Well I certainly wouldn’t be thinking clearly if security smashed my head against the armrest. Would you?
Out of line well after he had been assaulted, bloody face, head hit on arm rest and very very frightened. He did not resist being “dragged” off that plane after all of his injuries.
I make it a point never to argue with airport security. Up until then, I’d quietly but firmly state my case, as these unfortunate passengers who were re-accommodated were doing, and I have done when something comes up on a flight I’m on.
I really hope airlines re-think some of their policies and given their employees more discretion and tools to make voluntary bumping more attractive.
Sadly, there aren’t all that many nonstop choices between destinations I fly. It certainly makes flying much less attractive–who knows there may be a boom for cruises and train travel and driving.
A better question is, if this guy was such a danger and had to beaten and dragged off the plane, why did security let him get back on the plane?
What I like about Southwest is their policy of putting employees first (meaning their employees often can make decisions on the spot) - happy employees, happy customers.
http://www.businessinsider.com/southwest-airlines-puts-employees-first-2015-7
He acted “out of line” with a concussion, bloody nose and two teeth knocked out.
Out of line.
Well, at least our society doesn’t only victim blame women when they are assaulted.
public opinion is such because we’ve all witnessed the bully-attitude that some US airline/airport personnel exhibit. They have carte blanche and they abuse it.
They’re probably the only American industry where the customer isn’t always right. (I understand why the customer can’t always be right in this regard, but the result shouldn’t be the exact opposite)
He had a concussion. It’s entirely possible he wasn’t thinking clearly… at all.
“Out of line.” Oy vey.
It also strikes a chord because the victim who was physically assaulted is an elderly man and both men were threatened/assaulted for the mere crime of minding their own business and rightfully demanding the service they paid for. Not something which goes well with most folks…and tends to go over even less well in East Asian countries.
Not to mention several folks interviewed in East Asian newsmedia who formerly served in the national police/Military Police branch of service to fulfill mandatory service obligations who could have been stationed at their respective nations’ airports have all mentioned that officer used excessive force that exhibited drunkenness of power and/or poor training in non-violent restraints they were all trained in before being deployed.
Especially if the passenger concerned was an elderly man and the police/MIlitary police personnel are presumably strong well-trained folks in their late teens to 40s.
It’s also apparent some who defend United’s actions have ignored legal commentaries posted here showing how their being bumped off may have been illegal because it occurred AFTER they boarded and the regulation they could have used to bump off already boarded passengers weren’t among the specifically stipulated justifications covered.
Says nothing about needing to bump off already boarded passengers due to overbooking or need to make room for airline crew on a “must fly” flight. And if there’s this level of ambiguity, those legal commentators stated basic contract law stipulates that in court, the ambiguity should be interpreted against the one drafting the contract…United…not the passengers.
Yeah, well, customers aren’t always right. I spend a lot of time in my legal practice dealing with horrible things customers do in our stores, like sexually harass or assault minor employees, threaten our employees with guns, etc. And these are mainly in very safe, rural areas!
Cobrat- As you know, I’m a lawyer. I am free to disagree with the so-called CC legal “experts” here. The passenger screwed up, United screwed up, the ground police more than screwed up.
In the 2nd case with the 1st class passenger who was threatened with handcuffs and re-seated from 1st class that he paid for and re-seated in a middle seat between bickering people who fought loudly for the whole 6 hour flight in economy, post #1 in this thread, I fail to see anything the wronged full-pay passenger did incorrectly, but see a lot United did wrong!
He was concussed. That is to say, he had a brain injury, caused by the airline. He also had broken teeth and a broken nose. I’d say that causing someone a brain injury and then caviling about how they behave is out of line.
I’m a lawyer too, and my comment is that if I represented United, I sure wouldn’t want Dao’s case to go in front of a jury. He’s going to get some $$$ out of this.
I’m also outraged about the case mentioned in the first post in this thread. This guy bought a first-class seat, got a seating assignment, and was actually sitting in it, when they insisted that he vacate it for a higher-status passenger? I would be beyond livid if this happened to me. Note: if Dao hadn’t resisted and been hurt, we probably would never have heard about his case, or this later one.
You keep assuming both passengers victimized in these two incidents’ were wrong…despite the fact there’s ample video evidence and witness testimony showing otherwise.
It says a lot when several passengers complained on the scene in the video about excessive force, later wrote in to discuss what they saw, or the presence of accounts from witnesses saying the airline crew taking the seats of the bumped off passengers were booed by other passengers.
And now celebrities from the Sinosphere are boycotting United:
http://nextshark.com/donnie-yen-black-lists-united-facebook-david-dao/
PR nightmare for sure, but I really want to see what (if anything) will really change. So far, all I’ve seen were incomprehensible announcements on our flight and a lot of demoralized United employees that were not particularly helpful or welcoming on our 4/11 flight.
I get that this is making people (airline personnel and passengers) jittery and uncomfortable but hope things settle down and improve before our flights next month.
I would as well. I understand giving high status clients perks, but being able to bump another customer after they’ve already been seated should not be one of them. Exception to that might be people traveling non rev. I’ve seen them get bumped right before take off a few times, but you are warned about that possibility in advance.
I still do not understand how he got back on the plane.
It seems to me they would have escorted him away to diffuse the situation.
That’s what MOfWC meant by her “pretty out of line” - as in “something was so bizarre there.” So the cops beat the daylight out of the “dangerous” guy and then let him loose? Security theater, indeed.
Could this have been a last minute air marshal assignment?
However, United should at least have immediately offered compensation when it forced a first class passenger to downgrade or deboard (air marshal or otherwise).
The highest elite status members on airlines (“Executive Platinum” or whatever they call it on different airlines) are guaranteed access to flights, at least in the main cabin, even if it’s sold out. Granted, it’s usually before everyone is seated, but if Important Man Bob wants to make a big deal about it, I’d wager that Regular Passenger Jane will be getting bumped. At least before this week.