Man forcibly dragged off plane after refusing to give up seat to United Airlines employee

[_Cathy_]

I would only agree if they would give me a first class ticket to anywhere I like

Sent from my ASUS_T00I using Tapatalk

[kagalingan]

United Airlines: Previous case of company officers threatening to handcuff passenger re-emerges after video goes viral

United Airlines: Previous case of company officers threatening to handcuff passenger re-emerges after video goes viral

As the controversy over United Airlines rages on after a passenger was violently dragged off his seat in an overbooked flight, another passenger has come forward saying the airline previously threatened to handcuff him if he refused to leave the plane.

Geoff Fearn, 59, also had a bad experience when he tried to remain in the seat he booked on board the United Airlines flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles last week.

The investment firm president told the Los Angeles Times that he was returning from a business conference and needed to be back early. He said he had paid about $1,000 (£800) for a first class ticket leaving Lihue Airport, on the island of Kauai.

But as Mr Fearn, a member of the airline’s frequent traveller programme, was enjoying a complimentary orange juice, United Airlines employees reportedly boarded the aircraft and told him he had to get off the plane because the flight was overbooked.

“They told me they needed the seat for somebody more important who came at the last minute," Mr Fearn told the newspaper. "They said they have a priority list and this other person was higher on the list than me.

“They were telling me I had no choice. They said they’d put me in cuffs if they had to."

Mr Fearn’s story echoes what happened to 69-year-old David Dao, a doctor from Kentucky, who was filmed in a viral video bleeding from his mouth after law enforcement officers selected him at random and tried to remove him from the overbooked flight leaving Chicago.

During the incident, passengers allegedly heard the doctor saying he could not delay his journey because he had appointments with his patients scheduled for the next day.

Dr Dao is receiving treatment in Chicago hospital and told a local TV channel he was not doing well.

Mr Fearn resigned himself to give up his seat, when he was confronted with the enforcement officers and the company agreed to keep him on the plane.

He was downgraded to the economy class and reportedly spent the six-hour flight sat in between a couple, who had had an argument and refused to sit next to each other.

Upon arrival in California, Mr Fearn said he complained to United Airlines and asked for a refund.

He received an apology for the “unpleasant flight” but the company only agreed to refund him the price difference between a first and second class ticket.

United Airlines has been approached for comment by The Independent, but none had been received at the time of publication.

Following the outrage sparked by Dr Dao's own experience with United Airlines, the company's chief executive Oscar Munoz said "this will never happen again" and sent his “deepest apologies” to the passenger.

He also said that the airline would review its use of law enforcement officers to remove passengers from overbooked plans.

[BratPAQ]

my plane my rules. in this case it went overboard..

actually there are rules called Contract of Carriage. you cant just do what ever you want because its your airline.

[CVT]

actually there are rules called Contract of Carriage. you cant just do what ever you want because its your airline.

Similar things are happening ever since I started traveling. However, not at the point when you're already seated.... They did this as early as you're checking in... Free hotel accommodation, $$$, and sure seat of the same class in the next flight.

However, when your plane had trouble and they booked you in the next flight, there is no assurance that you will be in the same class.... Happened to me twice from SFO to MNL.... Got"downgraded" to economy class. It was a good thing that I got seated together with the wacky staff of a local TV station in one occasion. But you got to ride at the tail of a 747, where making sure that your piss hits the inside of the bowl is a huge challenge....😉

[dr. d]

i wonder, who were those "more important passengers" , that they had to ask already-seated and loaded passengers to get up?

[Wh1stl3r]

^
Read somewhere that it was airline staff who had to get to another flight.

What's funny to me is before all this, the president of United just received an award called "Communicator of the Year". This from someone who says the assaulted customer was "disruptive" and "belligerent". And someone who only after stock value has plummeted some $1.4B later issues a half baked apology using terms like "re-accommodate".

[dr. d]

^
Read somewhere that it was airline staff who had to get to another flight.

What's funny to me is before all this, the president of United just received an award called "Communicator of the Year". This from someone who says the assaulted customer was "disruptive" and "belligerent". And someone who only after stock value has plummeted some $1.4B later issues a half baked apology using terms like "re-accommodate".

airline staff...
personally, kung mekaniko ng eroplano siya, siguro ibibigay ko upuan ko... for a fee.
but kung taga-pasa ng inumin at packed meal....

but hey! getting sued because i failed to see my patients, is a real issue.

if we dug deep enough, we'd probably find out that somebody in the company "made a dumb decision".

speculate... speculate...

[Wh1stl3r]

airline staff...
personally, kung mekaniko ng eroplano siya, siguro ibibigay ko upuan ko... for a fee.
but kung taga-pasa ng inumin at packed meal....

but hey! getting sued because i failed to see my patients, is a real issue.

if we dug deep enough, we'd probably find out that somebody in the company "made a dumb decision".

speculate... speculate...

Just read the doctor was already 69? Wow. Sometimes looking younger has its down sides. I doubt they would've done that had they known how old he was.

[Walter]

i wonder, who were those "more important passengers" , that they had to ask already-seated and loaded passengers to get up?

One with more air miles accumulated ... imagine asking a first class passenger who paid US$1000 to get up and leave ...

[dr. d]

One with more air miles accumulated ... imagine asking a first class passenger who paid US$1000 to get up and leave ...

if seating is all they wanted, they should have gotten them from the bleachers.

i wonder... did anybody get a video of who eventually sat on the vacated seats?