If there’s one thing I have learned over the years, it’s that there are always two sides to every story.
On April 9th, a very unfortunate incident played out on United Flight 3411, the video of which has since gone viral causing a mass social media uprising with an ‘off-with-their-heads’ mentality. I mean, across the board. Fire ’em all and let the gods sort it out later.
Look, I get it. When I first saw the video I was appalled too. To say that it was inflammatory would be putting it mildly. But it was also a situation that was escalated far beyond the boundaries of necessity.
If a any law enforcement officer asks me to exit a plane, no matter how royally pissed off I am, I’m going to do it and then seek other means of legal reimbursement. True story.
Knowing what I know about airport security, I’m certainly not going to run back into a secured, federally restricted area at an airport flailing my arms and screaming like a banshee…because, you know, that just happens to be breaking a major federal Homeland Security law.
But that’s just me, obviously.
The moment I made that particular ill-advised choice, I would become an immediate and imminent threat to the aircraft’s security. That’s kind of a big deal. I mean, come on, I once actually had to remove my infant son’s socks because they mimicked little baby sneakers. These guys mean business.
I didn’t like it. I thought it was just plain stupid, honestly. But instead of pitching a massive fit, refusing to comply, and bolting through the TSA checkpoint like an out-of-control toddler, I did the big girl thing–sucked it up, removed the offensive socks, and went on with my happy life, sans being tackled and dragged through the airport in handcuffs by a bunch of big men with guns.
Because if you choose to take advantage of the services the airport provides, you play by their rules.
I know you’re all out there screaming that the ‘rules’ are unfair, but I am a pilot wife. I remember 9/11. Do you? I want my husband, the father of my children, to come home. I want you to get home. That law exists to protect my husband. And your wife. And your grandmother. And your child. And you. I, for one, am glad for the law.
I’m not here to dispute the facts of 3411 with you. I am not interested in getting into an argument of opinion with anyone. We’re all entitled to our own. I’m not arguing that what happened wasn’t completely terrible–it was, on multiple levels. But I am suggesting that the general public take another look at the situation, ask a few more questions, gather a few more facts, and then create a less hostile and more intellectually wrought opinion about what happened.
Because the media is giving you just enough information to keep you enraged–enough to keep their ratings up.
Things to consider:
1) “You can’t just kick a paying customer off the plane!” Psssst! It’s in the fine print. They can, indeed, do just that. And it’s not an airline specific rule, it’s a commercial aviation rule. Every ticket you purchase comes with a plethora of fine print–you know, the stuff we just click ‘next’ on without actually reading what we are agreeing to. Yeah, that. Well, it’s in there, and you checked the ‘I agree’ box when you purchased your ticket. You can read about it and oh-so-much-more here. Kind of makes you want to read all those tiny words on your next phone update before you click ‘I agree’, huh? You should. United did not break any law, and he agreed to the policy and possibility of involuntary bump when he bought his ticket. And so do you.
2) “Kicking a paying customer off an airplane!? I’m taking my business to Southwest!” Ummmm, okay. But just be sure you understand that every major airline, Southwest included, has a similar policy for involuntary bumping in a ‘must ride’ scenario. Don’t believe me? It’s called the contract of carriage. If you’re really bored, you can read Southwest’s here. Or Delta’s here. And on and on. This could have been any airline. In fact, it happens all the time. Most people just don’t wrestle law enforcement in the aisle.
3: “So what’s this ‘must ride’ nonsense anyway? They shouldn’t bump a paying customer for a free employee ride!” It’s actually pretty important to you as an airline traveler that they can. They were not ‘freeloading home’. That’s called non-rev and they have to wait in line behind your checkbook and often don’t make it home to their families if flights are booked (believe me, I know). No, this was a must fly, a positive space situation. In layman terms, it means that a crew must be flown to an airport to man a flight in order to avoid cancellation of said flight due to crew unavailability. The airlines are required to do so to avoid disruption of air traffic. In other words, if there are no willing volunteers and they need seats to get a crew somewhere to avoid disruption of aviation flow, they can, will, must bump people for the better good of the 1000’s. Why? Because one cancelled flight has a serious domino affect in the delicate, complicated world of connections and aviation law. This is not illegal. The only thing DOT requires in this situation is that the passenger is reimbursed his/her money.
4: “It’s the airline’s fault for not planning better!” Do some research! The airline industry is conpex. There are about a million and one things that can cause a crew shortage including but not limited to weather, maintenance, weather, connecting fight delays, weather, FAA timeout regs, and did I mention weather? I wish I could control Mother Nature because I would be one filthy rich person. But I can’t. And neither can United. So they inconvenience one, or four, to keep hundreds on track. Do the math. And of course, if we were on the other end of this thing, we’d be tirading and blowing up the internet because United didn’t bump a passenger to make sure our flight didn’t get cancelled and left hundreds stranded. Damned if you do; damned if you don’t. We’re a fickle crowd, we social media folks.
5: They shouldn’t have picked the minority Chinese doctor! It’s racist.” That’s just silly. Though federal regulation demands they involuntarily bump to prevent interruption of flights when necessary, each airline does have the leniency to determine how they choose the bumped passengers. They did not play spin the bottle or walk down the aisle looking for the Asian guy. Use your heads, people! There is a computerized algorithm that takes into account price of ticket, how long ago it was purchased, whether or not they can get the passenger to their destination in a timely manner, etc. It wasn’t an ‘Asian thing.’ Stop, people. Just stop. **added note: it has been discussed that Dr. Dao may have initially volunteered his seat and wasn’t chosen randomly at all. He then changed his mind after accepting the deal.
6: “United should go under for assaulting that passenger! Fire the entire crew!” Read the facts. United never touched the passenger. In fact, by all witness accounts, the United flight crew (layman term: pilots and flight attendants) remained calm and pleasant throughout the entire event, never laying hands on the passenger. They followed protocol as required by policy, no matter if it’s a good policy or not. Once law enforcement became involved (also as required by protocol), United stepped out of the decision-making process. They had nothing to do with the rest. The passenger was forcibly removed by aviation security (the very disturbing clip that everyone is talking about) after running back into the secured area after being escorted out once. Once he did that, like it or not, they (law enforcement) were under full discretion of the law to apply necessary force to remove the threat. I’m not saying it’s pretty, but the only one who actually broke a law was the passenger. There’s a reason for these laws–it’s called 9/11. I understand he’s npt a terrorist. I’m only explaining why these laws and policies exist. We can’t have it both ways. But by all means, let’s berate and punish an entire flight crew–in fact thousands of pilots, FA’s, gate attendents, ground crew, etc.–because it makes us all feel a little better.
7: “You piece of **it!” I get that the passengers were upset, angry, maybe even confused. I get that you are too. After all, media is tossing you out chunks of bloody meat like you’re a pack of starving wolves. But I’m seriously disgusted that the must ride crew that had to take those seats as well as aviation folks at airports around the nation after the unfortunate mess that unraveled have been verbally and physically assaulted and threatened. Can you imagine the very uncomfortable position they were in? doing their jobs to feed their families. Just. Like. You. They don’t have a choice. They didn’t ask for this. They didn’t assault anyone. They are not a corporation; they are individuals who need a job. There’s a very fine line between what you despise and becoming what you despise. Many of the comments and actions I have seen perpetrated against United employees cross it. Violence does not fix violence. Don’t become what you hate.
Like I said, I know you’re mad at United, but there’s much more to the story than hits the media fan.
I truly hope that this gives you something to chew on and gives you a smidgen more insight into the complexities of aviation. I’m not making excuses. I think there were bad decisions made on both sides. However, I am saying there are always two sides to every story. Make sure you consider them both.
Tailwinds.
***In answer to some questions: I am in no way affiliated with United Airlines. I have not been paid for this blog. My opinions are not reflective of any airline or even my husband. I write of my own volition. I never stated that United did not make serious customer service or human interaction mistakes. Of course they did! Of course they should have made adjustments before bording, offered more money, and found ways to diffuse the situation. Of course, no human should be assaulted. I called it terrible and appalling in the blog. My only intent was to explain the policy behind what happened and that they were not illegal. United (and other airlines) has scrutinized their policy and made some necessary changes since this blog was published. Those changes are not reflected above in the blog as they were not current policy at the time of event. Thanks.
***A correction to the previous article. Mr. Dao was indeed Vietnamese and not Chinese. That quote was verbatim from a comment off the internet. Also, it has come to light since this publication that the law enforcement officials were not federal. However, they are still not employed by United. I apology profusely for the confusion.
Angelia (A Pilot Wife)
Bullshit! United screwed up, the cops screwed up! I hope they both get sued for millions! Maybe then they will ‘get it’,,,the customer IS the reason they are in business! I hope you don’t teach your children that they really have no rights! The government, the police forces are the servants of the people NOT the masters!
But they are law ENFORCEMENT officers. Do you get that? Their jobs are to ENFORCE the LAW. Don’t want to deal with them? Then obey the law. Simple as that.
You are not listening to the whole story… this was a confluence of FEDERAL regulations, not United’s. They were not United employees who pulled him off the plane, they were police. He was dragged out after he had rushed back onto the plane. If someone wearing a badge tells you to get off a plane, it would be a good idea to follow instructions… Social media has blown this way out of proportion.
Not one bit of commentary to counteract what the writer said. You’re one of the social media folks she is talking about.
Sit down and shut up, or you’ll be the next one escorted out, Dakin!
Highly doubt a lawsuit will hold water. He may be compensated by the airline to slooth hurt feelings, but he refused a direct order from police. From that point on, all bets are off. This was a not a United action, but a police issue .
Correction the government is suppose to protect the people from danger or the possibility of danger. And when 1 person compromises the safety of everyone on the plane and maybe even the the airport. Well then too bad. Now if they should be sued for unnecessary force that depends on your stance on the issue.
Should the flight have already been completely seated and someone needed to be booted- the thing to do would be for united to get on the PA and OFFER a discount with perk etc for someone to give up their seat- PERIOD. I can understand NOT BOARDING someone because of this RULE but once already boarded and seated? that is beyond absurd.
They did… they offered $400/$800 and no-one responded!
They DID offer; selfishly no one accepted. YES, they should have NOT boarded the passengers first then remove them, but I’m assuming they do that to see if there are no-shows first. However, in this day and age there should be a unilateral system to show the airlines that Jane Doe cleared security so they will be on the plane. With the price of tickets, I cannot imagine no-shows are a big deal these days.
That’s not enough, by law they are supposed to offer $1,350 in compensation, not $800 or $400. They are intentionally ripping paying passengers off and on top of that screwing them over by offering a much lower compensation rate. What they did was wrong, wrong, wrong period. I don’t care the argument in this article. It’s unjustified. Law enforcement personnel are abusing their power and spreading power by fear. Also, this man is a doctor. Unless you’re a doctor, like myself, you won’t understand the critical nature of being present for patients. People’s lives are on our hands, surgery, chemo, heart failure etc. Respect the reality of the situation and offer $1350 to someone else to give up their seat, I’m sure at that rate someone would have offered. Negotiate the situation like a decent civilized people for which this country is becoming to lack so desparately. United and law enforcement failed on every aspect of this situation.
Well you are not well versed in what happens at boarding and not aware of anything that happens at airlines and boarding. All tha gate agents know is if someone is checked in or not ( which can be done up to 24 hrs prior to flight). Many, many people check in and for many reasons don’t make the Flight. Gate agents have now idea if your at the airport and not about to poll the crowd. They know that it’s booked to a certain amount and “procactively” offer compensations up front to ensure that a (DH ) deahead Crewmember needs to fly. When loaded and no seats are available they then go into the procedure of removing passengers (overbooking practice also makes it impossible to be certain of final count prior to boarding).
This passenger after not heeding a direct request from a police officer only heightened the situation.
They did. They offered $800 and a free hotel stay, while opening up a seat on a flight the very next day. No one took the offer so four were selected at random and STILL got the compensation. He was the only one to throw a fit about it.
I agree. I just saw on TV that a couple made … get this… $11,000 by an,airline, to take a later flight. So no more of this BS of whining just because you married a pilot. Airlines charge you for EVERYTHING…a pillow, blanket, snacks, drinks, luggage…stuff that used to be COMPLIMENTARY. But these money hungry airlines have the balls to charge more for less and less. And as far as being “compliant”…where does that end? Will you be compliant with Sharia Law? There are times people should not and will not be pushed around. I hope he sues the crap out of United. I don’t fly, ever. RV is cheaper and safer.
A Mistake was made by boarding without ensuring Positive Space had seating. I have dealt with an entire flight where passengers refused to deplane until compensation was satisfied. Rule of thumb, Planning…planning…planning prevents uncontrollably situations.
Wowzers! People are really freaking out at you! But this was a well-written, informative, and excellent piece. Very nice work!
It was condescending and poorly written. Clearly looking for her 15 minutes of fame. Sad.
Thats because Uniteds new marketing department wrote it. I agree with it as well.
I agree with what you are saying. However, I did see this same information on the news. Please don’t blame the media for people not paying attention to all the facts, the same as not reading all the terms they agree to before buying that plane ticket. I never understood bumping passengers until this event occurred.