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United drags passenger off the plane because of overbooking.

vacationhopeful

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....
On a separate note, and as is unfortunately predictable, Dr. Dao gave his first interview today, saying he "is not doing well" and--when asked what parts of his body are injured--he replied "Everything". Here comes the multi-zillion dollar lawsuit to reward him for his boorish and outlandish behavior, trumped only by United's boorish and outlandish behavior. There is no sympathetic figure in this sorry, sordid affair.

Good .. he is going for the MEGA-MILLIONS lawsuit ... that means United most likely will not roll over and just settle to the Dao & Company's liking. United might offer a decent settlement, but the good doctor and his lawyers are seeking BLOOD. And as such, the legal process will be SLOW with opportunity for the airline to disprove some/most/all of his permanent injury claims.

Of course, the end result is United files for Bankruptcy protection. I hope Dao or his lawyer has a place to land & park a commerical plane.
 

lizap

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Good .. he is going for the MEGA-MILLIONS lawsuit ... that means United most likely will not roll over and just settle to the Dao & Company's liking. United might offer a decent settlement, but the good doctor and his lawyers are seeking BLOOD. And as such, the legal process will be SLOW with opportunity for the airline to disprove some/most/all of his permanent injury claims.

Of course, the end result is United files for Bankruptcy protection. I hope Dao or his lawyer has a place to land & park a commerical plane.


Reportedly, this has gone viral in Asia on social media, where UAL derives a good portion of its revenue. There are consequences for bad decisions..
 

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indeed, apparently bad decisions can lead to you getting a huge monetary settlement in the right conditions!
 

rickandcindy23

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The CEO of the company (Oscar Munoz?) was on Good Morning America today. I saw a replay of his interview. He is a soft-spoken person who is appalled at the behavior of his employees and airport security. It was a complimentary interview. The man is humbled and sorry this happened.

Rick and I would have taken the $1,000 bucks happily. Maybe we will get such a chance someday. That would pay for the movie theater projector we just bought.
 

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sadly its not usually ever 1000 cash...its merely a voucher worth 1000 bucks to use on a future united plane ticket.
 

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The CEO of the company (Oscar Munoz?) was on Good Morning America today. I saw a replay of his interview. He is a soft-spoken person who is appalled at the behavior of his employees and airport security. It was a complimentary interview. The man is humbled and sorry this happened.

Rick and I would have taken the $1,000 bucks happily. Maybe we will get such a chance someday. That would pay for the movie theater projector we just bought.


He is "now" humbled with the public uproar and that UAL is losing customers/revenue. His first response was not so humble and apologetic..
 

WinniWoman

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I think most people are so fed up with the airline companies and that is why they relate so much to this story. They feel they have been abused long enough and this situation epitomizes it. People are mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore! LOL!
 

isisdave

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Again, why not up the amount offered to the entire plane packed with people, so some retired couples like the two of us would willingly walk off the plane. Wouldn't it be worth it to just offer more money, rather than invite all of this negative publicity?

Here's my suggested announcement: "Ladies and gentlemen, we need four volunteers to get off the plane, and the plane will not depart until that happens. The bidding starts at $600 cash, and will rise by $100 every 30 seconds until we have the needed volunteers."
 

T_R_Oglodyte

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Because if upping the ante is the only solution that anybody is comfortable with, and every flyer learns that the airlines'/gate agents' only option is to keep upping the ante, eventually the bump compensation is going to soar into the stratosphere and every single new threshold is going to result in ticket prices soaring ever higher. Taking away the airlines' right to involuntarily remove passengers when things get stupid is not the answer.
Not at all. As I posted upthread, I've seen it done that way, and it works.

It works because there's a disincentive for a passenger not to accept the offer once that passengers value threshold is crossed. If it's worth it to me at $600, and I decide to hold out for more, someone else might volunteer at $800. So by holding out I lose the $600 I would gladly have taken.

And, as I posted in my experience, Alaska made a point of telling people that if a passenger volunteered at a lower price and Alaska had to increase the offer to get more volunteers, then everyone would get the higher compensation. That also eliminates the incentive to hold out for more money.
 

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Because if upping the ante is the only solution that anybody is comfortable with, and every flyer learns that the airlines'/gate agents' only option is to keep upping the ante, eventually the bump compensation is going to soar into the stratosphere and every single new threshold is going to result in ticket prices soaring ever higher. Taking away the airlines' right to involuntarily remove passengers when things get stupid is not the answer.

Yeah, I don't think so. First, this would require some sort of collusion among the passengers, which is unlikely. And, even if they did collude, someone will break the pact when their number is reached.
 

rickandcindy23

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Yes, that sounds much more right, Steve, than forcing people off of a plane. I do wonder what limits the company puts on these offers.

There are so many stories about this particular incident, I cannot imagine what the truth is. Some are saying he took the offer, then wouldn't get out of the seat. Another story said he was chosen by lottery. I don't know what to believe.
 

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I think most people are so fed up with the airline companies and that is why they relate so much to this story. They feel they have been abused long enough and this situation epitomizes it. People are mad as hell and they're not going to take it anymore! LOL!
At the same time, people are not willing to pay more for better service.

Midwest Express used to offer service that is better than what you see as first class on today's domestic flights. It cost maybe fifteen percent more than competing flights on the same routes. Midwest Express - gone. People didn't want to pay the extra. For a while American was advertising more foot room for every passenger, even having display seats sitting in airports. Gone. American had to reduce costs to stay competitive. I have been on flights where there might have been three rows dedicated to economy plus. Not that much more. Still half of those seats were empty while every seat in basic economy was filled.

How much more would people be willing to spend on an airline that guarantees no bumping, ever? My bet is that airline wouldn't last a year.

Pogo got it right. We have met the enemy and it was us.
 

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At the same time, people are not willing to pay more for better service.

Midwest Express used to offer service that is better than what you see as first class on today's domestic flights. It cost maybe fifteen percent more than competing flights on the same routes. Midwest Express - gone. People didn't want to pay the extra. For a while American was advertising more foot room for every passenger, even having display seats sitting in airports. Gone. American had to reduce costs to stay competitive. I have been on flights where there might have been three rows dedicated to economy plus. Not that much more. Still half of those seats were empty while every seat in basic economy was filled.

How much more would people be willing to spend on an airline that guarantees no bumping, ever? My bet is that airline wouldn't last a year.

Pogo got it right. We have met the enemy and it was us.

Having the massage chair won't greatly enhance my root canal experience. I'm not paying more for the massage chair.

Air passengers will pay up for non-stop flights and reasonable departure times.
 

WinniWoman

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At the same time, people are not willing to pay more for better service.

Midwest Express used to offer service that is better than what you see as first class on today's domestic flights. It cost maybe fifteen percent more than competing flights on the same routes. Midwest Express - gone. People didn't want to pay the extra. For a while American was advertising more foot room for every passenger, even having display seats sitting in airports. Gone. American had to reduce costs to stay competitive. I have been on flights where there might have been three rows dedicated to economy plus. Not that much more. Still half of those seats were empty while every seat in basic economy was filled.

How much more would people be willing to spend on an airline that guarantees no bumping, ever? My bet is that airline wouldn't last a year.

Pogo got it right. We have met the enemy and it was us.


Why do they have to bump people? Why can't they just make all tickets non refundable. That is what travel insurance is for. Then, if someone doesn't show- they have already paid so the airline isn't out any money. Then, people on standby can have at those seats.

I just don't get it.
 

Luanne

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Why do they have to bump people? Why can't they just make all tickets non refundable. That is what travel insurance is for. Then, if someone doesn't show- they have already paid so the airline isn't out any money. Then, people on standby can have at those seats.

I just don't get it.
If you really want to know you can just Google "why airlines overbook" and find out the reasons given.
 

WinniWoman

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If you really want to know you can just Google "why airlines overbook" and find out the reasons given.

I don't need to. I know they do it because they are greedy.
 

Luanne

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I don't need to. I know they do it because they are greedy.
You can look at it that way. They are a business, they do need to make a profit. They answer to their stockholders. They are betting that people won't show, be delayed, whatever, and they will have empty seats.
 

"Roger"

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Here is a modest proposal (in the spirit of Johnathon Swift).

When you buy your ticket, you have a choice of a guarantee of no-bump. That ticket will cost 15% more. Otherwise, you can get bumped costing the going current rate for bumping. This is not greedy. It is what airlines would need to do in order to offer such a guarantee.

So what percentage of people do you think would take advantage of the no-bump guarantee? My bet is the vast, vast majority would prefer the cheaper tickets and the current policies.
 

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Here is a modest proposal (in the spirit of Johnathon Swift).

When you buy your ticket, you have a choice of a guarantee of no-bump. That ticket will cost 15% more. Otherwise, you can get bumped costing the going current rate for bumping. This is not greedy. It is what airlines would need to do in order to offer such a guarantee.

So what percentage of people do you think would take advantage of the no-bump guarantee? My bet is the vast, vast majority would prefer the cheaper tickets and the current policies.

What's the basis for 15%?
 

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I still believe this exists already....if you pay for a higher fare/class ticket...you are far less likely (although not guaranteed) to be bumped off a flight.

those buying the most bargain deal/economy tickets will always be much higher on the list of "folks to suffer inconveniences" should the situation arise.
 

T_R_Oglodyte

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I don't need to. I know they do it because they are greedy.
Do you think that your dentist is greedy because the dentist tries to put patient into every available time slot? If your dentist charges a fee for no-show, does that make your dentist greedy?
 

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I read that, on average, the no-show rate is 5% and can occasionally go as high as 15%. So the airlines could raise all prices by 18% and then kick back a percentage to each passenger based on occupancy. I'd even allow the airlines to skim 1% to cover the rare case of greater than 15% no show. So your $500 ticket would increase to $590, but you'd get back roughly $60 on the average flight. If the flight was full you'd get almost all of the $90 back.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 

Talent312

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I wonder what would'a happened if they had announced that the plane would not move until the passenger in seat xxx is off the plane, one way or another -- you figure it out.

Would other passengers have dragged him to the door and pushed him out? :ponder:
 
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