United Air forcibly removes passenger on overbooked flight

[DoggyDaddy]

Maybe for those that can't understand Matrix-language.

People such as Indiucky and myself can see a magnificent pair right there.

I'm old school. If it had been binary or hex I might have stood a chance. You know there are 10 kinds of people... those that understand binary and those that don't.

 

[indiucky]

Maybe for those that can't understand Matrix-language.

People such as Indiucky and myself can see a magnificent pair right there.

LMAO......Pretty sweet eh GP????

 

[ghitch75]

"What are you Hoosier Gringos fighting about now?"

this was worth the 25 pages......

 

[BugI02]

Look what mean old Mr Gravity did/is doing

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Bettah.

 

[churchmouse]

Look what mean old Mr Gravity did/is doing

So.........

 

[Fargo]

So if you are given a reservation at a popular and trendy restaurant for 7pm do you believe that there will be a table there held open and waiting for you to arrive?

It's called yield management, and is thought be be a science - or at least quantifiable


And why do you seem to belittle the contract of carriage out of one side but quote contract law out of the other. Is a contract a contract or ... not?

I don't pay several hundred dollars for my dinner reservations, your mileage may vary.

Google what a contract of adhesion is and bone up a little bit about what it means legally. Then read United's common carrier contract and tell me whether or not it is one.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

United Airlines Promised Federal Regulators That All Ticketed Passengers Are Guaranteed Seats

 

[Fizzerpilot]

United Airlines Promised Federal Regulators That All Ticketed Passengers Are Guaranteed Seats

Of course they are guaranteed a seat... but it may be the next day. They didn't specify. You cannot guarantee something that you cannot control, like a seat on the specific flight you booked.

 

[T.Lex]

I don't pay several hundred dollars for my dinner reservations, your mileage may vary.

Google what a contract of adhesion is and bone up a little bit about what it means legally. Then read United's common carrier contract and tell me whether or not it is one.

It isn't.

You can thank Ralph Nader and airline regulation/deregulation. 426 US 290 (1976).

They are allowed to do it this way, as long as they offer compensation that conforms with the regulations.

 

[jbombelli]

The airlines can't control the seating on their own planes?

 

[T.Lex]

The airlines can't control the seating on their own planes?

I'm not sure what you mean by this question.

They can, and do. That's what the doctor in question didn't understand.

 

[jbombelli]

I'm not sure what you mean by this question.

They can, and do. That's what the doctor in question didn't understand.

I was referring to the post above yours. You posted while I was posting. He said

"Of course they are guaranteed a seat... but it may be the next day. They didn't specify. You cannot guarantee something that you cannot control, like a seat on the specific flight you booked."

That seems to say the airlines both control the seating but can't control the seating. I found the verbiage unclear.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I was referring to the post above yours. You posted while I was posting. He said

"Of course they are guaranteed a seat... but it may be the next day. They didn't specify. You cannot guarantee something that you cannot control, like a seat on the specific flight you booked."

That seems to say the airlines both control the seating but can't control the seating. I found the verbiage unclear.

I think what he meant was unforeseen events can change the available seating, and that's beyond the airlines' control. If the plane has a mechanical issue and can't fly, storms delay flights and the plane isn't ready for boarding, etc.

 

[halfmileharry]

Well, the battered and bruised, well deserved, victim has a good lawyer now.
Sorry but... He should have got off the plane.
Now, every Yo-Yo that wants a scene or cash settlement won't get up and off the plane.
WHAT IF... there was doubt about a passenger's intent on the plane? I guess there's no trying to keep everyone calm now by manipulating a situation on another pretense.
My own personal opinion which I'm not sure anyone here will like BUT.... I hope Mr. Donger Bloody nose never gets to fly on any airline again. Wouldn't that be a good reminder to all those that are "special" and don't need to get along in society.
Oh, Don't give the cops crap. It usually ends up badly.

 

[PistolBob]

I enjoy flying, I just don't fly on United Airlines. They suck. They don't care two sheets about their customers, to them we're nothing but cattle that need moved from point A to almost point B. I hope they lose their asses in the lawsuits....and they break guitars.

 

[Fizzerpilot]

Seating availability changes often. Cancellations, weight restrictions due to weather and fuel requirements, seats which cannot be occupied because they are broken, aircraft substitution due to mechanical or weather events, flight attendant jumpseats being broken requiring the use of revenue seats for their duties...

In each case, the seat availability can be affected by safety reasons, or as the airline attempts to maintain a level of performance in a non ideal situation... we could cancel a flight if the flight attendant jumpseat was broken, because it will inconvenience one passenger. We could choose not to substitute a smaller aircraft when a mechanical or weather situation impacts the original aircraft, and cancel 76 itineraries, instead of 6. In every case, there are choices to be made. The airline chooses performance first, which means inconvenience to a few, to serve the many. Because no one can guarantee seats.

My favorite, flights being weight restricted in Denver in the summer when the temps reach 100F. So, we have to remove passengers. They scream bloody murder, "why the hell do you sell the seats if you cannot carry the weight!!?". Well, four months ago when you bought your ticket, did you know what the temperature would be at 2pm, today?

Its really easy to armchair quarterback, but the situation is never as simple as it seems.

 

[Rookie]

How does temperature affect weight?

No sarcasm, just curious.

 

[jamil]

Spec4, this is the better system. See the link I posted about how seldom Involuntary DBC was necessary out of 86 million people United carried, and how relatively few people even were asked to voluntarily give up a seat. The goal would always be to intercept those who won't be making the flight long before they are in the cabin, and in the vast majority of cases this is so. But there are going to be times when last minute adjustments are made and they are especially likely in the middle of chaotic events. Being on board is no magic talisman, you can still get removed and rebooked and this has to be at the airline's discretion. They need to run their business as they deem fit and you are free to take your business elsewhere

Just as an example, Southwest has a class of airfreight called NFG (Next Flight Guaranteed) that shippers pay a heavy premium for because of the guarantee embodied in the name. Southwest will pull you and/or your luggage to make sure that airfreight rides a particular flight. It is a business decision on their part that a robust and steady freight business is important to them, more important than the wishes of any particular passenger

Surely all this would happen before boarding. It happening after boarding is indicative of "oops"--dip****s running the show.

I think the criticisms of the doctor's behavior are fair. Certainly a reasonable person would foresee that throwing a tantrum is unlikely going to help him keep his seat. So that he had to be physically removed is on him. But the need to remove people after having boarded is on United. And there is no reason security has to knock out and bloody an unruly passenger to get him off the plane--that's just incompetence. I've seen police handle unruly people much bigger and stronger than him.

Blame falls on everyone here, but the responsibility for the incident falls on the airline, and the security douchbag. Much money will flow from their pockets. Security dude is suspended. Might cost him his job. Airline is besmirched and will likely lose much business. Whatever the lawsuit will cost them is probably nothing compared to the cost of the damaged rep.

So if you're a major airline with a PR nightmare, what do you do? Call the networks that you advertise on, and tell them to dirty this guy up to make it feel like he had it coming.

 

[churchmouse]

Surely all this would happen before boarding. It happening after boarding is indicative of "oops"--dip****s running the show.

I think the criticisms of the doctor's behavior are fair. Certainly a reasonable person would foresee that throwing a tantrum is unlikely going to help him keep his seat. So that he had to be physically removed is on him. But the need to remove people after having boarded is on United. And there is no reason security has to knock out and bloody an unruly passenger to get him off the plane--that's just incompetence. I've seen police handle unruly people much bigger and stronger than him.

Blame falls on everyone here, but the responsibility for the incident falls on the airline, and the security douchbag. Much money will flow from their pockets. Security dude is suspended. Might cost him his job. Airline is besmirched and will likely lose much business. Whatever the lawsuit will cost them is probably nothing compared to the cost of the damaged rep.

So if you're a major airline with a PR nightmare, what do you do? Call the networks that you advertise on, and tell them to dirty this guy up to make it feel like he had it coming.

Seems that somewhere during his temper tantrum he remembered his lawyers number.....