erlich

Churners lick their $, so...

MojaveFlyer

What an unlikely hero, but I gotta agree with you.

tryintogohome

I am a VP of a consulting firm , pretty much everyone who works in my field organization are 100-200k flyers.My policy is given the amount of travel people do and because they live in different locations I let them choose their carrier/alliance.On a quick poll we have around 30 1k /GS flyers and after canvassing their feedback we have agreed to send a letter to Oscar and take a couple of week break from UA.
Then it is back to normal,there needs to be a punitive consequence for UA leadership and staff but my HR people don't travel enough to issue directives like the one above.

KansasMike

Holman Jenkins, a columnist for the "Wall Street Journal" called for a nationwide boycott of UA in his column today.

s0ssos

So I presume you aren't taking a moral stance? Rather, you think you are not.

As I see it, your moral stance is that people who believe differently than you are stupid, and that money should be the end-all-be-all.

s0ssos

A modern-day Don Quixote!

FlyngSvyr

For how long. 1 week, 1 month, forever??? Until all 86,000 employees lose their jobs??

The vengeance that is shown on the social media (and spurned by questionable journalism) is just crazy sometimes. I have only been a frequent flyer for a little over 2 years. Started late in my life, but UA ended up being the airline that worked with my situation best. I can't claim to be a veteran and know the track record of all the airlines, but I have never been treated badly by UA employees. That doesn't mean everyone I have met has fake smiles and gives me a mint at my seat, but the have mostly seemed to be competent and hard working PEOPLE.

Don't forget about the single mom raising 2 kids working a ramp or gate at your local terminal. To me that is the face of UA. Not the image the faux rage machine perpetuates online.

fumje

Wow, Holman Jenkins, what a clear-sighted forward thinker.

I don't begrudge anyone for feeling upset with United about the 3411 incident, but it seems exceptionally dumb to try sticking it to them by forfeiting a non-refundable fare. If anything you're just proving to UA that they benefit from overbooking practices.

FL390

Keep it coming. I've got an upgrade waitlisted that hasn't cleared yet.

s0ssos

And the LEO that dragged and bloodied the passenger? Are you saying he is a monster? He couldn't also be a single dad raising 2 kids?

If you're not saying anybody is at fault, then maybe it is the corporation that is evil?

Giggleswick

Maybe I'm the only one, but I'm a bit bemused by the widespread treatment of this incident, as awful as it was, as if it's the greatest threat ever to our civil liberties and well-being. I hope it isn't OMNI to say that I wonder if half as many people could get half as worked up about deadly pollution, worker safety, big pharma's prices, or any other of the life-or-death issues that lack a compelling viral video.

AirbusFan2B

Customers exercise choices in myriad ways. Some will go with lowest price. Others base their choices on airline status recognition. Some of the posters in this thread are basing their choices on personal values: If they see a business violate human rights, exhibit disdain for its customers, whatever rubs them the wrong way, they may bail. Their decision may prevail for years. While that might be difficult to understand for those with strong preference for low price or high status with airline, they're just exercising choice on a free market.

Rdenney

No, I think he's saying that a company with thousands of employees is likely to have a few that are losers. United probably has more than its share, and punishing the non-losers won't do the world any good.

No, I don't believe corporations are inherently evil. But I don't know anyone who is never a jerk, and corporations are run by people who are all sometimes jerks. Some corporations are run by criminals, but not all of them. I don't believe Munoz is a criminal, but he has not yet established a culture of customer respect.

What happened her could have happened on other airlines, too. United is not the only one with a culture poor customer service, or with gate agents who will call the cops and smirk when the troublesome passenger receives force. I've even seen remarkably rude and disrespectful behavior with Alaska, which has the best reputation of the US carriers. But it is more common with United, and that's what I hope this exposes.

The gate agent for being brusque and demanding should be removed from customer-facing activities, until there is evidence to indicate that she can handle it. If there are not other positions for her to fill, then she should lose her job.

Moreso, though, her boss should be fired for revering procedure over outcomes, and for jumping to the use of force just because force was available. I do not believe that was his only option, and it was a terrible decision that reflected little regard for the image of his employer. Managers should know better.

The cops should be disciplined. If they don't have standing to arrest a person, they don't have standing to apply force to him. If the situation does not involve a crime, or probable cause that a crime is being committed, they have no role. I would require all three to actually wear uniforms--for a long time. I'm tired of seeing cops in jeans and ball caps, and I seriously doubt fellow was undercover.

For the rest, I will wait and see what Munoz announces April 30. If real change in their policies in how they treat people happens, and if I see any indication at all that gate agents, particularly for the regional contractors, improve their manners, I'll be more happy to be forgiving. If I don't, then I will suck it up, because I travel for the gubmint and I have to take the contract carrier anyway.

MDJennings

Haha I'm sure United will love this since you and your coworkers will no-show on non-refundable tickets so they'll get to double dip on overbookings. If you don't mind saying, what is the name of your company? I'll be sure to avoid investing in them if they're publicly traded due to how quick they are to squander funds.

TheVJOng

Most domestic flights these days are already full, especially for popular routes. If a lot of people boycott United, then won't that cause more overbooking on the other airlines? It's not like there are that many other choices for people to go to.