UA is getting their punishment for this in the press. Argue all you want about whether UA or the passenger was in the right/wrong... this is a disaster for them.

I think FT's expectations for airline customer service are so low, that some of us are just numb to all of this. My workplace is abuzz about this and yet I'm not surprised in the least. This is exactly what I would have expected out of AA/DL/UA. I'm actually surprised he wasn't arrested, charged with a felony for being forcibly removed from the flight, and put on the national no-fly list. Mrs. sullim4 often wonders why I get so stressed when I fly... she apparently doesn't read enough FT.

I am no fan of FAA regulation but I think we are at a point where if you are on a plane, sitting in a seat with a boarding pass scanned as valid at the gate... that seat is yours unless you voluntarily give it up, or there's a weight/balance issue preventing the aircraft from leaving in which case you get IDB compensation. IDB otherwise should not even be in play.