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Man pulled off of overbooked flight UA3411 (ORD-SDF) 9 Apr 2017 {Settlement reached}

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Old Apr 10, 2017, 8:42 pm
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Statement from United Airlines Regarding Resolution with Dr. David Dao - released 27 April 2017
CHICAGO, April 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- We are pleased to report that United and Dr. Dao have reached an amicable resolution of the unfortunate incident that occurred aboard flight 3411. We look forward to implementing the improvements we have announced, which will put our customers at the center of everything we do.
DOT findings related to the UA3411 9 April 2017 IDB incident 12 May 2017

What facts do we know?
  • UA3411, operated by Republic Airways, ORD-SDF on Sunday, April 9, 2017. UA3411 was the second to last flight to SDF for United. AA3509 and UA4771 were the two remaining departures for the day. Also, AA and DL had connecting options providing for same-day arrival in SDF.
  • After the flight was fully boarded, United determined four seats were needed to accommodate crew to SDF for a flight on Monday.
  • United solicited volunteers for VDB. (BUT stopped at $800 in UA$s, not cash). Chose not to go to the levels such as 1350 that airlines have been known to go even in case of weather impacted disruption)
  • After receiving no volunteers for $800 vouchers, a passenger volunteered for $1,600 and was "laughed at" and refused, United determined four passengers to be removed from the flight.
  • One passenger refused and Chicago Aviation Security Officers were called to forcibly remove the passenger.
  • The passenger hit the armrest in the aisle and received a concussion, a broken nose, a bloodied lip, and the loss of two teeth.
  • After being removed from the plane, the passenger re-boarded saying "I need to go home" repeatedly, before being removed again.
  • United spokesman Jonathan Guerin said the flight was sold out — but not oversold. Instead, United and regional affiliate Republic Airlines – the unit that operated Flight 3411 – decided they had to remove four passengers from the flight to accommodate crewmembers who were needed in Louisville the next day for a “downline connection.”

United Express Flight 3411 Review and Action Report - released 27 April 2017

Videos

Internal Communication by Oscar Munoz
Oscar Munoz sent an internal communication to UA employees (sources: View From The Wing, Chicago Tribune):
Dear Team,

Like you, I was upset to see and hear about what happened last night aboard United Express Flight 3411 headed from Chicago to Louisville. While the facts and circumstances are still evolving, especially with respect to why this customer defied Chicago Aviation Security Officers the way he did, to give you a clearer picture of what transpired, I've included below a recap from the preliminary reports filed by our employees.

As you will read, this situation was unfortunately compounded when one of the passengers we politely asked to deplane refused and it became necessary to contact Chicago Aviation Security Officers to help. Our employees followed established procedures for dealing with situations like this. While I deeply regret this situation arose, I also emphatically stand behind all of you, and I want to commend you for continuing to go above and beyond to ensure we fly right.

I do, however, believe there are lessons we can learn from this experience, and we are taking a close look at the circumstances surrounding this incident. Treating our customers and each other with respect and dignity is at the core of who we are, and we must always remember this no matter how challenging the situation.

Oscar

Summary of Flight 3411
  • On Sunday, April 9, after United Express Flight 3411 was fully boarded, United's gate agents were approached by crewmembers that were told they needed to board the flight.
  • We sought volunteers and then followed our involuntary denial of boarding process (including offering up to $1,000 in compensation) and when we approached one of these passengers to explain apologetically that he was being denied boarding, he raised his voice and refused to comply with crew member instructions.
  • He was approached a few more times after that in order to gain his compliance to come off the aircraft, and each time he refused and became more and more disruptive and belligerent.
  • Our agents were left with no choice but to call Chicago Aviation Security Officers to assist in removing the customer from the flight. He repeatedly declined to leave.
  • Chicago Aviation Security Officers were unable to gain his cooperation and physically removed him from the flight as he continued to resist - running back onto the aircraft in defiance of both our crew and security officials.
Email sent to all employees at 2:08PM on Tuesday, April 11.
Dear Team,

The truly horrific event that occurred on this flight has elicited many responses from all of us: outrage, anger, disappointment. I share all of those sentiments, and one above all: my deepest apologies for what happened. Like you, I continue to be disturbed by what happened on this flight and I deeply apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard. No one should ever be mistreated this way.

I want you to know that we take full responsibility and we will work to make it right.

It’s never too late to do the right thing. I have committed to our customers and our employees that we are going to fix what’s broken so this never happens again. This will include a thorough review of crew movement, our policies for incentivizing volunteers in these situations, how we handle oversold situations and an examination of how we partner with airport authorities and local law enforcement. We’ll communicate the results of our review by April 30th.

I promise you we will do better.

Sincerely,

Oscar
Statement to customers - 27 April 2017
Each flight you take with us represents an important promise we make to you, our customer. It's not simply that we make sure you reach your destination safely and on time, but also that you will be treated with the highest level of service and the deepest sense of dignity and respect.

Earlier this month, we broke that trust when a passenger was forcibly removed from one of our planes. We can never say we are sorry enough for what occurred, but we also know meaningful actions will speak louder than words.

For the past several weeks, we have been urgently working to answer two questions: How did this happen, and how can we do our best to ensure this never happens again?

It happened because our corporate policies were placed ahead of our shared values. Our procedures got in the way of our employees doing what they know is right.

Fixing that problem starts now with changing how we fly, serve and respect our customers. This is a turning point for all of us here at United – and as CEO, it's my responsibility to make sure that we learn from this experience and redouble our efforts to put our customers at the center of everything we do.

That’s why we announced that we will no longer ask law enforcement to remove customers from a flight and customers will not be required to give up their seat once on board – except in matters of safety or security.

We also know that despite our best efforts, when things don’t go the way they should, we need to be there for you to make things right. There are several new ways we’re going to do just that.

We will increase incentives for voluntary rebooking up to $10,000 and will be eliminating the red tape on permanently lost bags with a new "no-questions-asked" $1,500 reimbursement policy. We will also be rolling out a new app for our employees that will enable them to provide on-the-spot goodwill gestures in the form of miles, travel credit and other amenities when your experience with us misses the mark. You can learn more about these commitments and many other changes at hub.united.com.

While these actions are important, I have found myself reflecting more broadly on the role we play and the responsibilities we have to you and the communities we serve.

I believe we must go further in redefining what United's corporate citizenship looks like in our society. If our chief good as a company is only getting you to and from your destination, that would show a lack of moral imagination on our part. You can and ought to expect more from us, and we intend to live up to those higher expectations in the way we embody social responsibility and civic leadership everywhere we operate. I hope you will see that pledge express itself in our actions going forward, of which these initial, though important, changes are merely a first step.

Our goal should be nothing less than to make you truly proud to say, "I fly United."

Ultimately, the measure of our success is your satisfaction and the past several weeks have moved us to go further than ever before in elevating your experience with us. I know our 87,000 employees have taken this message to heart, and they are as energized as ever to fulfill our promise to serve you better with each flight and earn the trust you’ve given us.

We are working harder than ever for the privilege to serve you and I know we will be stronger, better and the customer-focused airline you expect and deserve.

With Great Gratitude,

Oscar Munoz
CEO
United Airlines
Aftermath
Poll: Your Opinion of United Airlines Reference Material

UA's Customer Commitment says:
Occasionally we may not be able to provide you with a seat on a specific flight, even if you hold a ticket, have checked in, are present to board on time, and comply with other requirements. This is called an oversale, and occurs when restrictions apply to operating a particular flight safely (such as aircraft weight limits); when we have to substitute a smaller aircraft in place of a larger aircraft that was originally scheduled; or if more customers have checked in and are prepared to board than we have available seats.

If your flight is in an oversale situation, you will not be denied a seat until we first ask for volunteers willing to give up their confirmed seats. If there are not enough volunteers, we will deny boarding to passengers in accordance with our written policy on boarding priority. If you are involuntarily denied boarding and have complied with our check-in and other applicable rules, we will give you a written statement that describes your rights and explains how we determine boarding priority for an oversold flight. You will generally be entitled to compensation and transportation on an alternate flight.

We make complete rules for the payment of compensation, as well as our policy about boarding priorities, available at airports we serve. We will follow these rules to ensure you are treated fairly. Please be aware that you may be denied boarding without compensation if you do not check in on time or do not meet certain other requirements, or if we offer you alternative transportation that is planned to arrive at your destination or first stopover no later than one hour after the planned arrival time of your original flight.
CoC is here: https://www.united.com/web/en-US/con...-carriage.aspx
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Man pulled off of overbooked flight UA3411 (ORD-SDF) 9 Apr 2017 {Settlement reached}

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Old Apr 12, 2017, 2:00 pm
  #4291  
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Originally Posted by NotSoOftenFlyer
Tweet from PhilLebeau @LEBeaucarnews
$UAL moving to make amends for the bumped flight debacle is reimbursing all passengers on flight #3411 the entire price of their ticket.
This is ridiculous. While I am firmly with the pax who was beaten and ejected from the plane, is UA going to reimburse every pax of every plane that has a two hour delay and/or an IDB and/or a physical conflict onboard and/or an encounter with a LEO? If so, get ready for the red ink.
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Old Apr 12, 2017, 2:01 pm
  #4292  
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Originally Posted by minnyfly
You have displayed little knowledge of airline operations, and your "solutions" exhibit that lack of expertise.

Deadheading employees are ticketed passengers with highest priority--"must-ride". In fact, these tickets are contractually controlled, there's even specific seat requirements. There are stipulations the airlines must follow, and they must be in accordance with federal law on work/rest rules. It's that way for a purpose. You would be violating the rights of the employee to say that have no right to be on that airplane. They have as much right to be there as any customer and even more rights contractually.

You have no idea what you're talking about the second paragraph. Those rights for employee travel are there for your benefit as a customer. Your "solution" would lead to more delayed and cancelled flights to due unavailable crew, inconveniencing far more people, leading to more chances of upset customers. You think these employees LIKE having to bump people? Of course not. But they and the company know it's for the better good of both customer and airline.
If a dead header is ticketed before the last pax boards, I see no problem with IDB'ing the last pax.

This thread is about something else.
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Old Apr 12, 2017, 2:02 pm
  #4293  
 
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"Deadheading employees are ticketed passengers with highest priority--"must-ride". In fact, these tickets are contractually controlled, there's even specific seat requirements. There are stipulations the airlines must follow, and they must be in accordance with federal law on work/rest rules. It's that way for a purpose. You would be violating the rights of the employee to say that have no right to be on that airplane. They have as much right to be there as any customer and even more rights contractually."


The contractual obligation here is between the airline and the employee unions. Those are what specify first class, etc.

If the airline creates this problem, the solutions are to address the internal issues that allow FA to sit in coach more easily... or to make it up to a customers for their inconvenience. Not to defend the policies as sacrosanct and mislead the public, as the airline really is only in business because of the customers.
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Old Apr 12, 2017, 2:03 pm
  #4294  
 
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Originally Posted by Kacee
Actually, industry usage is highly relevant to contract interpretation and will typically trump both of those interpretive canons. For instance, California Civil Code § 1644 says:
Which is not the case here. As I and others wrote about 2000 posts ago, GAs and everyone else (including Muńoz) uses the term "boarding" consistently with the common meaning.
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Old Apr 12, 2017, 2:03 pm
  #4295  
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Originally Posted by richarddd
Yes. Too many posts here ignore relevant intricacy or are just flat out wrong.

Alas (from an information and entertainment point of view), this case will never go to trial.
I just finished binge watching The People vs OJ Simpson, which was awesome. Can you imagine a netflix series on on this? Paradise!
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Old Apr 12, 2017, 2:07 pm
  #4296  
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Originally Posted by DrPSB
Congress is under control of a party that thinks any federal regulation of business is the work of the devil. I will be shocked if anything other than some embarrassing public testimony comes from this. Except .. if law enforcement comes out and says it is not their responsibility to enforce contract disputes on behalf of the airlines then you'll quickly see some changes as they won't be able to leverage that threat against passengers in their calculations as to what they can get away with.
Rush Limbaugh was firmly against United this morning. If Rush wants a regulation there will be a regulation. He is in charge, period.
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Old Apr 12, 2017, 2:08 pm
  #4297  
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Originally Posted by deniah
not arguing the legalese or technicalities... simply the absurdity of the notion of inviting someone in and immediately withdrawing the offer to cause trespass.

"hey bob want to come in and have a beer? psych -- youre in my garage get out or i shoot"
Not absurd if caused by unforeseen circumstances. A similar case would be an outdoor wedding venue with 400 guests and an indoor hall for 300. If it rains, well, 100 guests must either get wet or leave; they could also get in the hall and put the venue in violation of the fire code, something the venue is likely to refuse and would instead declare the event over without reimbursement in case of non-compliance. And sure the 100 guests who would have to stay out wouldn't include the bride, groom and their closest relatives.
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Old Apr 12, 2017, 2:08 pm
  #4298  
 
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Originally Posted by mre5765
This is ridiculous. While I am firmly with the pax who was beaten and ejected from the plane, is UA going to reimburse every pax of every plane that has a two hour delay and/or an IDB and/or a physical conflict onboard and/or an encounter with a LEO? If so, get ready for the red ink.
No. They should reimburse pax that have to witness a horrific event that seems to be 100% the fault of United. Delays happen for all sorts of reasons, IDB happen all the time and are dealt with properly and legally, encounters with LEOS happen for justifiable reasons.

None of that is this case in this situation.
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Old Apr 12, 2017, 2:09 pm
  #4299  
 
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Originally Posted by mre5765
This is ridiculous. While I am firmly with the pax who was beaten and ejected from the plane, is UA going to reimburse every pax of every plane that has a two hour delay and/or an IDB and/or a physical conflict onboard and/or an encounter with a LEO? If so, get ready for the red ink.
I find this posting to be, inadvertently, hilarious.
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Old Apr 12, 2017, 2:12 pm
  #4300  
 
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Originally Posted by milty908
You said:
......

What does this have to do with supposed "Asians" asking for heads to roll?
-------
I think it's pretty obvious, given the victim was Asian and they are implying that may have been one reason (or the only reason?) he was singled out ? I'm not saying that but apparently they are (in Asia). Please don't respond, I'm not trying to turn this into a whole diatribe on Asian culture/ thinking/ values/ opinions, etc.
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Old Apr 12, 2017, 2:12 pm
  #4301  
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Originally Posted by Rdenney
Which is not the case here. As I and others wrote about 2000 posts ago, GAs and everyone else (including Muńoz) uses the term "boarding" consistently with the common meaning.
Well the abstract question is how would a court interpret that term as it's used in the CoC. Not how it was used in a UA press release. I think the CoC is going to be interpreted in light of industry usage.

Take a look at your BP next time you fly. It tells you when "boarding" starts and when it ends. That's the industry usage, and I would wager that most passengers are generally familiar with that usage.

Now it may be prudent to IDB pax before they've taken their seats, but the airline has a very good argument that "boarding" doesn't end until the GA closes the flight and/or the boarding door.
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Old Apr 12, 2017, 2:12 pm
  #4302  
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Originally Posted by mre5765
Rush Limbaugh was firmly against United this morning. If Rush wants a regulation there will be a regulation. He is in charge, period.
And all that has to be done to change this oh-so-principled man into a staunch supporter of United is for Munoz to personally gift him a few thousand shares. Maybe up the ad budget for his show.
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Old Apr 12, 2017, 2:13 pm
  #4303  
 
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Originally Posted by minnyfly
Deadheading employees are ticketed passengers with highest priority--"must-ride". In fact, these tickets are contractually controlled, there's even specific seat requirements. There are stipulations the airlines must follow, and they must be in accordance with federal law on work/rest rules. It's that way for a purpose. You would be violating the rights of the employee to say that have no right to be on that airplane. They have as much right to be there as any customer and even more rights contractually.
UA specifically said the flight was not overbooked or oversold. If the plane had a passenger in every seat and the deadheading employees were ticketed, how was the flight not oversold?

UA defines "Oversold Flight means a flight where there are more Passengers holding valid confirmed Tickets that check-in for the flight within the prescribed check-in time than there are available seats."

That suggests that the employees were not "Passengers holding valid confirmed Tickets" (or that UA is being inaccurate in its public statements).

Why are you sure the employees were ticketed, as defined in the CoC? Why would you think internal policy or union contracts trump the CoC?
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Old Apr 12, 2017, 2:13 pm
  #4304  
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Originally Posted by Andy Big Bear
Everyone who has worked on an airline knows that until you button up the plane and arm the door, you're still boarding. .
Nope.

Originally Posted by Kmxu
My friend told me that he was on a UA regional flight. One pax was unloaded for a FA when the plane almost took off (i.e., pilot used a hard brake to abort the take off). The poor unloaded guy was a Hispanic. My friend got compensation for this abort take-off after wrote to customer care. He did not know what happened to that poor soul.
Boarding is not done until the plane has arrived at its scheduled destination, the doors are disarmed, and each passenger leaves. Until then, any passenger is subject to being denied boarding.

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Apr 12, 2017 at 5:29 pm
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Old Apr 12, 2017, 2:15 pm
  #4305  
 
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Originally Posted by BearX220
If the airlines didn't see advantage and profit in this power imbalance, they'd change it.

In an oligopoly, customer satisfaction matters a lot less. Perhaps a popular uprising inspired by the Dao case will do some real damage to United Airlines and prove me wrong. But the structure of the marketplace means they have a lot of customers cornered, legally and logistically.
True, but.... Many years ago I recommended some changes to quality procedures in the place I worked (part of my job). The VP of Operations sent back my (really brilliant, if you ask me) reco's with a kind of rude note that said "How can you justify this financially?" Fast forward a few months, company had a big recall that ultimately cost $250MM - would have been avoided if they had updated those procedures. I was gone, but still had that note. Wanted to send it back to VP with a note of my own that said "Any questions?"

Bottom line is bottom line can really implode when the disregard for customer, quality, experience gets too great...
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