Now THAT takes the cake, in the end the whole scene was moot. But yes: the overbook situation should be detected and handled before boarding, if it involves mission-critical things like ferrying a crew. Because ISTM the removal was a case of they absolutely positively needing to insure that crew got on so we’re not going to wait until every last potential passenger either shows or no-shows, we WILL have 4 open seats. That could have been done before boarding. “Passengers Jane Doe and Richard Roe, come to the counter”…“Sir, Madam, sorry, but we are bumping you, you are now downgraded to be on standby, if at the end of the process a seat does open up, we’ll let you in”. Let them make a scene at the desk, rather than in the plane.
Eventually it seems at some point along the delay period someone else said “fuggedabout it, not flying today” and a seat was available for him.
And as others said it’s not practical to have an open-ended auction. At some point there’s got to be a final offer and if not taken then the carrier chooses who loses.
Other articles about the situation state that the man ran back on board after being removed and headed for the back. He was then removed again before the plane took off. That makes way more sense then him actually being allowed back on the plane for the flight.
So with the plane 100% full, no seats available, the airline boarded another passenger, then asked someone to vacate their seat for him? What sense does that make?
If I show up late for a full flight, can I get on the plane and bump someone off to make room?
Overbooking is based a bit on a lottery of things like:
[ul]
[li]people cancelling their own flights[/li][li]connecting flights being delayed/cancelled[/li][li]possible mechanical issues[/li][/ul]
I don’t see that United did anything legally wrong. They were right and the doctor was wrong.
But I still don’t like seeing police forces used to resolve commercial disputes. Sure, it was a commercial dispute that happened on an airplane instead of inside some fancy office building. This gave them the ability to argue that non-compliance with their position in the contract dispute amounted to a crime. But it was fundamentally a contract dispute and not a criminal plot. He bought a valid ticket and wanted to fly in peace. He was no danger to anyone but United’s profits.
Conflicts like this should be resolved with courts and money, not physical force unless there’s some harm that cannot be remedied with money later. The result here should have been that the doctor was fined and/or sued for the damaged incurred by his refusing to de-board.
It’s probably just my perception, but I have found United to be absolutely the worst airline for overbooking. Back when I flew them regularly, I had about a 50% chance of volunteers being required on any given flight. At the time, I typically didn’t mind having to fly later, so there were quite a few times when I took the vouchers and volunteered to get off.
Eventually I got annoyed by the constant overbooking, and vowed never to fly United again. I can’t even remember the last time a flight I was on asked for volunteers. Of course there are problems with other airlines, especially with cancellations, but for me at least, regular overbooking seemed to be an issue unique to United.
If this happens, the “established rules” failed. I don’t buy that continuing to raise the offer wouldn’t work – eventually someone will say yes, and it probably won’t be much higher than a grand or two. And if this becomes a big enough problem for airlines, then they’ll figure out a better way to estimate the proper booking numbers.
As for lawsuits, they don’t have to succeed to cost the airline money, and witnesses might well sue (for trauma or whatever) as well as the passenger who was removed.
This isn’t going to break the airline or anything, but I’d bet good money that they are revising their procedures to handle this better in the future (as they should).
That wasn’t $11,000 for one adult-that was the total for three adults, approximately 3,300 each. The United airlines passenger was offered $8000 and refused it, then tried to sneak back on board after being taken off it. When someone on a Delta flight refuses more than twice the amount that family got from Delta, then we can compare the two.
I detest so many aspects of air travel, and have difficulty seeing any defense for overbooking.
What is the explanation what THIS particular crew member was needed in Frankfort? They couldn’t find another employee anywhere who could get to that location in a reasonable time? My opinion is that United was solely responsible in creating this situation, and was the sole party with the ability to have prevented it. So I have considerable difficulty seeing why the passenger ought to pay the price.
But, in reality, if you choose to fly, consider yourself fortunate to be treated as livestock, rather than a potential terrorist.
Maybe airlines shouldn’t enforce any rules whatsoever, because if they get sued, it will cost them money. “Sir, your carry-on luggage weighs 400 pounds. If you insist on putting it in the overhead bin, I will be forced to give you the stink eye, but I will be very subtle about it to avoid Legal getting involved at all.”
