General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Story about 69 year old Dr. David Dao; the man United dragged off the plane [View all]BlueMTexpat
(15,344 posts)one white male who could have been selected for removal. I am sure that such tactics would never have been used on a white male.
IMO, the airline is wholly at fault: a) for literally holding all passengers captive AFTER boarding and b) for displacing ANY paying passenger simply for its own ends or convenience. The fact that the airline enforced its action in such a brutal way is totally unacceptable. The fact that it tried to justify its actions by blaming the victim is reprehensible.
Also, IMO, the practice of overbooking needs review. I understand that it is a common practice and I understand the economic considerations involved. But ONCE passengers have ALREADY boarded the plane, UNLESS there is an emergency that can be categorized as force majeure, NO paying passenger should ever have to relinquish his/her seat. Period.
Here is one article that is quite informative: https://www.ft.com/content/e4cb5744-1e9d-11e7-a454-ab04428977f9
Yes. Aviation experts point to the fact that when overbooking occurs it usually happens before the plane is boarded, in contrast to the United case. In addition, United still had the option to raise its compensation offer to $1,350 which could have resulted in some other volunteers before removing the passenger against his will.
Airlines have no set rules about which passengers they will order off a flight first if there are not enough volunteers, but high-paying business class travellers or passengers travelling with children or the disabled are unlikely to be the first choice. Some airlines base it on order of check-in.
Its not 100 per cent foolproof but when situations are anticipated that there are too many customers for a given flight then this should be addressed proactively in advance ahead of departure by making new arrangements and seeking volunteers to stand down, says Mr Strickland. Even when passengers are forcibly denied boarding the idea is to handle this as tactfully and sensitively as possible.