Originally Posted by
oenophilist
I disagree with those that think this will be settled quickly. I predict that United will fight this in order to protect the precedent of being able to change the program at will. If United settles, they are essentially inviting future class action lawsuits whenever they make minor changes to the program. This also creates a real entitlement that impacts the finances of the company and future liabilities. I think United will do everything in its power to get this thrown out of court early in the process, or they will drain the resources of the class action attorneys so that their costs go far beyond any potential damages.
Let me preface my comments by saying that I (or my organization) don't have a "don't have a dog in this fight" as we left UA (except when it makes economic or logistical sense) last December...and this primarily for customer service reasons!
I believe that most organizations would settle this for the primary reason of getting rid of it...and the minimization of PR damage. The cost to UA would be negligible and sincere "mea culpa" would generate great press! I have to believe that most UA sales management and public relations as well as FF program staff would welcome an action like this (our UA sales reps and the UA sales VPs we have met with have all but stated this!) Saying this, I don't believe there will be a rapid settlement due to the simple reason that there is a Harvard J.D. in control of UA and a "we know better" attitude that permeates his current sCO staff. When a company...especially one that competes on more than providing a commodity (transportation)...i.e. customer service...said company has to recognize some aspects of "the customer knows best" philosophy...so far, the "new" UA does not.
It will be interesting to see what happens...time will tell!!