Fook United Airlines

[Joe_K]

I would be a bit annoyed if it had happened to me, but not mad enough to risk negative law enforcement contact. I would have taken the cash, hotel, and next flight out and been content. My employer would have had to figure something out to cover for me and I would be in the clear.

How could this event truly have been prevented?

Easy, Airlines must leave two entire rows of empty "jump" seats in each seating zone. Sell these seats to people who missed flights on other airlines, flight crews that need to get to a different airport etc.

This would of course probably raise the cost of airfare, but as long as no one gets bumped off their flight everyone should be fine with the price hikes.

Also stop allowing standby tickets to be sold on any airline.

And if a customer refuses to listen or adhere to flight crews direction security will no longer be called, instead that person will have a lawyer provided to them at the airlines expense so that the upset passenger who doesn't believe he's being treated "fairly" can sue the airline for hurt feelings and a chapped ass.

[RblDiver]

I would have taken the cash, hotel, and next flight out and been content.

Except that they don't offer cash, they offer those stupid vouchers for another flight. I maybe do one trip a year where I fly, I have no use for those vouchers, so I sure wouldn't volunteer my seat.

Also, for those who are saying he has a questionable past: Yeah? So? What is its bearing on this situation now?

That'd be like saying "Well, that guy served time in prison, but has since been released. A cop pulled him over for speeding when he was clearly going the limit. He protested, so the cop beat him up. But since he's been in jail before we'll overlook the dirty cop."

[Aloha_Shooter]

Also, for those who are saying he has a questionable past: Yeah? So? What is its bearing on this situation now?

The bearing is that he has a history of acting abnormally so the security officers' story that they did NOT beat him and his injuries were caused by his own reactions is quite plausible. The doctor's past actions are not an excuse to beat him and I don't think anyone has said that. However, his past history lends some credence to the airline's story that he was being belligerent and disruptive -- and certainly does more to explain his injuries given the video evidence.

[Martinjmpr]

The bearing is that he has a history of acting abnormally so the security officers' story that they did NOT beat him and his injuries were caused by his own reactions is quite plausible. The doctor's past actions are not an excuse to beat him and I don't think anyone has said that. However, his past history lends some credence to the airline's story that he was being belligerent and disruptive -- and certainly does more to explain his injuries given the video evidence.

Dao's background is at least as relevant as Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown's backgrounds were.

[TFOGGER]

[Aloha_Shooter]

Sorry foxtrot, this has nothing to do with with liking or agreeing with Dr. Dao. In fact, I would say it's quite the opposite: a lot of people are agreeing with him because they dislike the airline rather than because of the facts of the case or whether the actions were right or wrong.

I agree his past criminal (or not) history is irrelevant. What I'm saying is that his behaviorial history actually IS relevant because it bears on whether you believe his injuries were caused by the officers (none of whom seemed to be swinging violently) or self-inflicted by hysterical resistance. A past history of PTSD does actually make the self-infliction scenario more likely -- and I completely disagree that it's unlikely he knocked himself out. If he's thrashing around and hits his head violently on the armrest, it's a good bet that he stunned himself as well -- especially given the broken nose and 2 teeth knocked out. Again, go back to the viral video -- do you see ANY violent arm swings by the security officers?

I get that a lot of you are inherently suspicious of self-important tyrants or mall cops. I even agree with that under some circumstances but what I saw and heard from the video seemed to fit better with Dao spazzing out and hurting himself than with a mall cop busting on him because he could. The question of whether United should have deboarded him or other passengers is a separate question from whether they did something wrong in the process of deboarding. ON the first point, Scalia used to maintain a law could be wrong morally or ethically and still be constitutional. Similarly, I maintain the airline shouldn't have gone through deboarding the way they did but they had every right to do so. On the second point, it seems more likely to me that his injuries were self-inflicted by his behavior.

[00tec]

How about this argument: Nobody should have put their hands on that man. No hands on that man, no resistance.

Someone puts their hands on you, you pull your firearm, they stab you... your fault?

[BushMasterBoy]

The good news is Delta is now authorizing their agents to allow up to $10,000 to unseat you from one of their flights. 10K...my ass will fly off that plane!

[Madeinhb]

The good news is Delta is now authorizing their agents to allow up to $10,000 to unseat you from one of their flights. 10K...my ass will fly off that plane!

Will never happen. United agents have up to 10k also but they never get near it.

[kfr]

Will never happen. United agents have up to 10k also but they never get near it.

Well I'll bet dinky Dau will get at least $5 million.