After watching the various videos, I only have one question:

Will anyone ever invent a phone that takes video in landscape even though it it held in portrait?

That person should win the Nobel prize.

I do not fly on American carriers unless there are no other options, particularly United, American and Delta. I'd rather walk...because their customer "service" feels more like being "serviced" up the rear end with a pitchfork.

I fully understand the problem United faced, I also fully understand the doctor's need...so when does one of the dim bulb attendants take a bit of initiative, have a quiet chat with the doctor, perhaps asking him to prove he is indeed a physician and then look for another victim? Surely a little flexibility - and a few extra bucks - would go a long way?

And those three guys hauling him off of the plane, I recall seeing a video not long ago where a Trump supporter was being accosted by a Hillary supporter who was subsequently pulled off the plane. The attendant in that case basically just reasoned with the nutcase Hillary type, saying that no one was going anywhere unless she got off....repeating the same message calmly, over and over until the lady got off on her own volition, albeit making noise all the way. Why couldn't an approach like that have been taken? As it was it was a three hour delay....a few minutes pressuring the stubborn doctor would probably have done the trick.

Now? I hope two things happen. First of all, United takes a big hit on stock price, reputation and perhaps lawsuit so that they get their act together a bit better.

Second, I hope the suspension of rights inherent in flying gets some sort of reasonableness test...yes, you listen to the captain regardless of your personal rights when there is material, clear and present danger to the aircraft, crew or human cargo, other than those times, they need to take more measured steps.

We know there was a clearing price for getting another couple of passengers off of the airplane...ought to force them to keep going until someone takes the offer...with some very high limit like 3x the HIGHEST fare on the flight.

this is madness...

Dennis

Happy for two things:
One- I ain't flyin' anywhere anytime soon.
Two- Somewhere, perhaps at this very moment, probably already- A United flight attendant just realized they have an overbooked flight and (with no formal policy revision yet announced, if any) the very real task of informing the passengers someone needs to get the boot. It puts my job into perspective- I had a great day today! :D

+1

United Airlines Promised Federal Regulators That All Ticketed Passengers Are Guaranteed Seats

The problem is, WHO decides this?

No. Federal law says everyone listens to the captain. And they should. There is, and always will be, one final authority to the conduct of the flight. Ultimately that's the captain. Again, per worldwide aviation law.

Is the captain above the law? Could he decide to murder a passenger that didn't eat all of his meat before starting on his pudding?

I guess in this case, the captain would be a accomplice to the assault of this passenger. Hopefully he will be charged or at least named in the lawsuit(s) as well.

Even that captain can't overstep his authority and based on the most recent apology from the United CEO, it appears that someone overstepped their authority and it's going to get costly.

I'm sure his attorneys will bring up living in Vietnam during the Vietnam war. This action caused a flashback of being dragged out of his home and beaten.

I did see some new reports that the flight was not overbooked. If so, why did they choose to boot passengers? Instead, they could have elected to upgrade those passengers to Business or First.

If he was not an immediate threat to that flight, the airline could ban him permanently.
And not just that carrier.
Kick someone else off and compensate them.
Have the air marshall sleeping a row over with weapon pointed in that general direction.
That is their right: To refuse service to uncooperative people.

There is a million better ways that could have gone.

Oh come on. He didn't become "uncooperative" «until» they tried to refuse him service. And then his uncooperative behavior was simply that he sat in the seat that he paid for. Then he got physically yanked out of the seat and dropped face first on an armrest, ends up dazed and bloody and being dragged down the aisle like a dead dog.

United is so screwed. The flight was not oversold. They threw paying passengers off because the airline failed to make proper staffing arrangements. They started throwing passengers off before even offering the full compensation that they were supposed to. Then they called the "aviation police" and are responsible for what happened next, which even the police admit was wrong and an officer has been suspended for it. To top it all off, the CEO makes some of the worst, most stupid statements ever seen in a corporate reputational crisis situation. Doesn't United have a crisis/PR team? Doesn't anyone in the CEO's office have enough sense to put out a statement that doesn't make it worse? "As CEO, I am very concerned about what happened to on flight XXX to Dr _____. I promise that I will fully investigate why and how he was removed from the plane, and we will make it right." Then STFU until you know what is going on.

^^^^ Just a MAJOR screwup that will (and should) cost them a fortune imo. The passenger was assaulted by idiots. Need a crew to be elsewhere....why not use a corporate jet, or some other airline? Why do it this way....because they can :(. Needs to change...

Not condoning what happened. They messed up.

Second conversation: Will this hurt United?

On the stock market....yes in the short term. Business-wise......no.

Why?

Because (like the car rental business) - there are only so many providers and they have a captive audience. It's no different than a cartel.

Also, consumers choose flights 'generally speaking' based on PRICE - not who provides the best SERVICE. The airlines know that....so they could give a flip about service....as long as they meet regulations.

Sorry but that's the bottom line.

^^^ agreed mostly however, some travellers choose based on service.

Air Canada has a terrible reputation for service but my experience with them (including my recent trip to Thailand to rescue my sick father) has been nothing short of excellent. On this particular trip, I made the decision to pay a bit more for our tickets and fly AC because we knew at the outset that the return leg was going to change and we had no idea to what extent.

Based on what I have seen with AC in recent years is that they are trying to overcome their poor reputation for service from days gone by.

On the United business side, I can't see how their CEO keeps his job through this.

Most airlines have the Red Eye flight, United is the first to offer the Black Eye non-flights.

This is a separate but related issue. Most of the mergers in the airline industry should never have been allowed. Less competition = less incentive for consumers to be treated well.

I understand your point, but that is why the courts exist. If the pilot/supreme commander cannot make the case that the safety of the aircraft was materially at risk then they are overstepping the bounds of the hypothetical "reasonable man" test. There is no supreme authority without limits in civilized society.....so says the law.

If the pilot ordered that any and all measures be taken to take that particular passenger off, then he deserves to be charged with assault as the response to the situation was disproportionate and risked unneeded injury.

I rather suspect that the pilot was only informed that the attendants were having trouble getting 4 passengers off of the plane and that the local security people were coming on board. I suspect the local security guys were the ones displaying the poor judgement, although the chief steward ought to have called a halt to proceedings once things got out of hand.

Bad, bad stuff...bad juju for United

Dennis

I agree and the same can be said for banks and telecommunications. Insurance companies should also be on that list.