Fook United Airlines

[clodhopper]

I hate the way they use the phrase "denied boarding" - yeah, that would be one thing if he was stopped FROM boarding but the guy was already seated. He wasn't "denied boarding", he was being deboarded involuntarily. Having said that, if the "staff" that they were trying to put on the flight were crew for follow-on flights, there would have been rolling impacts in not getting them down there that would have affected a lot more people so I understand the airline's urgency in trying to get them down there.

The term boarding has broad interpretation. For airlines it is generally applied to the whole process of loading passengers on the plane prior to takeoff. It is not the limit line of actually stepping on the plane and yelling "safe!". Even if you are on the plane, sitting and buckled, until they close the door everyone is still boarding. I wouldn't be surprised if it extended until wheels up such that a return to the gate to eject a passenger would still be considered boarding denial.

[Aloha_Shooter]

The term boarding has broad interpretation. For airlines it is generally applied to the whole process of loading passengers on the plane prior to takeoff. It is not the limit line of actually stepping on the plane and yelling "safe!". Even if you are on the plane, sitting and buckled, until they close the door everyone is still boarding. I wouldn't be surprised if it extended until wheels up such that a return to the gate to eject a passenger would still be considered boarding denial.

Oh, I know that's how the airline is interpreting it but any reasonable person with a comprehension of the English language would say he had already boarded when they let him set foot on the plane. His past history does seem to explain his reaction with the shrieking when the cops came to get him as well as his persistent reboarding and "just kill me now" mantra so I don't think it's totally irrelevant. I also think it's important that it was Chicago PD that forcibly pulled him off -- yes, United (or Republic) called for them but Chicago LEO has a reputation for doing things "the Chicago Way."

I suspect the reason United didn't offer even more to get someone to leave voluntarily is that they are worried about setting a new high bar for the future across all overbooked flights ("are you kidding? $250? I'm not giving up my seat until they offer me $2000.") but it still would have been better to quietly try to get another volunteer with higher compensation than get the PR blackeye they're suffering today.

[clodhopper]

I suspect the reason United didn't offer even more to get someone to leave voluntarily is that they are worried about setting a new high bar for the future across all overbooked flights ("are you kidding? $250? I'm not giving up my seat until they offer me $2000.") but it still would have been better to quietly try to get another volunteer with higher compensation than get the PR blackeye they're suffering today.

My understanding is they had reached the approved compensation cap that could be offered. The facility staff couldn't raise it anymore. Makes sense that the gate staff is limited so they don't get out of hand with crazy high compensation packages. Hindsight suggests a higher level manager be contacted to exceed the local cap, but of course at the time who knew the guy wouldn't comply, and once the cops were called to escort him, it was out of the airline's hands.