Man dragged off UA Flight says it was "More Horrifying" Than His Experiences In Vietnam

[Goring-by-Seagull]

Might get shot down for this but I've seen the video and if I was in his position and big burly police-type airport security people came and asked me to get off the plane, I would've got off the plane.

Before they smashed my face in.

 

[Gazwag]

I would rather be dragged of a flight, than be involved in the Vietnam conflict.

Like winning the lottery for a bit of pain

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Hope United go bust. There is no acceptable reason for over booking - it's just airline greed . Should be banned under law. If someone doesn't turn up for a flight so effing what ? They've paid for the seat regardless.

Well yes and no. People- especially business travellers- often buy flexible tickets which allow them to cancel at short notice (or not turn up) and obtain a refund. Business routes in particular have a high overbooking rate.

 

[The Rivet]

Should slap the bugger again like the film 'Airplane'

 

[portlock seagull]

Makes a mockery of himself more than anything and clearly after compensation. Sake...WORSE.THAN.VIETNAM?!!! Was he in a submarine during the war?

 

[portlock seagull]

Might get shot down for this but I've seen the video and if I was in his position and big burly police-type airport security people came and asked me to get off the plane, I would've got off the plane.

Before they smashed my face in.

Trouble is you're applying logic and sense beyond anything this goon did. I really hope he sues. Loses. And it sends a lesson. Airline was entirely reasonable. And it was the airport authorities who ejected him. The alternative was no one flew. Right call. Only thing should have done in hindsight was not let him on the plane before getting rid of the nutter.

 

[Bulldog]

The destination was only a 5 hour taxi ride away. If they offered a grand in cash and a free taxi they would have had plenty of offers. But why didn't they send the extra crew by cab and leave the peaceful, law abiding paid passengers in peace?

Overbooking should be illegal. They should go back to standby tickets where you get a massive discount but are fully aware that you will only get on IF someone else doesn't turn up.

 

[dazzer6666]

I heard that. But the proviso is 'the captain has say so over everything - predicated by safety' (to paraphrase - I'm more succinct than he was). This was not a safety issue. It was a bump off to make room for airline staff wanting to get elsewhere. So he was talking bollocks. The captain has no more right to enforce a boot off for any reason than he has the right to walk up and down the aisle feeling up women's tits.

Don't think so - pilot pal of mine told me they actually do have 'complete control'.

I've been offered cash to be bumped a few times. Tempting as it's been I haven't taken it as it's always been on work trips. £800 was the highest.

 

[bWize]

Might get shot down for this but I've seen the video and if I was in his position and big burly police-type airport security people came and asked me to get off the plane, I would've got off the plane.

Before they smashed my face in.

In other words you wouldn't stand up for yourself against a bunch of bullies? Weak...

 

[Theatre of Trees]

Trouble is you're applying logic and sense beyond anything this goon did. I really hope he sues. Loses. And it sends a lesson. Airline was entirely reasonable. And it was the airport authorities who ejected him. The alternative was no one flew. Right call. Only thing should have done in hindsight was not let him on the plane before getting rid of the nutter.

Are you serious?

Even United CEO has said he had every right to be there and did nothing wrong. The guy was randomly picked by security to be bumped off a plane to make way for United staff.

 

[Cian]

Wasn't even a United plane, or United staff he was kicked out for - flight was operated by Republic under a franchise deal and the staff he was 'moved' for worked for Trans States who are another franchiser.

United are having to carry the can for two franchisers acting the maggot - Trans States for not organising proper staff travel and Republic for letting them, getting airport police involved, etc, etc.

That said, they're still a bloody awful airline and if they weren't so reliant on regional carriers there wouldn't be franchisers anyway

 

[Sussex Nomad]

I would like to assume the selection process for armed marshalls on US airlines are a bit more stringent..

There was a huge dose of tongue in cheek there.

 

[portlock seagull]

Are you serious?

Even United CEO has said he had every right to be there and did nothing wrong. The guy was randomly picked by security to be bumped off a plane to make way for United staff.

Yes I am. As are all other rationale people! Guys behaved like a tool, in no way would I have ever dreamt of doing what he did and then courting world wide publicity. World is full of these tossers with their me me me perspective. Shit happens but he would only have missed a flight. Someone had to. Although him missing it is worse than the Vietnam war apparently.

Are you serious?

 

[Del Fenner]

But the interesting thing is, according to Simon Caldwel (travel guy BBC 5 Live) the airline are 100% within their rights to off load a passenger at any time and for no reason. Pilots decision is final. If told to leave you have to leave, end of.
He was randomly selected to leave but refused, as I would.
It was the manor in which he was man-handled off the plane that was horrific.

They can do this up to the departure gate.

But when a correctly booked passenger is seated on a plane, the airline have no right to offload them. The pilot can, but did not in this case.

The reporting is misleading. This flight was not overbooked. United wanted to bump passengers off and replace them with their own staff, which is against FAA regulations..

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2017/04/united-passenger-removal-reporting-management-fail.html

 

[Del Fenner]

Trouble is you're applying logic and sense beyond anything this goon did. I really hope he sues. Loses. And it sends a lesson. Airline was entirely reasonable. And it was the airport authorities who ejected him. The alternative was no one flew. Right call. Only thing should have done in hindsight was not let him on the plane before getting rid of the nutter.

No they weren't, they were breaking FAA rules. It is illegal to bump a booked passenger off a flight in favour of unbooked airline staff. The flight was not overbooked.

 

[worthingseagull123]

Hope United go bust. There is no acceptable reason for over booking - it's just airline greed . Should be banned under law. If someone doesn't turn up for a flight so effing what ? They've paid for the seat regardless.

What a pathetic comment. Hoping all the staff and staff of suppliers lose jobs eh?

 

[So.CalGull]

Yes I am. As are all other rationale people! Guys behaved like a tool, in no way would I have ever dreamt of doing what he did and then courting world wide publicity. World is full of these tossers with their me me me perspective. Shit happens but he would only have missed a flight. Someone had to. Although him missing it is worse than the Vietnam war apparently.

Are you serious?

Sorry mate, but you are way off the mark here. Internal flights are like buses here in the states, The whole scenario that developed happens 100 times a day across the country. 99% of the time, the airline coughs up good money for people to stand down. Now look at this scenario and see that they had to go to the very, very unfavored route of random picking...this should never have got this far.

My family and I have traveled back across the states on different planes due to the very good incentives that are paid out often for overbooking. We got $2,500 and free flights for the family anywhere on the airlines domestic routes not to long ago and were home within 4 hours of our scheduled travel.

On a plane of 150 people, someone would have taken at the minimum $1500 and a free flight to fly an hour or so later, if the airline had not effed it up and left it to late.

The long and the short of it is, the franchise airline is at fault. They did not offer enough to cover their mistake and reverted to a tactic that is very much frowned upon in the industry. The victim was visiting his family and returning home to go to work the next day, he has every right to do that, once on the plane, you have covered by more rights than sat in the gate. The cheaper low key franchise using Uniteds name, got it wrong, very wrong.

 

[Albion my Albion]

Things I learned from my friends in Chicago: United didn't purposely overbook the flight. They suddenly had 4 employees from a sister airline they had to get to Louisville (approximately 5 hour trip by car) because another crew was unable to work because there is a law about the number of hours they could work after being delayed on another flight to Louisville. If that crew didn't get to Louisville immediately another flight from Louisville would have been cancelled with 80 passengers.

The security people who injured Dr Dao were Chicago Department of Aviation employees who work for the City of Chicago. All 3 security officers have been suspended.

There were no available seats on any flights from Chicago to Louisville till the next morning.

United should not have called the security officers to remove Dr Dao. It was a poorly handled situation on almost everyone's part.

 

[helipilot]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4401980/Dr-dragged-United-swapped-drugs-secret-gay-sex.html

Not exactly as innocent as he makes out.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Makes a mockery of himself more than anything and clearly after compensation. Sake...WORSE.THAN.VIETNAM?!!! Was he in a submarine during the war?

No. He is originally Vietnamese. As the news account makes clear, he is one of the thousands of Vietnamese refugees who escaped from the region in an open boat. That must have been a horrific experience in its own right.