The Friendly Skies...

[gblowfish]

Just kicked some poor guys ass for refusing to give up his seat!
You never see this on the United Airlines commercials....

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...ompting-outcry

[IowaHawkeyeChief]

I fly nearly every week somewhere. I have done this for over 15 years. I was a 1k with United for years, and have been a Platinum at Delta for the past 6 years. I have seen very few incidents over the years. However, when they do happen, with cell phone video they are prominent. A couple of thoughts on this situation. This appears to be handled very unprofessionally by United... no kidding... lol. Most of the time a flight is overbooked, there remains a number of seats unassigned at the time of the flight. Many airlines have TV/Boards at the gate that share the number of seats unassigned/waiting seat assignments. If there are a significant amount of seats unassigned, the flight is usually overbooked. They ask for volunteers at the gate well before boarding. If they do not get volunteers they usually call up, by name, the folks not assigned and ask them if they want the last offer, or they will have to decide randomly and they would get the compensation they announced. Usually a few will volunteer, the others are given seats and the plane departs. However, they didn't do that in this case. They boarded the plane and this caused the incident. They should have upped the offer until it was accepted by enough passengers to alleviate the overbooking. Like I said, I have seen very few incidents in over 15 years over over 100 take off and landings annually. A couple of folks that were too drunk to fly, but other than that, nothing.

[The Franchise]

From their website.

The priority of all other confirmed passengers may be determined based on a passenger’s fare class, itinerary, status of frequent flyer program membership, and the time in which the passenger presents him/herself for check-in without advanced seat assignment.

[IowaHawkeyeChief]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

From their website.

This is standard. However, they gave him a seat and he boarded. This is where the breakdown occurred.

[IowaHawkeyeChief]

Also, if they would have listened to the gentlemen and announced that he was a doctor and had patients he needed to see in the morning, they probably would have gotten another volunteer. This was a cluster%^&% from the beginning and United will pay.

[Marcellus]

My understanding is his name was randomly drawn to be bumped and he simply refused to get off the plane.

They handled it shitty but I am not sure how where you go from there if someone refuses to leave their seat?

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

Hah

[Ming the Merciless]

yes united handled this about as badly as it could have been handled

but the passenger bears 50% of the blame as well and also handled it extremely poorly it seems unless I am missing something.

Overbooking is extremely common and without the ability to overbook, airlines would have to charge quite a bit more for tickets. I dont know about you but If someone saysd "hey theres been a mistake , can you get off the plane" I would say yes...Of course I would be peeved and might not use united again..But I wouldnt take it as far as this dumb ass did. And all of those that never fly , its easy to say you don't like overbooking but those that do actually fly go with lower prices.

But then again, when a cop pulls me over I am polite and respectful....and I don't have a huge chip on my shoulder....I would pick and choose when to have my battles.

[IowaHawkeyeChief]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

My understanding is his name was randomly drawn to be bumped and he simply refused to get off the plane.

They handled it shitty but I am not sure how where you go from there if someone refuses to leave their seat?

Most Dr's carry credentials. They should have listened to his concern and the circumstance and handled it in a better way. I agree he should have gotten off with less resistance, however, he refused. At this time they should have called the actual police, not security personnel. This was a domino effect that was started by United with several poor decisions.

[Ming the Merciless]

Originally Posted by IowaHawkeyeChief

I fly nearly every week somewhere. I have done this for over 15 years. I was a 1k with United for years, and have been a Platinum at Delta for the past 6 years. I have seen very few incidents over the years. However, when they do happen, with cell phone video they are prominent. A couple of thoughts on this situation. This appears to be handled very unprofessionally by United... no kidding... lol. Most of the time a flight is overbooked, there remains a number of seats unassigned at the time of the flight. Many airlines have TV/Boards at the gate that share the number of seats unassigned/waiting seat assignments. If there are a significant amount of seats unassigned, the flight is usually overbooked. They ask for volunteers at the gate well before boarding. If they do not get volunteers they usually call up, by name, the folks not assigned and ask them if they want the last offer, or they will have to decide randomly and they would get the compensation they announced. Usually a few will volunteer, the others are given seats and the plane departs. However, they didn't do that in this case. They boarded the plane and this caused the incident. They should have upped the offer until it was accepted by enough passengers to alleviate the overbooking. Like I said, I have seen very few incidents in over 15 years over over 100 take off and landings annually. A couple of folks that were too drunk to fly, but other than that, nothing.

this

[Donger]

Originally Posted by BiStateNo

Frankly, I don't know why the hell ANYONE would ever fly with them.

I tried Southwest for a few months after firing Frontier. Lack of seat assignments and upgrades, plus the relative lack of business travelers, made me turn to United. And, United flies to places that the family wants to go, too.

[BucEyedPea]

Originally Posted by gblowfish

Just kicked some poor guys ass for refusing to give up his seat!
You never see this on the United Airlines commercials....

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-w...ompting-outcry

Heard of this on my car radio with a live recording of the screaming. Then saw a video on my computer when I got home.

Geezaz! You think they could have waived the man because he was a doctor who had to see patients the next morning. It's the airlines fault they overbooked.

I see a lawsuit coming.

I fly about every other weekend from Jan to Spring. I wish I was there. I would have given up my seat for $800, a free hotel room but I'd negotiate for two First Class tickets, so I could bring someone with me when using the first one. But I would be able to get off if I was leaving from Tampa, that would screw me on my job. On the way, I could do it as I usually do nothing for a few days after returning.

[BucEyedPea]

Originally Posted by IowaHawkeyeChief

Most Dr's carry credentials. They should have listened to his concern and the circumstance and handled it in a better way. I agree he should have gotten off with less resistance, however, he refused. At this time they should have called the actual police, not security personnel. This was a domino effect that was started by United with several poor decisions.

snowflake

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by Frazod

It's amazing how many people don't seem to have a problem with this.

It's ****ing stunning. Let your ****ing crew uber to their destination. Or give them 800$ in cash to fly another airline.

[BucEyedPea]

Originally Posted by Reerun_KC

But once you are ticketed and boarded, thats it, you dont pull people off the plane. PERIOD!

They wanted the seats for United's crew who had to board another plane.

[BucEyedPea]

Originally Posted by WilliamTheIrish

It's ****ing stunning. Let your ****ing crew uber to their destination. Or give them 800$ in cash to fly another airline.

That's a good idea.