United Airlines New Seating Chart

#76
#76
Lawrence Wright said:
Not sure if serious......the point at which I've already paid for a ticket and boarded the plane, and not committed any unlawful acts that warrant getting removed from the flight, that's the point where cops are gonna have to drag my ass off the plane too.
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Which they did.
 
#77
#77
BigZiti09 said:
This guy refused to get off the plane, right? What should have happened? Just keep asking until you find someone who goes along willingly?

Overbooking the flight was the mistake made by United. Removing him wasn't the mistake.

Looks to me like an entitled, overly dramatic, self-important doctor got removed from a plane after he refused to comply.
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Raised the price? Everyone has a price. It would have been much better to pay this guy $2000 or whatever it took to get him off the plane than go through this PR nightmare.

Overbooking wasn't the mistake. All airlines do it all the time without having to drag people off of planes. Letting him (and everyone else) on the plane and take their seats before realizing they were overbooked (or that they had a crew that needed to be moved) was the mistake.

If they had a lick of common sense, they would have realized they screwed up once everybody boarded the plane, let them stay, and found alternate transportation for the crew that needed to be moved. They didn't do that, they could have kept raising their offer to volunteers. There are multiple things that could have been done before it came to forcibly removing a guy from the plane.
 
#78
#78
Septic said:
Overbooking was United's problem, not his. Removing him apparently, was a mistake. And yes, they should have started asking people, sweetening the pot until someone's "price" was met.

One person offered to get off in his place for $1,600 and was laughed at by the gate agent.

I'm guessing that's looking like a bargain now.

From one instigator to another, your troll game is strong but you have flaws in your approach.
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$1600? Lol.

I'm not saying United is clean on this whole deal but they overbooked the flight. The only way to fix it is by removing some one. For whatever reason it was this guy. Someone had to go. Just because it happened to be a screaming doctor doesn't mean they should just move on to someone who doesn't kick and scream. If you have to be dragged off a plane, you're an idiot.
 
#80
#80
BigZiti09 said:
$1600? Lol.

I'm not saying United is clean on this whole deal but they overbooked the flight. The only way to fix it is by removing some one. For whatever reason it was this guy. Someone had to go. Just because it happened to be a screaming doctor doesn't mean they should just move on to someone who doesn't kick and scream. If you have to be dragged off a plane, you're an idiot.
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But weren't the overbooked seats being filled by United employees? I feel that makes a little difference here.
 
#83
#83
05_never_again said:
Raised the price? Everyone has a price. It would have been much better to pay this guy $2000 or whatever it took to get him off the plane than go through this PR nightmare.

Overbooking wasn't the mistake. All airlines do it all the time without having to drag people off of planes. Letting him (and everyone else) on the plane and take their seats before realizing they were overbooked (or that they had a crew that needed to be moved) was the mistake.

If they had a lick of common sense, they would have realized they screwed up once everybody boarded the plane, let them stay, and found alternate transportation for the crew that needed to be moved. They didn't do that, they could have kept raising their offer to volunteers. There are multiple things that could have been done before it came to forcibly removing a guy from the plane.
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Fair point.

I still think this doctor is an idiot and not a victim here. That said, it sounds like United could have avoided the mess somehow.
 
#84
#84
Lawrence Wright said:
And in hindsight, the $400-800 United attempted to save by randomly removing passengers looks like chump change compared to what they'll come of out pocket now.
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Right, but it doesn't mean the doctor isn't an idiot. Just because someone goes crazy and people record it doesn't mean that loon was in the right.
 
#86
#86
BigZiti09 said:
$1600? Lol.

I'm not saying United is clean on this whole deal but they overbooked the flight. The only way to fix it is by removing some one. For whatever reason it was this guy. Someone had to go. Just because it happened to be a screaming doctor doesn't mean they should just move on to someone who doesn't kick and scream. If you have to be dragged off a plane, you're an idiot.
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Why is that $1600 figure ridiculous? The man paid for a ticket, checked in for the flight, had a seat, boarded the plane, and took a seat. The plane was about to leave. He then is told that he has to get off the plane. I'm skeptical the flight was actually overbooked to begin with. The people that took seats in lieu of the people that were kicked off were a United flight crew. Was it actually overbooked, or did they kick off paying customers so employees could be moved? That's both bad business and stupid.

United's own ticketing policy (all that fine print when you buy a ticket) is in a gray area here too. They can bump you off of a flight you bought a ticket for if it is overbooked and there aren't enough volunteers, but it is supposed to happen before boarding. It doesn't address what they can do after boarding. If you are allowed on the plane and take a seat, it is a perfectly reasonable expectation that they aren't going to bump you at that point.

If it were me, I wouldn't have had to have been dragged off the plane, but I would have demanded some kind of ridiculous compensation (not airline credit, but a check) and then never fly them again.
 
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#87
#87
BigZiti09 said:
$1600? Lol.

I'm not saying United is clean on this whole deal but they overbooked the flight. The only way to fix it is by removing some one. For whatever reason it was this guy. Someone had to go. Just because it happened to be a screaming doctor doesn't mean they should just move on to someone who doesn't kick and scream. If you have to be dragged off a plane, you're an idiot.
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I'll bet they would gladly have paid 1,000 x that price, now.

I think I speak for everyone when I say that we're all very relieved that you recognize that "United isn't clean in this whole deal."
 
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#89
#89
BigZiti09 said:
Right, but it doesn't mean the doctor isn't an idiot. Just because someone goes crazy and people record it doesn't mean that loon was in the right.
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When did he go crazy again? Oh yeah, you are talking about when he was getting manhandled out of a seat
 
#91
#91
05_never_again said:
Why is that $1600 figure ridiculous? The man paid for a ticket, checked in for the flight, had a seat, boarded the plane, and took a seat. The plane was about to leave. He then is told that he has to get off the plane. I'm skeptical the flight was actually overbooked to begin with. The people that took seats in lieu of the people that were kicked off were a United flight crew. Was it actually overbooked, or did they kick off paying customers so employees could be moved? That's both bad business and stupid.

United's own ticketing policy (all that fine print when you buy a ticket) is in a gray area here too. They can bump you off of a flight you bought a ticket for if it is overbooked and there aren't enough volunteers, but it is supposed to happen before boarding. It doesn't address what they can do after boarding. If you are allowed on the plane and take a seat, it is a perfectly reasonable expectation that they aren't going to bump you at that point.

If it were me, I wouldn't have had to have been dragged off the plane, but I would have demanded some kind of ridiculous compensation (not airline credit, but a check) and then never fly them again.
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The story has read that the people coming on to take the seats were United employees. Which is weird because just about every other airline (at least the ones I have flown on) put employees on a stand by status for flights.
 
#92
#92
Septic said:
I'll bet they would gladly have paid 1,000 x that price, now.

I think I speak for everyone when I say that we're all very relieved that you recognize that "United isn't clean in this whole deal."
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Right. All hindsight. It went viral so they are gonna get hurt by it.

If you don't lay out your position in plain english it tends to get twisted on this board.
 
#93
#93
BearCat204 said:
The story has read that the people coming on to take the seats were United employees. Which is weird because just about every other airline (at least the ones I have flown on) put employees on a stand by status for flights.
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Yeah - that's why I'm starting to believe that the flight was not technically overbooked at all. If it was overbooked, other paying customers (with a lot of status with United, etc.) would have taken those seats. It seems like they kicked off paying customers so employees could fly, which is just insane to me and makes United even more in the wrong.
 
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#94
#94
BearCat204 said:
The story has read that the people coming on to take the seats were United employees. Which is weird because just about every other airline (at least the ones I have flown on) put employees on a stand by status for flights.
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They are when they're flying on there own. If these guys were needed to crew another flight, they'd receive a bump in priority.

I'd wager that the 4 people asked to get off the flight were the four who paid the least for their tickets.

Isn't Space Coast Vol a pilot with UAL?
 
#95
#95
Lawrence Wright said:
Doesn't mean he was wrong either.
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That's why I have a hard time critiquing anything that the passenger did, even if it were me it would have never come to that.

Call me a corporate bootlicker I guess, but I'd rather spend the night in a hotel or drive 4 hours to Louisville than get my lip busted and spend the night in jail. Even if United is totally in the wrong.
 
#96
#96
Septic said:
They are when they're flying on there own. If these guys were needed to crew another flight, they'd receive a bump in priority.

I'd wager that the 4 people asked to get off the flight were the four who paid the least for their tickets.

Isn't Space Coast Vol a pilot with UAL?
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Then I am mistaken. I have always used buddy passes and thought the priority was the same.
 
#97
#97
BigZiti09 said:
Right. All hindsight. It went viral so they are gonna get hurt by it.

If you don't lay out your position in plain english it tends to get twisted on this board.
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Treating customers with dignity should never be hindsight.

How many thumped skulls need to occur by an occupation who's only requirement is to be tall enough to close an overhead bin and not too fat to walk down an aisle? These people have been given an undeserved and inordinate amount of authority and they aren't afraid to wield it.

I doubt the Patriot Act (or whatever law that gave these people absolute authority) wasn't meant to throw a beating on passengers who's only crime was to be picked randomly for removal due to the airlines overbooking policy.

Dignity is not hindsight, it's good PR - especially these days. When EVERYONE has a video camera in their pocket.
 
#98
#98
Lawrence Wright said:
Doesn't mean he was wrong either.
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Yeah, if you refuse to get off the flight you're in the wrong. You don't own the plane. You are a customer but you have to play by their rules. You can take your business elsewhere. You could always use another airline.

Once the cops have to come and drag you out of your seat while you're screaming bloody murder, you are being a problem.

Not saying that he's wrong for being upset. Obviously this guy is having to pay for United's screw up. He is still an idiot for acting like a brat and having to be dragged off the plane. Of course, we live in a world where we reward people for being idiots all the time. This guy will be no different.
 
#99
#99
Septic said:
Treating customers with dignity should never be hindsight.

How many thumped skulls need to occur by an occupation who's only requirement is to be tall enough to close an overhead bin and not too fat to walk down an aisle? These people have been given an undeserved and inordinate amount of authority and they aren't afraid to wield it.

I doubt the Patriot Act (or whatever law that gave these people absolute authority) wasn't meant to throw a beating on passengers who's only crime was to be picked randomly for removal due to the airlines overbooking policy.

Dignity is not hindsight, it's good PR - especially these days. When EVERYONE has a video camera in their pocket.
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You'd think that someday people are going to realize the last sentence in your post.

The cops/airport security are the ones who are escaping a lot of blame in this. United asked the police that they remove this guy (they would argue he was trespassing when he refused to get out of the seat) but United didn't smash the guy's face. Yet the public backlash is directly entirely against United from what I can tell. Probably because you can vote with your wallet against United, but when cops screw up your recourse is very limited. They are the government and you're not.
 
#100
#100
Septic said:
Treating customers with dignity should never be hindsight.

How many thumped skulls need to occur by an occupation who's only requirement is to be tall enough to close an overhead bin and not too fat to walk down an aisle?
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Dignity? You don't think they asked this guy more than once to get off the plane? Just because it wasn't videoed doesn't mean they just drew his name out of a hat and walked back there and yanked him from his seat without warning.
 
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