes a flip flop faster than a PR disaster followed by a dip in stock value.
Now instead of blaming the passenger, he's blaming the system. Funny how it's THE COMPANY HE REPRESENT'S system.
 

Trouble

Banned
United won't use police to remove overbooked passengers - CEO

United Airlines will no longer use law enforcement officers to remove passengers from overbooked flights after global outrage erupted over a video showing a passenger dragged from one of its planes in Chicago.

"We're not going to put a law enforcement official... to remove a booked, paid, seated passenger," United Continental Holdings Inc Chief Executive Officer Oscar Munoz told ABC News on Wednesday morning. "We can't do that."

Munoz said the incident on Sunday resulted from a "system failure" that prevented employees from using "common sense" in the situation and that Dr. David Dao, whom security officers pulled by his hands from the cabin before takeoff, was not at fault.

An online petition calling for Munoz to step down as CEO had more than 45,000 signatures on Wednesday morning, but he told ABC that he had no plans to resign over the incident.


Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ual-passenger-idUSKBN17E1GN

The fact that the policy was to use the police to remove a paid, seated passenger who simply didn't want to give up their seat, is completely insane to me. If any other airlines have this policy, you can bet it's in the process of being rewritten.

Being seated is basically a non-verbal contract.
 
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