United Airlines CEO apologizes for horrific event, promises review of policies after passenger...

[DonViejo]

Source: The Washington Post




United Airlines CEO apologizes for ‘horrific event,’ promises review of policies after passenger violently deplaned

By Avi Selk and Lori Aratani April 11 at 3:18 PM

After two days conflicting corporate statements, falling stocks and swelling outrage, United Airlines entered full-scale mea culpa mode Tuesday afternoon, as its chief executive announced an internal investigation into a Sunday-evening flight in which a man was dragged violently from his seat so a crew member could have it.

“I continue to be disturbed by what happened on this flight,” United chief executive Oscar Munoz wrote in a statement.

“I deeply apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard. No one should ever be mistreated this way.”

“We are going to fix what’s broken so this never happens again,” Munoz wrote — promising a report on the beleaguered airline’s policies on calling police, transferring crew and “how we handle oversold situations.”

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/dr-gridlock/wp/2017/04/11/amid-pr-fiasco-over-dragged-passenger-united-ceo-defends-his-crew/?utm_term=.908e453f2679&wpisrc=al_alert-national&wpmk=1

[louis-t]

1. What he "continues to be disturbed by" is

the bottom line is taking a hit.

[KT2000]

2. is this while he sends

a letter to employees saying keep up the good work!

[meadowlander]

22. And leaks to the Daily Mail that the victim is a convicted drug dealer.

[dalton99a]

29. Yep.

[Charles Bukowski]

3. Desperately trying to put the shit back in the horse.

Dummy.

[Bengus81]

4. Sonny boy Kushner doesn't care about that guy be dragged down the isle...

When's the last time that guy ever flew commercial. Maybe NEVER??-

[cstanleytech]

5. Simple solution, keep 4 seats as reserve seats for United's personal only on every flight. NT

[moonscape]

10. Or if they don't often need to do this, they should have plenty

of cash (not vouchers!) to offer for people to give up their seats.

One of their actuarials can easily figure this out. I'm sure if they offered a few thousand per volunteer they'd get them.

[cstanleytech]

11. That to though there would still have to be a cap and random removal of passengers if no one

wanted to take the cash otherwise the airlines could lose a ton of money by people holding out for absurd amounts.

[moonscape]

14. No, it would end up what the market would bear. There is a tipping

point. People can't hold out and everyone raises their hand with most losing out. People would know they snooze they lose and would volunteer at a number they wouldn't want to pass up.

[jimmil]

24. They did offer money...

It went up to $800.00 and three people took the cash and a guaranteed seat on the next flight. No one else did. The doctor was next on the list. That is all I know. I don't know what list, who makes the list up, or anything else. I do know is that the employees say it is a federal crime to not obey orders of a flight crew member and many say what happened was a crime and the doctor should have been arrested. I definitely do not agree with that. I would say with a good legal team the doctor should own that airline by the end of the year. If he wants it. I mean it is the bottom of customer satisfaction for business first and third from the bottom in tourist class and heading down.

[moonscape]

38. I'm quite sure the CEO wishes their policy was to offer more - for another 500

bet they would've gotten their 4th and avoided all this.

There was another story about a man who was flying back to the mainland from Hawaii - had a full-fare 1st class ticket. He was seated and already offered and served a drink. Someone came on the plane, told him he needed to deplane - they needed his seat. He said no - and they finally explained they had someone who was more important who needed his seat.

Final insult was they put him back in coach, middle seat between a couple who refused to sit next to each other because they were fighting, and continued arguing the whole flight.

There must be a plethora of similar stories -

[jimmil]

41. That EXACT thing happened to me but from Hawaii to LA.

Except that it wasn't a couple but rather two big German women. They argued until half way into the flight and then one swung at the other and it was on like donkey kong and I was in the middle. Wildest trip I ever took. I NEVER went back to Hawaii as that was my second time there and it sucked as bad as the first time.

[muntrv]

6. STOP OVERBOOKING!

[Bengus81]

7. Pass a law,min $2,000 per person per day ejected plus hotel and all transportation....

Let them chew on that and see if they keep overbooking ON PURPOSE.

[SunSeeker]

9. Exactly, with a built in COLA. nt

[colorado_ufo]

23. For $8000, they could have CHARTERED a private plane

if every single blasted United Airlines plane was busy and shuttled their crew the distance of that six hour flight.

In the worlds of the wise Bugs Bunny: "What a bunch of maroons!"

[IronLionZion]

8. Company needs to lose millions of dollars before he admits wrongdoing

Pay the passengers more until someone takes it. Not that expensive for America's third largest airline with lowest customer satisfaction.

Assholes

[Sculpin Beauregard]

12. Running scared due to stock tanking

and outrage in China. Let this corp die.

[SunSeeker]

13. He should have also apologized for his offensive "re-accomodate" reference from yesterday.

Yesterday in his offensive nonapology, he actually called the horror show that occured on that plane a "re-accomodation," demonstrating a callous disregard of his company's bloody assault on his customer. Until he aknowledges that HIS attitude and original nonapology are part of the problem, he can go fuck himself. Apology NOT accepted.

[greenlife1]

28. He is Mexican, so maybe he doesn't understand the problem with that

I'd give him the benefit of the doubt.

[dalton99a]

30. Ben Carson is black, and a white supremacist

[SunSeeker]

34. No excuse, he speaks English.

No one would mistake "re-accomodate" with "violently dragged."

[athena]

35. The guy is the CEO of a major U.S. airline,

the world's third biggest airline, and you claim he doesn't speak English because he's "Mexican"?

[athena]

43. He is an American. His culture is your culture, assuming you are also American.

Oscar Munoz was born in California to a Mexican-American family. He is as culturally American as anyone. It's xenophobic to claim that just because he has Mexican ancestry, his culture and behavior must be more Mexican than American. We are talking about an American CEO of a major company, not a waiter at a Mexican restaurant. Your post is offensive.

[LanternWaste]

44. That's quite the allegation particular to an entire nationality based wholly on anecdotal evidence.

"I've seen that customer service just isn't part of their culture..."

That's quite the allegation particular to an entire nationality based wholly on anecdotal evidence.

No doubt, you believe a handful of Seattle restaurants are an accurate sampling to infer a premise from, but that would be rather inaccurate...

[Bernardo de La Paz]

15. Not overbooked until United valued 4 staff members over 4 customers at last minute. . . nt

[regnaD kciN]

16. Maybe he should have been more "disturbed" by it...

...BEFORE putting out last night's blame-the-victim press release, and sending his P.R. department to dig up dirt on him.

[WePurrsevere]

17. 2 days too late, after his original BS statement and

I'd bet it's only because their losing $$$$ and their corp lawyer advised it not because it's the right thing to do.

[turbinetree]

18. In 1978 the "airlines" were deregulated

through that time span to the present at one point there were over 115 airlines in the US, in 2016 there are approximately 7, and when you purchase a ticket now, the individual now has to check the box to Agree to the Terms" of purchase.

Prior to the 1978 deregulation of the Airline industry when you purchased a plane ride, you were then able and the airline was obligated to save your seat, not any more, when you check that box, you are accepting the terms to "arbitration" and the terms of carrier, because you just gotta thank the Roberts court for that one and Rehnquist court, and there concept that Capitalism is better for everything and you the public have no say in the matter "No more". You had rights and contract back prior to 1978, but nothing now.

So when the right wing talks about capitalism and let the market place decide who wins, it nothing more than BS, because if it was a win, you would have more than 7 airlines

Below is a list of every airlines that has filed for bankruptcy, and what deregulation has done, because vulture capitalist came out of the wood work and got a hold of airlines and did everything to screw you and me and the traveling public, look at what Frank Lorenzo and Carl Icahn, Steven Wolf, just to name a few and what they did------------------I have been in this industry since 1984 and I have seen everything

http://airlines.org/dataset/u-s-bankruptcies-and-services-cessations/

[ronnie624]

37. +1. n/t

[spiderpig]

19. Munoz needs to go. Now.

I worked untold numbers of overbooked flights in my career, requiring split-second decisions and having to answer to management if they thought I overpaid volunteers (unwritten rule: thou shalt have NO involuntary oversales - and make sure you get the flight out on time).

This jackass is compensated in the multimillions, has an entire mob of PR flacks at his disposal, was no doubt at home during this debacle, and he comes up with this hamhanded BS statement that insults everybody.

UA Board of Directors - dump him now.

The last people I would blame would be the gate agent(s), who were undoubtedly ordered to cover up somebody else's screwup. An involuntary denied boarding is in the lounge - not onboard in their seat. Duh.

[Ohioblue22]

20. they didn't care until this went viral in China

[dalton99a]

31. Precisely.

[spinbaby]

36. Huge coverage on Chinese TV

I'm in Tokyo now and get a couple of Chinese channels on TV. They're wall-to-wall coverage on this. Even the Japanese stations are giving it extensive coverage complete with interviews with people who never want to fly ANY American airline.

[Ohioblue22]

40. at the time this broke in China the tweet got retested 97000 times

[lark]

21. Wow, this dope really is out of it.

First he apologizes to the other passengers, but not the dr.
then he tries shaming and blaming the dr. and says everything was handled perfectly.
then he (finally) apologizes to the dr. and admits things didn't go right.

Bet his lawyers tore him a new one and advised him he better try to change the narrative. Only, oops, it's too late for that. United has been exposed as the hatefilled greedy corporation they are. There's no excuse for what happened, and no way United can easily recover from this major aggression to a customer.

[CountAllVotes]

25. What a pile of sh*t

He won't do a damn thing. That you can believe in!

Bastard!

[C_U_L8R]

26. Stock market woke you up, huh ?

It's pretty disgusting that the bloodied face of your customer can't bring you to humility... but it's only the cratering of your stock that gets your fucking attention. You're a day late pal and a bazzillion dollars too short. Shame on you.

[Sculpin Beauregard]

27. You hit the nail right on the head. So true.

[miyazaki]

32. I suppose there will be plenty of empty space to seat their employees now

One good takeaway for United, rofl.

[Kennah]

33. Big, giant, $250 million Fuck You

http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/11/investing/united-airlines-stock-passenger-flight-video/

[jeanmarc]

39. Shitty apology

He blamed the victim first, let this go for days, and finally made a real apology. The CEO is a dipshit.