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

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}

Old Apr 15, 2017, 1:28 am
  #5716  
 
Join Date: Jan 2014
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Originally Posted by sw3
Here's the explanation:

2016 Passenger mile yield
Delta 15.85˘
United 13.65˘

2016 Passenger revenue per available seat mile
Delta 13.41˘
United 11.31˘

So Delta passengers pay around 16-19% more than United passengers on average, there's where the extra DB money is taken from. It's not that it's not economically rational. It just requires raising prices or lowering costs to match the predicted costs of DB compensation, and as there's a limit to how low costs can go (UA's costs are already lower than DL). So let prices go up for UA too so they can afford it: afford to let their aircraft collect dust on the tarmac for a whole morning and besides the cost of opportunity incur extra airport fees, afford to pay for the costs of delaying 5 or 6 flights an aircraft had to do that day, afford the extra labor costs of rebooking dozens of passengers, the extra costs of sending baggage that won't make the connection, the extra cost of hotels for those passengers that will require so... All of that because they will be unwilling to shuffle crew lest some random doctor be inconvenienced.
Let's consider the other side of this: UA has arguably weakened their brand to the point that they're getting 16-19% less for a similar flight. Even ascribing some of this to differences in route systems, it suggests that pax are not exclusively price conscious.

And I'm back to my point from elsewhere: UA is already pulling in less than DL on its seats. There are plenty of people who will take UA for a deep enough discount, but how much further down can UA let RASM fall? Somewhere not far below $0.11 they start running into trouble.

Originally Posted by robinhood
I think UA would have to be extremely shortsighted to be focusing on WHERE the IDB occurs rather than keeping them from occurring in the first place. Fair or not, if one more youtube video comes out of someone getting dragged away by security after being bumped, whether it's off the plane or from the gate podium, that will be the nail in the coffin. And they must be aware that there are plenty of opportunists out there itching to be the next Dr. Dao.
I don't think it will be the only change...but I think it is rational for UA to adjust policies so that they'll never be IDBing anyone after they're onboard. Deboarding for a safety reason, sure, but not IDBing.
GrayAnderson is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2017, 1:35 am
  #5717  
 
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Posts: 197
Originally Posted by minnyfly
The situation has been posted in detail, but I'll summarize. There was an issue elsewhere with the Trans States operation that required a last-minute crew deadhead to SDF in order to maintain scheduled operations the next day ex-SDF. Not at all unusual or "embarrassing". It's simply good operations to have the crew available to fly the deadhead and keep everyone on time. Now because of one selfish traveler, UA is overreacting and making it more likely that flights will be adversely affected by crew availability.



You have the tin foil on tightly.
How is that selfish when he was thinking of his patients that he needed to see the next day? He bought the ticket and had boarded the plane. If you buy a ticket to a sporting event, Disneyland, airline ticket, concert, train ticket, and etc - you expect to be able to go and not be kicked out for minding your own business. And tell me how many times you've raised your hand and volunteered to be inconvenienced.

Poor planning by United.
albutt27 is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2017, 1:42 am
  #5718  
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
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Posts: 197
Originally Posted by jsn55
Amazing how UA gets all the blame, when it falls clearly first on the entitled passenger and second on the officers who removed him. UA made some errors but the passenger caused the problem. Pretty stupid story all the way around. I'm getting a big charge out of all the judges on social media.
It's well deserved. CEO tries to lie about the situation until social media tells the real story. Just like the CEO, you're trying to blame the passenger - and look what happened. Is that you Oscar?! lol
albutt27 is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2017, 1:43 am
  #5719  
 
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Originally Posted by GrayAnderson
Let's consider the other side of this: UA has arguably weakened their brand to the point that they're getting 16-19% less for a similar flight. Even ascribing some of this to differences in route systems, it suggests that pax are not exclusively price conscious.

And I'm back to my point from elsewhere: UA is already pulling in less than DL on its seats. There are plenty of people who will take UA for a deep enough discount, but how much further down can UA let RASM fall? Somewhere not far below $0.11 they start running into trouble.
If Ua has to cut prasm by 1 c/mi (to 13.96 c/mi) it would cost them 6.7% of their $31.4B in passanger revenue or $2.1B. United only made $2.3B in 2016.

Put another way, price cuts of $10 for every 1000 miles united flies would wipe out their profit.
spin88 is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2017, 1:45 am
  #5720  
 
Join Date: Feb 2003
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Originally Posted by Carl Johnson

If I were on United's Board of Directors, and could get them to listen to me, he would settle. The cost of having this thing drag on (especially after the admissions United has made) is larger than a very large cash settlement would be. I'd just tell him, we're going to change your life and the lives of all your descendants, while you're still alive to see it and enjoy it. A trial may not yield a larger sum than this, and it will take time that you could spend touring the world with your wife and children, and selecting private schools and colleges for your children and grandchildren.
Honestly, United should just give him an offer he cant refuse and be done with this. Even if its higher than what we would get otherwise in court. Just offer up $10M and be done with it. If this drags out more, UA will probably lose more.

On a side note, its amazing how the Chicago aviation police officers and that department is getting off so lightly on this one. Normally police brutality is all over the news but looks like they got a pass on this one. After all, it was them that actually punched and dragged the guy off the plane.
PrivatePilot is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2017, 1:50 am
  #5721  
 
Join Date: Nov 2004
Posts: 807
Originally Posted by albutt27
How is that selfish when he was thinking of his patients that he needed to see the next day?
so what did happen to his patients since he ended up being one himself?
featheroleather is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2017, 2:00 am
  #5722  
 
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Originally Posted by PrivatePilot
Honestly, United should just give him an offer he cant refuse and be done with this. Even if its higher than what we would get otherwise in court. Just offer up $10M and be done with it. If this drags out more, UA will probably lose more.

On a side note, its amazing how the Chicago aviation police officers and that department is getting off so lightly on this one. Normally police brutality is all over the news but looks like they got a pass on this one. After all, it was them that actually punched and dragged the guy off the plane.
I think part of it is that this is far from the worst Chicago has done, but part is that the overall narrative is very complex and it's probably politically and narratively easier to blame United.

Of course, this may slowly change as the details about the CDA folks being told not to say they're police, etc., come out...but that's also not a simple story to tell.
GrayAnderson is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2017, 3:29 am
  #5723  
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Originally Posted by featheroleather
why do you state the 4 crew members "demanded to be on the flight?

fa scheduling gets a hold of the 2 fa's & 2 pilots at xx o'clock & says report to gate yyfor your dh to sdf...

what's embarrasing is the latest video of the "dr" telling the police

"no i am not going..i stay right there.....you can drag me out... let them try to use the force... i would rather go to jail"

there must have been a reason why the person who filmed this part did so, maybe because this situation was literally unfolding right in front of them & saw this person was looking for a fight.

most of the experts here with 20/20 hindsight are judging from the video at the end of the situation, not from what led up to the cause of altercation.
At which point does the dr tell them he is not getting off the flight on the video? Before or after he appears to be disoriented and bloodied?
wolf72 is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2017, 3:34 am
  #5724  
 
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Originally Posted by wolf72
At which point does the dr tell them he is not getting off the flight on the video? Before or after he appears to be disoriented and bloodied?
before.

sorry i don't know how to post the video.
featheroleather is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2017, 3:43 am
  #5725  
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Originally Posted by featheroleather
before.

sorry i don't know how to post the video.
No worries. Small matter mate.
wolf72 is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2017, 3:45 am
  #5726  
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
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Originally Posted by featheroleather
why do you state the 4 crew members "demanded to be on the flight?

fa scheduling gets a hold of the 2 fa's & 2 pilots at xx o'clock & says report to gate yyfor your dh to sdf...

what's embarrasing is the latest video of the "dr" telling the police

"no i am not going..i stay right there.....you can drag me out... let them try to use the force... i would rather go to jail"

there must have been a reason why the person who filmed this part did so, maybe because this situation was literally unfolding right in front of them & saw this person was looking for a fight.

most of the experts here with 20/20 hindsight are judging from the video at the end of the situation, not from what led up to the cause of altercation.
Where is that video? I haven't seen it...it certainly hasn't gone as viral as the original video. I wonder if seeing it changes the public's perception of the incident.
deskover54 is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2017, 3:57 am
  #5727  
 
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Originally Posted by deskover54
Where is that video? I haven't seen it...it certainly hasn't gone as viral as the original video. I wonder if seeing it changes the public's perception of the incident.

Last edited by WineCountryUA; Apr 16, 2017 at 12:00 am Reason: removed link to video that has been withdrawn
featheroleather is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2017, 4:01 am
  #5728  
 
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United changes crew booking policy after passenger dragged off plane

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-ua...-idUSKBN17H00M
ermintrude is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2017, 4:33 am
  #5729  
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: NYC
Posts: 6,407
Originally Posted by spin88
Delta's prism was lower than Ua+co's in 2011. The projections was the larger network would be revenue accretive. Yet, UA is now - after 5 years of customer unfriendly changes, far behind delta. Had united kept pace with delta, it would have had another $2.55 billion in revenue in 2016.

How delta handles vdb compensation (it sets 2000 in authority for managers/seat, and they can toss in hotels, meals, etc vs the hard cap of $800 that smisik's folks set) is only one small part of the picture.

Over time better service creates pricing power, and poor service causes a need to discount. This incident will just add to the difference between UA and its rivals, the only question is how much impact it will have. I expect it to be major as united has become a toxic brand that people want to avoid, and the cheaper fares they will need to offer will immediately involve the thought that 'well they have to be cheaper they are a horrible airline.
Put another way, it's quite possible a policies that include higher VDB might increase revenue and profitability. Looking purely at current revenue numbers misses this point.

Also note that DL's VDB limit is much higher than the IDB mandate, despite many posts in this thread that there's no reason to have a higher VDB payment than what might have to be paid for IDB.

It is doubtful DL would ever pay $9,950 (perhaps with extremely rare exceptions). Hard to see many flights on which someone wouldn't take substantially lower amounts.
richarddd is offline  
Old Apr 15, 2017, 4:44 am
  #5730  
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
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I watched the first one, and wow - the dr says to drag him off the plane, that he'd rather go to jail. This guy was looking for a payout from the beginning.

The second one is giving an error that it's not available.
deskover54 is offline  

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