Originally Posted by
BlooJoo
Way over the top on UA's part, IMHO. Just tell the pax that authorities will be waiting upon landing to ensure $X,000 is collected for the stolen product. That would likely have resolved the situation without inconveniencing countless people and costing countless tens of thousands of dollars and wasting countless gallons of fuel.
No, absolutely not. Non-compliance with flight crew instructions and remaining near the cockpit (that's where business is) when directed to move back, escalates the risk to the crew, the passengers and the plane itself. You don't play with that at all.
It's not about sneaking into a nicer cabin. It's about refusing to leave when instructed to do so. If there was an air marshal on the flight these two are face first on the floor and zip tied. Finally, if the flight crew report this to any other country they overfly (and they sure as hell must) then they likely would be ordered to divert (with military escort) to any one of those countries.
Unsurprisingly, most nations won't allow you to fly a giant 500,000 lb bomb over their cities when there's people fighting aboard it.
I hope the FAA fines these two a crisp $37,000 each for their behavior.
Regards,
-Bouncer-