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actually that's all beyond the point. A guy who simply flies to have a good time has the same right as a doctor who is flying lives. It is irrelevant, they are both customers.
The point is UA should have just keep increasing the price. 1200? 2000? I am 100% someone will take the offer within a few minutes.
Now they have a massive PR crisis, possibily requiring tens of thousands of make up for, plus a loss of 830M in market value overnight.
It is all for what, saving $1000?? That's just stupid. Whoever came up with the idea of dragging the passenger off has to have his head checked. There is such an easily and cheap solution and they don't want it.
Oh, I completely agree. It is just that Ottawa2011 has been defending United on every thread and I wanted to call him out on this "airline will read your mind" claim.
This is what happens when the incentives to volunteer are too weak. People don't want to take the "$800", because it is paid in vouchers that is heavily restricted.
The solution to this, is to mandate that airlines offer the standard compensation to volunteers. This will solve the whole problem, because there are plenty of travelers who like to earn some cash. If airlines feel the cost is too high, then don't overbook the plane.
Exactly. I received vouchers once and they were incredibly hard to redeem. (this is years ago so it may have changed). However it required a different ticketing system and took awhile. I thought it was completed and set. I get to the airport and they have no record of my ticket. I had to purchase a ticket at the counter and my voucher was lost, they had no record of it. So I will never take a voucher again.
I cannot imagine being in the shoes of being bounced off the way the United passenger was. There are so many different reasons people cannot take a later flight. I just keep thinking of a few months back I went to say good-bye to my father on his deathbed. I made it within hours, if I was bumped I would not have been able to say good-bye.
They should have kept increasing the voucher until someone took it. What they did was outrageous.
All of this operates under carriage contracts and laws, you should review these; airlines have no obligation other than getting you from A to B, that is about it, it does not even have to be on the same day or even in an airplane.
They can bump you, and it can be for various reasons as we have all seen in the news over the last few months. This has been the way it is for decades.
The pilot is the authority on a plane, what they say goes, and this is really the "out" the airline has, in that even if a specific rule cannot be cited, the rule is the pilot has the authority.
It is not uncommon to be bumped, from the other threads, I am amazed how many people did not know about this. Bumping will be voluntary at first, after that a selection system will be used.
Oh, I completely agree. It is just that Ottawa2011 has been defending United on every thread and I wanted to call him out on this "airline will read your mind" claim.
Legally, he is not wrong though although his argument was not right. Unlike what he said, United is able to remove him legally, even by force precisely beause it is an airline, not just "any business".
Strictly speaking, the airline didn't do anything illegal. They did everything within their rights and following protocols. After some research, the airline indeed has the right to remove any passenger it wants any time for any reason. All it needs to do is to compensate up to 4x the one way ticket price. If the passenger resists, it is against federal law.
The passenger will have no basis to sue United, even when he is physically injured.
All of this operates under carriage contracts and laws, you should review these; airlines have no obligation other than getting you from A to B, that is about it, it does not even have to be on the same day or even in an airplane.
They can bump you, and it can be for various reasons as we have all seen in the news over the last few months. This has been the way it is for decades.
The pilot is the authority on a plane, what they say goes, and this is really the "out" the airline has, in that even if a specific rule cannot be cited, the rule is the pilot has the authority.
It is not uncommon to be bumped, from the other threads, I am amazed how many people did not know about this. Bumping will be voluntary at first, after that a selection system will be used.
The one thing to note is the United flight was NOT overbooked. All paid passengers were seated in their assigned seats. The overbooking was caused by the 4 standby United employees (presumably last minute add-ons).
The one thing to note is the United flight was NOT overbooked. All paid passengers were seated in their assigned seats. The overbooking was caused by the 4 standby United employees (presumably last minute add-ons).
Exactly.
If they were "overbooked" the "4 passengers" in this case flight attendants that weren't on the plane .... wouldn't have boarded the plane.
When I was single, and younger, I would actually ask the ticket agents at the gate if the flight I was on was overbooked. I wanted to be first to get a voucher, and did many times, as well as food vouchers.
The people who get ripped off airplanes when they're already seated always bought the cheapest tickets on the plane. By law, the airline has to give them cash compensation. They're always going to pick the guy flying on the $89 junk ticket since the compensation is capped at 4x the price of the ticket. So if you don't want to get bumped, don't fly on those junk tickets. Just paying a few extra bucks for early boarding, an aisle seat, or extended legroom will make it so you have extremely low odds of getting bumped.
I used to do 100K+ miles per year on airlines in my road warrior days. At that level of FT status, I could change flights at the last minute on an oversold flight for no change fee and they'd bump people. The more you spend, the better they take care of you. Since the dawn of time, United has never bumped a 1K, Platinum, Gold, or Silver.
He said other passengers were asking why the crew members who needed to be in Louisville, a four-hour drive from Chicago, couldn't just rent a car and drive. I guess it was clear that they would still make their Louisville flights in time.
Could easily be a crew rest thing.
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