Well, it's a case of too much money, again. Airline profits are soaring as the recession recedes into history. Oil/fuel prices are stable and new fees have fattened bottom lines. The result of all these factors: corporate arrogance. Reminds one of the banking business, in all its forms.
So, what happened? A passenger on a UA flight was bumped, but with a different twist. The overbooked flight had few takers for the airline's offer of $$$ for leaving to take a later flight. UA wanted to use seats for crew who had to return to a base hub. A passenger, a Dr. Gao, was ordered to leave his seat and take a later flight. He explained that he was a doctor and had patients with appointments. Chicago airport police were called and they came aboard the aircraft to talk some "sense" into Dr. Gao. Within minutes, Dr. Gao was forcibly removed by having the police drag him from his seat, then dragged by the arms down the aisle to the hatch. During this action, the doctor's nose was broken; he suffered a concussion, and severe bruises over his entire body. Somehow, the doctor re-boarded the plane after his removal. This confounds investigators as this was not supposed to happen.
The doctor is in seclusion, talking with his lawyer(s) pending the filing of a multimillion dollar suit against the airline.
The CEO of the airline offered several lame excuses. The chairman of the board offered even more lame excuses. Videos of the whole affair are on the internet, as one would expect. Airline passengers/users are outraged because they identify with Dr. Gao. We know about the power of the airlines these days, and understand the precarious nature of your "paid" ticket. Nobody knows what a ticket really costs these days. We do know that all the flights are full and the airlines have added fee after fee after fee to fatten the bottom line. In addition, seats are smaller than ever; carry-on restrictions grow ever more strict; food is none existent; service not helpful; crews overworked; lines longer than ever; policies are changed on a whim; and regulators are not worthy of the name.
Will Congress step up? Hardly. Will the FAA intervene? Will UA change? Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
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