United passenger forcibly removed from flight after refusing to give up seat

[bcking 3,157]

3 minutes ago, Dakine10 said:

  One thing for sure, the airlines don't care about anyone's sad story. I don't think the police just showed up and dragged him off the plane though. I'm sure they gave him an opportunity to leave of his own accord. The more I read about this,  I think it came down to he was one of the unlucky people bumped. He was getting off the plane one way or another and it ended up being the hard way.

Ya I'm sure he was selected, he said no, they said yes, he said no. That likely went on for a good 15-20 minutes. They likely threatened him saying they would force him off if needed, he continued to say no. I'm sure they warned him they were going to do it.

 

That being said, as I pointed out before, there were likely things they could have done to make the experience a little more pleasant for him. Then again I'm sure he ended up doing whatever it is he could do to make their job harder. Heck if I decided to stick it out to the end I would probably TRY to get more injured just so I would have more reason to sue them afterwards. He had a bloody nose, and likely had bruising in multiple areas. The "more the merrier" probably at that point.

[IAMX 3,055]

We'll see if United wants to start changing policy after much negative publicity. 

 

Dumb question but is there a way to differentiate when booking a flight between one that can be overbooked and one that can't? Or does that even exist?

Edited April 10, 2017 by IAMX

[Dakine10 5,452]

7 minutes ago, bcking said:

Ya I'm sure he was selected, he said no, they said yes, he said no. That likely went on for a good 15-20 minutes. They likely threatened him saying they would force him off if needed, he continued to say no. I'm sure they warned him they were going to do it.

 

That being said, as I pointed out before, there were likely things they could have done to make the experience a little more pleasant for him. Then again I'm sure he ended up doing whatever it is he could do to make their job harder. Heck if I decided to stick it out to the end I would probably TRY to get more injured just so I would have more reason to sue them afterwards. He had a bloody nose, and likely had bruising in multiple areas. The "more the merrier" probably at that point.

  Yeah, I just think it was a mistake to allow everyone to board the plane knowing they would need to pull people off. If this all happened at the gate, they at least would have had an easier time (physically) with not allowing him to board. Psychologically, I think people in general would be less willing to give up a seat once they are on the plane. I could accept that I don't have a seat assignment at the gate easier than when I'm actually sitting in the seat. 

 

  I think when the full story comes out, I won't be surprised to see it was an inevitable situation made worse by the actions of everyone involved. And sometimes that's why otherwise innocuous events end up on the news.

[bcking 3,157]

Just now, Dakine10 said:

  Yeah, I just think it was a mistake to allow everyone to board the plane knowing they would need to pull people off. If this all happened at the gate, they at least would have had an easier time (physically) with not allowing him to board. Psychologically, I think people in general would be less willing to give up a seat once they are on the plane. I could accept that I don't have a seat assignment at the gate easier than when I'm actually sitting in the seat. 

 

  I think when the full story comes out, I won't be surprised to see it was an inevitable situation made worse by the actions of everyone involved. And sometimes that's why otherwise innocuous events end up on the news.

Completely agreed. When he doubled down and refused to leave, there was no way to get him off the plane OTHER than forcing it, and unfortunately planes are very small with narrow corridors. It is very easy for a person to make their body difficult to manipulate/move and I doubt he was going to do anything to help them. That is why he was essentially dragged. You can tell he basically just went completely passive and they had to manage his entire body weight. 

 

If anything comes from this, it will likely be a new protocol for United Airlines that states that they do not board a plane until they have sorted the overbooking. Of all the mistakes made that was by far the worst I think for the reasons we've both said. Whoever thought that was a good idea has very poor judgment. 

[LionessDeon 2,060]

27 minutes ago, Dakine10 said:

  No, they asked for volunteers before boarding. They already knew they needed to have 4 people 'volunteer'.  Perhaps the big mistake was letting everyone board assuming they would get those volunteers. The process would have been easier if they denied boarding than trying to forcibly remove someone. 

Ok so, United knew they needed four seats.  Their plan:  Let everyone board then beg for volunteers, if that fails tear someone off the plane.    They deserve any law suit they get.  I hope he gets millions.

I suggest they do as Spirit does and leave the last few seats unassigned for situations like this.  Corporate greed at its finest....again!

[Teddy B 17,251]

4 minutes ago, bcking said:

Completely agreed. When he doubled down and refused to leave, there was no way to get him off the plane OTHER than forcing it, and unfortunately planes are very small with narrow corridors. It is very easy for a person to make their body difficult to manipulate/move and I doubt he was going to do anything to help them. That is why he was essentially dragged. You can tell he basically just went completely passive and they had to manage his entire body weight. 

 

If anything comes from this, it will likely be a new protocol for United Airlines that states that they do not board a plane until they have sorted the overbooking. Of all the mistakes made that was by far the worst I think for the reasons we've both said. Whoever thought that was a good idea has very poor judgment. 

I wouldn't doubt if this is already protocol, I've never heard of this happening before. I bet this was a last minute screw up that caught everyone by surprise.

[bcking 3,157]

4 minutes ago, LionessDeon said:

Ok so, United knew they needed four seats.  Their plan:  Let everyone board then beg for volunteers, if that fails tear someone off the plane.    They deserve any law suit they get.  I hope he gets millions.

I suggest they do as Spirit does and leave the last few seats unassigned for situations like this.  Corporate greed at its finest....again!

Ya unfortunately they would lose money by doing that, and how would they benefit? Only passengesr really suffer when they have to bump people off. They probably don't plan for someone standing up for themselves to this degree.

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

39 minutes ago, Dakine10 said:

  No, they asked for volunteers before boarding. They already knew they needed to have 4 people 'volunteer'.  Perhaps the big mistake was letting everyone board assuming they would get those volunteers. The process would have been easier if they denied boarding than trying to forcibly remove someone. 

Agree

[LionessDeon 2,060]

How would they lose money?  I still had to buy my ticket.  I just don't get a seat assignment if I am one of the last few passengers to check in.  I can't get on the plane without one. No seat assignment...they need my seat....I get bumped.  At least I'm not being forced off the plane.  Bet they don't want to afford this law suit either.

Maybe I'm not explaining it correctly, but this is what I was told at the gate by Spirit agents.

Edited April 10, 2017 by LionessDeon

[The Nature Boy 7,659]

I think they were using the same rules for volunteering the Army use to use 

[IAMX 3,055]

15 minutes ago, Dakine10 said:

  Yeah, I just think it was a mistake to allow everyone to board the plane knowing they would need to pull people off. If this all happened at the gate, they at least would have had an easier time (physically) with not allowing him to board. Psychologically, I think people in general would be less willing to give up a seat once they are on the plane. I could accept that I don't have a seat assignment at the gate easier than when I'm actually sitting in the seat. 

 

  I think when the full story comes out, I won't be surprised to see it was an inevitable situation made worse by the actions of everyone involved. And sometimes that's why otherwise innocuous events end up on the news.

I think that's an overly PC answer. I mean, I don't see how the person is at fault for not wanting to give up a seat they paid for. Why should anyone be expected to?

 

To me this is pretty much all on the airline.

[Ban Hammer 12,845]

[IAMX 3,055]

7 minutes ago, Ban Hammer said:

 

 

[bcking 3,157]

38 minutes ago, LionessDeon said:

How would they lose money?  I still had to buy my ticket.  I just don't get a seat assignment if I am one of the last few passengers to check in.  I can't get on the plane without one. No seat assignment...they need my seat....I get bumped.  At least I'm not being forced off the plane.  Bet they don't want to afford this law suit either.

Maybe I'm not explaining it correctly, but this is what I was told at the gate by Spirit agents.

Oh ya I misread you, I thought you meant don't book those seats. You just mean don't let them pick a seat that way they can't even think about boarding since they don't have a seat yet.

 

Yes agreed that makes sense. That way it forces them to sort it out at the gate and not on the plane.

[Dashinka 23,267]

1 hour ago, Dakine10 said:

  Yeah, I just think it was a mistake to allow everyone to board the plane knowing they would need to pull people off. If this all happened at the gate, they at least would have had an easier time (physically) with not allowing him to board. Psychologically, I think people in general would be less willing to give up a seat once they are on the plane. I could accept that I don't have a seat assignment at the gate easier than when I'm actually sitting in the seat. 

 

  I think when the full story comes out, I won't be surprised to see it was an inevitable situation made worse by the actions of everyone involved. And sometimes that's why otherwise innocuous events end up on the news.

This is what amazes me.  When they didn't get enough volunteers at the gate, why didn't they select the random bumps before they even started boarding.  It really sucks getting bumped, but once you get on the plane and settled in it is even worse.