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United Airlines Pilots “Infuriated” Passenger Was Dragged Off Plane

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CHICAGO (CBS) — United Airlines pilots want it known that they had nothing to do with the incident in which a passenger was violently dragged off a United Express plane in Chicago. (chicago.cbslocal.com) Más...

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watkinssusan
please understand, there is a distinction between the "mini carriers" operating under an airlines logo,and the actual carrier itself..employees are trained a bit differently in some areas, and they handle not only ticketing and gate dispatch,but the ground operations and every other duty associated with that airplane..the "big" aircraft that are actually the carriers,have personnel in different departments to make decisions..in any case, this scenario should never have happened..they needed 4 volunteers and got 3 from what I heard..i worked for 28 years for a major carrier,and in all those years,never had to call airport police to drag anyone off of an airplane, oversold or not..the doctor was not belligerent towards the police per the video I saw, but he was asserting vocally his rights..believe me, the belligerent ones are usually the ones waiting at the gate who came late and and were not seated..(the policy is not based on the fare basis of a ticket, but generally last boarding pass issued,first off,and there is a computer list of passengers and check in times)..in the case of "must ride" crew or deadheaders,they can be accommodated in the extra "jumpseat" in the cockpit and the f/a one if available..i will also say that "upping" the amount of money offered and a travel voucher and getting the passenger to their destination as quickly as possible will get more volunteers..since supposedly it was just one more seat that was needed, the responsible thing to do would have been to contact crew scheduling and get the additional crew member needed at the other end,or book your unaccommodated crew member on another carrier to get to the destination..i have worked many oversold or full flights through the years where we exercised all options and it did not require dragging a paying passenger down the aisle,who was not a threat to the aircraft,crew or other passengers..i might add that the majority of people do not read passengers bill of rights nor the contract of carriage,and now that everyone is getting paperless tickets and printing their own boarding passes at home,many do not even know there is such a thing...
fastroper
Cecil Clark 4
Ultimately this IS United Airlines responsibility since they contracted Republic Airlines to carry United passengers on its behalf; plus, the aircraft on which this occured is painted in the United livery. Yes, it was security officers, not airline employees who roughed up the passenger--but it was the airline that sent in the goons--Republic or United doesn't matter. It was advertised as a United Express flight and as mentioned below, most passengers don;t know; nor, do they care the "express", "connection" or "eagle" flight they're on is not a United, Delta or American flight, but rather a Republic, Skywest, Mesa, Commutair, Piedmont, PSA, Trans States, Go Jet, Compass, Expressjet, Horizon, Envoy, etc.. United ALPA union pilots can cry all they want, but it is what it is under the current means of how the legacy airlines contract regionals to fly on their behalf.
sparkie624
sparkie624 -4
I disagree. It was the security or police agency that is responsible for getting them of the plane. The person did not comply with lawfully given instructions. There is a video of the police talking to the man and he was belligerent... At that point he was not eligible to fly that day and had to be removed. Just like any other person the cops are chasing.. If you fight back you are going to loose... Just like he did. Sorry Charlie... No tuna this time!! The guy got what he asked for...
chalet
chalet 2
Look Sparkie, you either did not read the whole story on the press or failed to watch the videos on TV. Yes, the passenger got belligerent because he has paid a ticket and was given a seat number. The gorillas who dragged him our acted on orders from United. If the airline needed 4 seats for his pilots to be able to meet their flight Schedule, ok United should have offered him a voucher for say $ 500 or whatever plus hotel and meals if necessary, but no, the good doctor was treated like a criminal. Well United is paying hell for acting like that.

And as for you, hope that you experience the same situation of being forced by two hefty gorillas out of your plane because the airline does not value or respect you. Tell us about your experience.
sparkie624
sparkie624 -3
Very true and obvious.. But someone had to do it and the right people did what had to be done. You fight the cops and yo are going to loose!
castrow245
William Castro 4
I agree the pilots have nothing to do with the incident; Both the administration and the security are more responsible for the incident. I do travel a lot; and will avoid this airline because of their policy.
spatr
spatr -3
You do realize it's every airlines policy? If you're asked to get off of a plane and are non compliant, they will call local law enforcement. You should also read the contract of carriage. It specifically lays out what the airlines can and can't do. Guess what? They can ask you to get off of a plane, and you signed that contract by purchasing the ticket.

djames225
djames225 3
Yes you should read that contract as well as FAA rules...United's Contract of Carriage has the rules of when they can "hick" passengers off a craft..if a paying pax has NOT broken any of the rules, they cannot be just "kicked" off a craft all wily nily...the 4 customers broke NON of the rules..not beligerant or drunk, not threatening (the Dr was after altercation with the "security goons" AFTER being told to get off), no "must flys" were scheduled, not overbooked, and no emergency.
tjperez927
Tony Perez 3
That's should only be for passengers who are a threat to other passengers, safety, etc.
wingbolt
wingbolt -6
I wish they would be "infuriated" when the airplane is delayed for hours away from the gate. I with they would be "infuriated" when a piece of interior is hanging from the ceiling. I with they would be "infuriated" when the cabin looks like a trash dump. I wish they were "infuriated" when United lost my luggage. I wish they would be "infuriated" when their pilots use the emergency frequency to tell jokes. I seriously doubt they gave it a second thought, just crappy service as usual.
deafsea
deafsea 2
The American media folks ALWAYS make us pay attention to one thing. Why finger point to United... Should we finger point to the security who caused the problem. But of course, United has faulty for the cause.

United's CEO Oscar Munoz did apology. why not O'Hare Airport Security Chief should make an apology as well.
gibby0816
gibby0816 5
The security chief couldn't have acted without United's request. It's a UnitedAir PR nightmare.
yr2012
matt jensen -5
Infuriated? Maybe. But did they do anything to stop it? No
spatr
spatr 2
What could they do? At that point it's between the police and the passenger. Even the captain has no say once the passenger becomes non compliant with the police.
30west
30west 7
Matt, the flight was not being operated by United Airlines or its pilots, thus their angst. I assume that the UA pilots feel that they are getting a bad rap. It was a United Express flight operated by Republic Airlines and its pilots. The flying public who for the most part doesn't pay attention to the details of their flights, don't distinguish between the mainline and the regionals airlines. Marketing only adds to the confusion.
yr2012
matt jensen 2
Doesn't make it right, UA or Express
wingbolt
wingbolt 0
Call it what you want but with "United" plastered all over the side of it I consider it a "United" flight. Enough so that the president of United went to the press not the president of Republic.
yr2012
matt jensen 2
exactly

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