Passengers ‘shaky and so disgusted’ as United forces screaming doctor off a plane

[Variant]

Just wait until ultra-high speed rail becomes common place.  Hope those pencil-d__'s remember their customer service attitudes then.

Per this article, by 2030 expect 220 mph trains between large metro areas, and 110 mph ones radiating  from major hubs.

http://www.ushsr.com/ushsrmap.html

Jerry Brown, is that you? :)

[Idiot]

I'm thinking upping the amount United was willing to pay for a passenger to deplane was going to be a whole lot cheaper than what they'll be forking over to this gentleman.

[catfish1957]

Jerry Brown, is that you? :)

18 posts here and you are insulting me?  Where in this thread did I endorsee that taxpayers fund this?

[LonestarDream]

I'm thinking upping the amount United was willing to pay for a passenger to deplane was going to be a whole lot cheaper than what they'll be forking over to this gentleman.

Exactly.  Maybe $25K for United per passenger. Saw an article where over 3400 hundred booked United passengers were summarily booted off their flights.  There needs to be disincentives built in to make United 'volunteer' to not treat its customers like chattle.

[LonestarDream]

I'm thinking upping the amount United was willing to pay for a passenger to deplane was going to be a whole lot cheaper than what they'll be forking over to this gentleman.

So glib , so flip are some about dumping passengers.  Perhaps United should be broken up - anti-trust.   

[EC]

Here's how airlines like United determine who gets kicked off a flight

For interest, if nothing else.

[XenaLee]

Best Parody of the year, easily.


The Kettle Drums.  The French Horns.  The violins.


Choice!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2S9T505hVY&feature=youtu.be


@don-o

Yikes is right.  Can't wait to see the SNL version....lol.

[Smokin Joe]

My thoughts exactly.  That guy freaked out way beyond proportion.

I don't know what sort of doctor he is. There are things that are time sensitive, or that take getting together a team of doctors to accomplish (transplant surgeries, for example) where him being where he said he would be is critical to a favorable outcome. It may even involve a relative.
What seems like overreaction to us may be a poorly expressed understanding of the situation by him. Without knowing more, I won't judge except to say he really did not want to get off the flight. Without knowing his motivation, knowing whether his reaction is "excessive" is impossible.

[240B]

I may be the only one who feels this way, but his behavior was utterly irrational. Forget for a moment how United handled the situation, which was by all means flawed, but think for a  moment how he handled it. He behaved like a disturbed, unreasonable, lunatic. At one point he was muttering, "Kill me! Kill me!" Do you really want that person on your flight? What would he have done if the plane hits turbulence, or if a fellow passenger made him angry?

Apparently, he was willing to die to stay on that flight. If his meeting in the morning was as important as he claimed, then why would he be willing to die? How is that rational? Wouldn't he miss the meeting if he was dead? The man is mentally unstable. Or maybe he had some mission oriented reason that he absolutely MUST be on only that very specific flight. Either case is scary, and it is good that he was removed. IMO

[Smokin Joe]

I may be the only one who feels this way, but his behavior was utterly irrational. Forget for a moment how United handled the situation, which was by all means flawed, but think for a  moment how he handled it. He behaved like a disturbed, unreasonable, lunatic. At one point he was muttering, "Kill me! Kill me!" Do you really want that person on your flight? What would he have done if the plane hits turbulence, or if a fellow passenger made him angry?

Apparently, he was willing to die to stay on that flight. If his meeting in the morning was as important as he claimed, then why would he be willing to die? How is that rational? Wouldn't he miss the meeting if he was dead? The man is mentally unstable. Or maybe he had some mission oriented reason that he absolutely MUST be on only that very specific flight. Either case is scary, and it is good that he was removed. IMO

Like I said, we don't know why he found it so desperately necessary to take that flight. It could have been anything from marital difficulties to scheduled surgery on a relative or loved one to paying his bookie on time. We. Don't. Know.

Ordinarily quiet and collected people in extreme situations we might be completely unaware of can be pushed that last inch across the line when their plans to deal with things get derailed, and for some it will seem like the end of the world. For others it may be the end of theirs.
I'm not going to rush to judgement, because virtually anyone can be pushed to that point in a moment of desperation.

[240B]

Like I said, we don't know why he found it so desperately necessary to take that flight. It could have been anything from marital difficulties to scheduled surgery on a relative or loved one to paying his bookie on time. We. Don't. Know.

Ordinarily quiet and collected people in extreme situations we might be completely unaware of can be pushed that last inch across the line when their plans to deal with things get derailed, and for some it will seem like the end of the world. For others it may be the end of theirs.
I'm not going to rush to judgement, because virtually anyone can be pushed to that point in a moment of desperation.

You make a very good and cogent argument. I agree with everything you said.

However, any situation can change in a second. It happens to all of us, especially to Doctors.

When I face a new and unexpected negative development, I face it, and figure out what I have to do to fix it, or to work around it. Which is exactly what I would expect from a Doctor.

If this had happened to me, all I would be doing is thinking about the dozen or so ways available to get there by morning. It was doable. Louisville is not that far away. But I would never throw a screaming tantrum and get into a violent fight with three police officers. That's not how normal people behave.

It is true that he may have been on the brink of a breakdown, and this situation was the trigger. That's what I meant in my previous post.

[Smokin Joe]

You make a very good and cogent argument. I agree with everything you said.

However, any situation can change in a second. It happens to all of us, especially to Doctors.

When I face a new and unexpected negative development, I face it, and figure out what I have to do to fix it, or to work around it. Which is exactly what I would expect from a Doctor.

If this had happened to me, all I would be doing is thinking about the dozen or so ways available to get there by morning. It was doable. Louisville is not that far away. But I would never throw a screaming tantrum and get into a violent fight with three police officers. That's not how normal people behave.

It is true that he may have been on the brink of a breakdown, and this situation was the trigger. That's what I meant in my previous post.

I would have figured out if I could cash in the ticket, the hotel room, and find a one-way car rental. Checked truck stops, trains, bus schedules, whatever, and found a way. But then, this guy is settled in, on rails, everything is taken care of (possibly by someone else) and already home, mentally (just my .02 guess). He may have been really looking forward to this. Someone threw a brick through his window, and his vision of the immediate future shattered, and he panicked.
He may not have the logistical survival skills to get from point A to point B.

[LonestarDream]

I would have figured out if I could cash in the ticket, the hotel room, and find a one-way car rental. Checked truck stops, trains, bus schedules, whatever, and found a way. But then, this guy is settled in, on rails, everything is taken care of (possibly by someone else) and already home, mentally (just my .02 guess). He may have been really looking forward to this. Someone threw a brick through his window, and his vision of the immediate future shattered, and he panicked.
He may not have the logistical survival skills to get from point A to point B.

The FAA should take away two gates per month from this airline  (At Random! ) , until it is dead.

Anti-Trust.  Increase competition to eliminate these type of adhesion contracts-- the conservative solution.

If we dont get ahead of this, the donks are going to have a field day.

[LonestarDream]

Have never seen Kimmel before.  Parody at the the end is also good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV28_ENzFog&oref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DHV28_ENzFog&has_verified=1

[Applewood]

And now China is saying the passenger was "targeted" because he is Chinese.   (Sigh!)

http://www.statesman.com/business/united-passenger-removal-sparks-outrage-china/9fKGP9GeDK5GeSAOc6TDiI/

[LonestarDream]

And now China is saying the passenger was "targeted" because he is Chinese.   (Sigh!)

http://www.statesman.com/business/united-passenger-removal-sparks-outrage-china/9fKGP9GeDK5GeSAOc6TDiI/

Lots of Chinese folks on twitter are generating heavy volume on this issue.  Non-Chinese were thrown off the plane as well. But the optics look very bad.

[LonestarDream]

And now China is saying the passenger was "targeted" because he is Chinese.   (Sigh!)

http://www.statesman.com/business/united-passenger-removal-sparks-outrage-china/9fKGP9GeDK5GeSAOc6TDiI/

As noted above, if this is going to be made about coercion, Asian countries can just pull United Gates out of airports. 

[driftdiver]

I would have figured out if I could cash in the ticket, the hotel room, and find a one-way car rental. Checked truck stops, trains, bus schedules, whatever, and found a way. But then, this guy is settled in, on rails, everything is taken care of (possibly by someone else) and already home, mentally (just my .02 guess). He may have been really looking forward to this. Someone threw a brick through his window, and his vision of the immediate future shattered, and he panicked.
He may not have the logistical survival skills to get from point A to point B.

@Smokin Joe

Most people would.  Throw in tight schedules, crowded airports, dirty conditions, high cost, sleep deprivation and rude airline representatives and people do stupid stuff.

[Smokin Joe]

@Smokin Joe

Most people would.  Throw in tight schedules, crowded airports, dirty conditions, high cost, sleep deprivation and rude airline representatives and people do stupid stuff.

The part of all this I'm not hearing and the conversation has shied away from is just why he was so desperate to keep that seat.

I think there may be some answers there, but either that question isn't getting asked, or no one wants to give the answer.

[thackney]

That crap should have been settled before the plane even boarded. Can't the desk people count?

I think that was the biggest mistake made in the first place.  Don't ever put more customers on the plane than you are willing to fly with.

When they didn't get the volunteers they needed, even after upping the compensation, start calling the "random" selected people to the counter.  Ask to see their ticket, don't give it back; never let them on the plane.  If they throw a fit, it doesn't happen on the plane.

[catfish1957]

I think that was the biggest mistake made in the first place.  Don't ever put more customers on the plane than you are willing to fly with.

When they didn't get the volunteers they needed, even after upping the compensation, start calling the "random" selected people to the counter.  Ask to see their ticket, don't give it back; never let them on the plane.  If they throw a fit, it doesn't happen on the plane.

Agreed.  I think the airlines think there are more people like an old friend of mine.

30 years ago, he would book a flight around Christmas, and allow himself to be bumped a half dozen times.  Back then, they used to give a free flight to anywhere when bumped.  With his one day stunt, he pretty much flew free the following year for all his vacations, and his wife.

[thackney]

Here's how airlines like United determine who gets kicked off a flight

For interest, if nothing else.

"What happened with United was exceedingly rare," aviation analyst Henry Harteveldt said.

Translation: Yeah, the industry has done that before...

[thackney]

When I face a new and unexpected negative development, I face it, and figure out what I have to do to fix it, or to work around it. Which is exactly what I would expect from a Doctor.

While United didn't help their business with this event, I suspect the same for the Doctor.  I would not want this guy doing surgery on me, or trust his snap judgement.

[Wingnut]

New United Slogans:

If we can’t seat you, we will beat you.

We have an offer you can’t refuse. No really.

We put the hospital into hospitality.

Board as a doctor, leave as a patient.

You carry on, we carry you off.

[IsailedawayfromFR]

People want flights to be as cheap as possible.  Well, that requires things like overbooking, bumping, etc..  When you buy a ticket, you are told that if it is overbooked, you may be bumped involuntarily.  That's part of the deal when you buy a ticket.  Generally, you can pay more and not be subject to bumping.  This guy should have gotten off the plane when directed to do so, and if the cops had to drag him off to obtain compliance with the terms of the ticket, that's on him.

I was taken off an international flight once due to overbooking while traveling business.

Had been on road for a month and not pleased.

Upon return home, I complained and the airline sent its head of North American operations to meet me and apologize. They had made a computer mistake. Got a lot of compensation including free flights and upgrades.

Since I was on foreign soil traveling with the country's national airline, thought it prudent not to complain at the time.

I knew my limitations.