United Airlines shows how to make a PR crisis a total disaster

[accadacca]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrDWY6C1178

http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/11/news/united-passenger-pr-disaster/

[accadacca]

Statement from United:
"Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville was overbooked. After our team looked for volunteers, one customer refused to leave the aircraft voluntarily and law enforcement was asked to come to the gate. We apologize for the overbook situation. Further details on the removed customer should be directed to authorities."

[rockgremlin]

Some interesting insight from reddit/imgur (Scott Card could verify validity):

From a lawyer:
This myth that passengers don't have rights needs to go away, ASAP. You are dead wrong when saying that United legally kicked him off the plane.

1. First of all, it's airline spin to call this an overbooking. The statutory provision granting them the ability to deny boarding is about "OVERSALES", specifically defines as booking more reserved confirmed seats than there are available. This is not what happened. They did not overbook the flight; they had a fully booked flight, and not only did everyone already have a reserved confirmed seat, they were all sitting in them. The law allowing them to denying boarding in the event of an oversale does not apply.

2. Even if it did apply, the law is unambiguously clear that airlines have to give preference to everyone with reserved confirmed seats when choosing to involuntarily deny boarding. They have to always choose the solution that will affect the least amount of reserved confirmed seats. This rule is straightforward, and United makes very clear in their own contract of carriage that employees of their own or of other carriers may be denied boarding without compensation because they do not have reserved confirmed seats. On its face, it's clear that what they did was illegal-- they gave preference to their employees over people who had reserved confirmed seats, in violation of 14 CFR 250.2a.

3. Furthermore, even if you try and twist this into a legal application of 250.2a and say that United had the right to deny him boarding in the event of an overbooking; they did NOT have the right to kick him off the plane. Their contract of carriage highlights there is a complete difference in rights after you've boarded and sat on the plane, and Rule 21 goes over the specific scenarios where you could get kicked off. NONE of them apply here. He did absolutely nothing wrong and shouldn't have been targeted. He's going to leave with a hefty settlement after this fiasco."

[accadacca]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eU1HPwKrMrY

[accadacca]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klbnMb9YOps

[accadacca]

86738

[accadacca]

Ohhhh slam...

86740

[Iceaxe]

United's stock is in freefall.

[accadacca]

United Flight... :roflol:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0GW0Vnr9Yc

[rockgremlin]

United's stock is in freefall.

I thought it would be too, but it's not really that bad. After dropping from $72 to $68, it's rallied back pretty hard and is only down ~1% right now.

[rockgremlin]

Ohhhh slam...

86740

Am I missing something here? What's the big deal?

[Scott Card]

Some interesting insight from reddit/imgur (Scott Card could verify validity):
." Sorry Rock, I can't verify this one without research. This issue is out of my realms of expertise.

[Iceaxe]

If United offered $5000 to give up your seat I bet someone would have taken the deal. That's pretty cheap considering United would easily pay $100,000 today to make this PR nightmare disappear.

[rockgremlin]

If United offered $5000 to give up your seat I bet someone would have taken the deal. That's pretty cheap considering United would easily pay $100,000 today to make this PR nightmare disappear.

I'm betting the amount they pay out in settlement is seven figures.

[Sombeech]

I wish I could embed this, but here's the winner.

http://i.imgur.com/99dgkTs.mp4 (http://i.imgur.com/99dgkTs.mp4)

[Sombeech]

[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C9GLCd5WAAA-q2d.jpg

[Sombeech]

86742

[rockgremlin]

I wish I could embed this, but here's the winner.

http://i.imgur.com/99dgkTs.mp4 (http://i.imgur.com/99dgkTs.mp4)

Yeah imgur has blown up about this ever since the news broke. First it was the zombies vs humans and now this.

Go #teamhuman

[accadacca]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y8HdeHtOJs

[Scott P]

If United offered $5000 to give up your seat I bet someone would have taken the deal. That's pretty cheap considering United would easily pay $100,000 today to make this PR nightmare disappear.

Even a one percent drop in the stock price is a loss of more than $200 million.

[Scott P]

http://www.duffelblog.com/2017/04/pentagon-awards-contract-united-airlines-forcibly-remove-assad/

http://cdn.duffelblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/assadunited-750x430.jpg

Pentagon Awards Contract To United Airlines To Forcibly Remove Assad

WASHINGTON — The Pentagon announced Tuesday it had awarded a sole-source contract to United Airlines for work related to the forcible removal of President Bashar al-Assad from Syria.

The contract, worth $2.1 billion, tasks the airline company with locating Assad, grabbing him from his seat in the presidential palace, and “dragging him out of Damascus by his arms.” The contract also notes that Assad should be “asked several times, politely (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/business/united-flight-passenger-dragged.html)”to give up seat of power, though if he refuses, United workers should bloody his nose up a bit, according to the posting at FedBizOpps.

The award comes just days after President Donald Trump authorized the launch of cruise missiles at a Syrian air base, in response to Assad’s use of chemical weapons. Two Navy ships launched 59 Tomahawk missiles into Syria, which destroyed roughly 20% of its operational aircraft and a Green Beans Coffee (http://www.duffelblog.com/2013/04/trauma-of-war-brought-back-by-opening-of-local-green-beans/) shop being used by the Russian army.

Soon after the strikes, some in the Trump White House began calling for regime change in Syria. Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters that peace in Syria “could not be achieved” with Assad remaining in power.

Though US military officials have struggled in recent months with a plan for removing Assad, United Airlines cleared its final hurdle for the military’s request for proposal on Monday, when it ordered police officers to forcibly remove a passenger from a flight that was overbooked.



Monday’s test run was “more successful than we could have hoped,” said Charlie Hobart, a spokesman for United.

United will be sending one of its aircraft to Damascus sometime next week, where it will land and carry out the plan called for in the contract.

It’s not yet clear whether United employees will actually carry out the forcible removal of Assad. One source said it’s possible the company may subcontract that portion of the work requirement to the Chicago Police Department.

[rockgremlin]

Even a one percent drop in the stock price is a loss of more than $200 million.

Well yeah, but that type of money exchanges hands for EVERY stock on a daily basis.

[accadacca]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170413/cca535e203154ee9ed8a2cb492ec8424.jpg

[savanna3313]

Ok......I'll play. :ne_nau:


https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17884562_10210649766498289_2613622838601815237_n.j pg?oh=a2a73327aef6ca04b99c32161da9b46f&oe=5992D4D4

[Sombeech]

Ok......I'll play. :ne_nau:


https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/17884562_10210649766498289_2613622838601815237_n.j pg?oh=a2a73327aef6ca04b99c32161da9b46f&oe=5992D4D4

Haha, nice

[oldno7]

....

[accadacca]

http://i.imgur.com/99dgkTs.gifv

[Scott P]

Email I received from United:


Dear Mr Patterson,

Each flight you take with us represents an important promise we make to you, our customer. It's not simply that we make sure you reach your destination safely and on time, but also that you will be treated with the highest level of service and the deepest sense of dignity and respect.

Earlier this month, we broke that trust when a passenger was forcibly removed from one of our planes. We can never say we are sorry enough for what occurred, but we also know meaningful actions will speak louder than words.

For the past several weeks, we have been urgently working to answer two questions: How did this happen, and how can we do our best to ensure this never happens again?

It happened because our corporate policies were placed ahead of our shared values. Our procedures got in the way of our employees doing what they know is right.

Fixing that problem starts now with changing how we fly, serve and respect our customers. This is a turning point for all of us here at United – and as CEO, it's my responsibility to make sure that we learn from this experience and redouble our efforts to put our customers at the center of everything we do.

That’s why we announced that we will no longer ask law enforcement to remove customers from a flight and customers will not be required to give up their seat once on board – except in matters of safety or security.

We also know that despite our best efforts, when things don’t go the way they should, we need to be there for you to make things right. There are several new ways we’re going to do just that.

We will increase incentives for voluntary rebooking up to $10,000 and will be eliminating the red tape on permanently lost bags with a new "no-questions-asked" $1,500 reimbursement policy. We will also be rolling out a new app for our employees that will enable them to provide on-the-spot goodwill gestures in the form of miles, travel credit and other amenities when your experience with us misses the mark. You can learn more about these commitments and many other changes at hub.united.com.

While these actions are important, I have found myself reflecting more broadly on the role we play and the responsibilities we have to you and the communities we serve.

I believe we must go further in redefining what United's corporate citizenship looks like in our society. You can and ought to expect more from us, and we intend to live up to those higher expectations in the way we embody social responsibility and civic leadership everywhere we operate. I hope you will see that pledge express itself in our actions going forward, of which these initial, though important, changes are merely a first step.

Our goal should be nothing less than to make you truly proud to say, "I fly United."

Ultimately, the measure of our success is your satisfaction and the past several weeks have moved us to go further than ever before in elevating your experience with us. I know our 87,000 employees have taken this message to heart, and they are as energized as ever to fulfill our promise to serve you better with each flight and earn the trust you’ve given us.

We are working harder than ever for the privilege to serve you and I know we will be stronger, better and the customer-focused airline you expect and deserve.

With Great Gratitude,
Oscar Munoz
Oscar Munoz
CEO
United Airlines

[rockgremlin]

^^^ That's pretty impressive. United could have easily just walked away and did nothing.

Heck, at this point I'll choose to fly United and HOPE to get bumped. I could use ten grand.

[hank moon]

^^^ That's pretty impressive. United could have easily just walked away and did nothing.

Heck, at this point I'll choose to fly United and HOPE to get bumped. I could use ten grand.

Next up: "Gladiator Aisle" - a reality show featuring passengers battling to claim the bump prize.

[Scott P]

Heck, at this point I'll choose to fly United and HOPE to get bumped. I could use ten grand.

It says up to $10,000. It probably won't be that high very often.

[accadacca]

Some PR director just earned their pay. Nice letter...