Fook United Airlines

[crays]

https://scontent.fphl2-2.fna.fbcdn.n...7a&oe=595BB795

OUCH. That's rough. But it did make me chuckle.

[BushMasterBoy]

[Irving]

In other news.... TSA took my Eat'n Tool while flying out of Tulsa last week.

Attachment 70075

Said it could be used as a self-defense weapon.

When sporks are outlawed, only outlaws....

What a dumb shit. No one is defending themselves into control of an airplane.

[Irving]

I don't know about you guys, but I wouldn't want to be the employee that has to take the seat of that guy that just got dragged off the plane, regardless of all the details of the event.

[Dave_L]

http://jumpseatnews.com/2017/4/stand...nited-airlines

Standing by United Airlines 100%

Let's cut through the social media nonsense regarding the United Airlines incident.

United is a great company that's working very hard to ensure that passengers get from point A to point B safely and with as much comfort as possible. Are they perfect? Heavens no, but none of the airlines are. Yes, what happened to that passenger turned into an unfortunate situation, but it didn't have to end out that way. It was all up to him. You choose the behavior, you choose the consequences.

Let's break some things down:

#1 – When you are asked by official airline personnel to get off an airplane, you do so. Period. End of story. You can complain/sue/whine/fight-the-power after you get off the plane. This passenger was first approached by United representatives who told him nicely and apologetically that he was being denied boarding. He was one of four people assigned by United to be involuntarily bumped from the flight. He responded by raising his voice and refusing to comply with instructions.

He was asked again, and again…and then again. Each time, he refused to comply with the request from airport officials. And I don't give a shit that he was a doctor. When asked onboard an aircraft to comply with instructions, you do so. You are not more or less important than anyone else.

Finally, not one, not two, but three officials from Chicago Department of Aviation were called to assist in getting this passenger to comply. He refused. Clearly, he felt he was more important than the rules, the other passengers, their schedules, and the operation of not only that flight, but the connecting flights and passengers out of SDF.

You see kids, when told by multiple airport officials to exit an aircraft, you do so. Kind of like when you see these little blue/red lights things flashing right behind you – you ought to pull your car over instead of speeding up and continuing to drive away from the police. How hard is it to do what you are told? Unless you were in a coma on 9/11/2001, you ought to know from that point forward that thumbing your nose at the request of aviation officials is not a good idea and never ends well.

#2 – The overbooking issue is nothing more than airlines responding to human nature. People often don't show up for flights. You want your airfares to stay cheap? Then be ok with airlines practicing rebooking and your agreement (an agreement that you make when you buy your ticket) to possibly be bumped from a flight – particularly if a crew is needed to be transported to ensure further operations downstream don't get cancelled and affect hundreds of other fliers. In 2015, 46,000 people were "involuntarily denied boarding" by major airlines. It sucks and it does happen. But United only ranks in the middle of U.S. carriers when it comes to bumping passengers – so stop picking just on them. That said, it would be interesting to see if airlines end up coming out with a special higher premium fare in the future that absolutely guarantees a seat no matter what.

#3 – I'm glad Chicago Aviation Security officers physically removed this passenger from the flight when he refused to get off. Very glad – mostly for the safety of the other passengers and crew. The aircraft flying from ORD to SDF was an Embraer E170. It's a regional jet that has about 80 seats, which means that it's a small, enclosed space inside a metal tube. There's not much room in the aisles, nor ability to easily maneuver around. Things could get ugly quickly. And worse after takeoff when there's no place to go.

The most important responsibility of the aviation officers (and United for that matter) is to ensure the safety of everyone else onboard when you have a passenger refusing to comply with crewmember or personnel instructions. You don't screw around with this. Nobody could quickly get inside his mind and know what he was thinking or his true mental state. For all we know, he could have thrown a physical fit, grabbed at and gouged out the eyes of another passenger. He could have twisted and snapped the neck of a child nearby. Or, maybe he would have just sat there and played Pokémon Go until landing (though that would have been difficult). Who knows? There are 100 different scenarios that must have flashed through the minds of the aviation officials in milliseconds. He could have done any number of things, and since he was refusing and ended up screeching/throwing a toddler tantrum, who knows where this would have led or what was lurking inside his mind. The officers were doing their job and taking his unpredictability and noncompliance very seriously, as well as the safety of everyone else around them as priority. Good for them.

I've been publishing on this site for 17 years. I've written hundreds of articles, and many of them have poked fun at United. From time to time, I've called them out on bad or stupid decisions. I even created a screw-o-meter to gauge certain United actions over the years.

Nevertheless, United Airlines did absolutely nothing wrong. When you have a disruptive and belligerent passenger refusing to follow crewmember/official instructions, you have a problem. A major problem. Better to solve it before the aircraft leaves the ground.

Good for CEO Oscar Munoz for his statement today, as well as standing behind the hardworking employees who are now taking a bulk of this social media bullshit (posted by irresponsible people with few facts of the incident).

Again, what happened to that passenger turned into an unfortunate situation, but it didn't have to end out that way. It was all up to him. You choose the behavior, you choose the consequences.

Oscar, I don't know about everyone else, but you made me prouder than ever of United Airlines in the manner with which you addressed this difficult situation. Any regular reader of JSN knows that I don't say this lightly.

--- Christopher

[O2HeN2]

That said, too many years of being a crew member have soured me on flying commercial. It is a last resort for me.

You're used to planes that have swimming pools, talk about spoiled!

O2

[Irving]

Meh, pretty dumb article.

[BushMasterBoy]

Meh, pretty dumb article.

Yeah and they blocked the comments. Wtf...the comments are the best part of stupid troll op-eds.

[Dave_L]

Meh, pretty dumb article.

Agreed. I think the backlash from this is deserved.

[Gman]

Part of the problem is that some airline employees seem to have become drunk with authority. "If you even look at me sideways, it's a Federal offense."