Originally Posted by
dmaneyapanda
Here's a worksheet for that pencil sharpening:
Number of IDB passengers per year by United: 10,000
Approx Number of flights this occurs on: 2,500
Approx cost of charter to ferry excess passengers instead of IDB: $20,000
Total cost to replace IDB with charter: $50M. Per year.
I will grant that this case is exceptional in some ways because the passenger was already on the plane. But things are never as simple as they appear, even in hindsight.
Had this occurred before the passenger was boarded, we would not be having this conversation. But Dr. Dao would have still been screwed, just to a lesser extent, and with no further recourse.