Originally Posted by Deltahater

You are kidding right?

UA outsources maintenance. So the plane crashes and UA is off the hook because it was a third party?
GM buys 3rd party ignition locks. They are faulty and 52 people die. GM is off the hook? (Read the news from 3-4 weeks ago)
TSA outsources staffing and staffer gropes your wife inappropriately at a security check point. TSA is off the hook?

If that is how the world worked, every company would outsource (on paper) the more risk prone elements of their business and NEVER face any liability issues. Millions of lawyers join the unemployment lines.

UA made a conscious decision to outsource this part of the ticketing process. Either because it is cheaper or more efficient or UA simply does not have the skill set to do so. They are absolutely entitled to do so.
Then they FAILED by installing safeguards to protect against mistakes like this. That is on them. Either UA was too stupid to foresee these issues or to cheap to pay for redudant systems. That is their FAILURE.
Hiding behind a 3rd party vendor won't work.