Originally Posted by
iquitos
A contract they keep well concealed from the average traveller. If we want we can take your money and not fly you as agreed. Very fine print. What are the criteria for selecting the bumpee?
United Contract of Carriage:
Originally Posted by "United CoC
2. Boarding Priorities - If a flight is Oversold, no one may be denied boarding against his/her will until UA or other carrier personnel first ask for volunteers who will give up their reservations willingly in exchange for compensation as determined by UA. If there are not enough volunteers, other Passengers may be denied boarding involuntarily in accordance with UA’s boarding priority:
A) Passengers who are Qualified Individuals with Disabilities, unaccompanied minors under the age of 18 years, or minors between the ages of 5 to 15 years who use the unaccompanied minor service, will be the last to be involuntarily denied boarding if it is determined by UA that such denial would constitute a hardship.
B) The priority of all other confirmed passengers may be determined based on a passenger’s fare class, itinerary, status of frequent flyer program membership, and the time in which the passenger presents him/herself for check-in without advanced seat assignment.
If you mean I have bought tickets from them yes. UA catches a lot of ...., but every airline, including AA and DL, have rules for IDB too that do get invoked. Not siding with the passenger doesn't mean one agrees with everything UA does. And as others have said, it's based on the current context/evidence. Current signs point to a passenger refusing to get off the aircraft in accordance with the law and United Contract of Carriage, and then getting removed - under debate was whether it was private security using excessive force or a Chicaco Police Officer. Depending on what develops (e.g. support of chicago PD saying it was their officer, or them denying it) context will shape opinion.
United can IDB people by their contract and federal law. At the point where the pax ignores the flight crew all they can do is call law enforcement. If Law enforcement removes him from the plane by force, it's their choice on use of force, not UA. The crappiness on the IDB or oversales in general can also be debated as an industry practice/united, but there's a lot of context still missing here.