United overbooked a flight so they dragged a passenger off the plane

[Deleted]

Just because the person is a doctor doesn't give him special privileges.

With the said it sucks what the airline industry does to it's customers each and every day.

It sucks for everyone, but it is worse for people with important appointments.

[Katchii]

People got bumped tens of thousands of times last year without an incident such as this. Why would this flight be any different than any of the others?

Just playing devil's advocate here, but just because we haven't heard about it or seen video's of it on the internet doesn't mean it didn't happen. Also, it's possible the incidents were just handled much better before. I can't speak exactly as to how/why/if this specific incident is different than previous occurrences...regardless this one is a shit show for obvious reasons.

I'm on Dao's side though in this, regardless of the rules. If the rules allow for this kind of shit to happen, the rules need to change.

[Magicpot]

Some local people are claiming his name is Dao and that he once lost his license for over prescribing pain pills but served his time and got his license back, this is all hear say though, I can't find any legit sources.

Source is here: http://www.state.ky.us/agencies/kbml...ders/22439.pdf

Paraphrasing:

He got charged with and convicted of felony drug trafficking, in one incident in exchange for sexual favors. He lost his license but got it back in 2015

[Katchii]

They didn't expect a passenger to react the way he did. It really is simple as that. If they could have predict the future they would be in a different business.

They didn't need to predict the future...they tried to get volunteers, then he got chosen randomly, he refused and their choice was to call security and have him removed rather than arrange alternate transportation for those they were trying to get on the flight.

[Tinykong]

They didn't expect a passenger to react the way he did. It really is simple as that. If they could have predict the future they would be in a different business.

As I've said before, ignore the incident that occurred. It's still cheaper, and more efficient, to arrange alternative transportation.

Best case scenario bumping four passengers for four crew members costs $1600, worst case it's $5400. This wasn't an international flight, driving them to the destination would have been cheaper and more efficient.

They bump passengers because they hope that they can get away with a travel voucher that costs them nothing and they assume you will never use.

They gambled, and lost.

[WskyDK]

Source is here: http://www.state.ky.us/agencies/kbml...ders/22439.pdf

Paraphrasing:

He got charged with and convicted of felony drug trafficking, in one incident in exchange for sexual favors. He lost his license but got it back in 2015

And (and i'm paraphrasing) it doesn't fucking matter.

[Hisholyness]

Here we go - http://www.courier-journal.com/story...ast/100318320/

When airport security yanked David Dao off an overbooked flight Sunday, bloodying him as they dragged him down the aisle, he was thrust into the international spotlight. Dao, an Elizabethtown doctor, is familiar to many Kentuckians who recall his convictions on drug-related offenses in 2004.

Dao's removal from Lousiville-bound United Express Flight 3411 at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago was captured on video. United has come under scathing criticism for how it handled the situation, ranging from its insistence that passengers give up seats to the level of violence used by officers who yanked Dao from the aircraft.

In the video taken by passengers, Dao refuses to give up his seat. He screams as three Chicago Aviation officers begin pulling him from his seat. Dao's head strikes an armrest before he is dragged down the aisle by his arms, seemingly unconscious.

The Chicago Department of Aviation has placed the security officer who dragged Dao from his seat on leave, and said in a statement Monday that it does not condone his actions and that the incident on the United flight was not in accordance with its standard operating procedure.

United's CEO has apologized for the incident, and the U.S. Transportation Department also is investigating whether United complied with federal regulations regarding overbooking.

As he is dragged, some passengers can be heard admonishing the security officers.


Dao, his wife and two other passengers were asked to leave the aircraft because the flight was full and four crew members needed their seats, according to witnesses who were on the flight. The airline had offered vouchers worth up to $800 for passengers to give up their seats, but no one took the offer. Four passengers, including Dao, were then selected to be bumped.

A Louisville resident on the flight, Audra Bridges, told the Courier-Journal that Dao said he was a doctor and needed to see patients the next morning. Bridges said passengers were "shocked and appalled" by the incident, and thousands of people on social media have expressed sympathy for Dao and outrage over the way the situation was handled.

Dao, who went to medical school in Vietnam in the 1970s before moving to the U.S., has worked as a pulmonologist in Elizabethtown but was arrested in 2003 and eventually convicted of drug-related offenses after an undercover investigation, according to documents filed with the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure last June.

As for Dao's history as a doctor in Kentucky, the medical licensure board documents allege that he was involved in fraudulent prescriptions for controlled substances and was sexually involved with a patient who used to work for his practice and assisted police in building a case against him.

Dao was convicted of multiple felony counts of obtaining drugs by fraud or deceit in November 2004 and was placed on five years of supervised probation in January 2005, according to the documents. He surrendered his medical license the next month.

The Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure permitted Dao to resume practicing medicine in 2015 under certain conditions.

I love the damage control. Adding his drug offenses to try to dampen his credibility. The only reason his job matters is that he is a doctor who needs to see patients.

[petej0]

It's much more cost effective with any alternative to paying to bump passengers. Even if you ignore the PR shit storm, sending the crew out on alternative transportation is cheaper and more efficient.

If it was cheaper, they would do it. These corporations are evil greedy profit grabbers. If it was cheaper they would do it.

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I'm on Dao's side though in this, regardless of the rules. If the rules allow for this kind of shit to happen, the rules need to change.

Not going to happen. Oversubscription is a method lots of industries and companies use.

[Krigaren]

Here you go, @Krigaren. The definition, in case you really needed it.

"Boarding is the entry of passengers onto a vehicle, usually in public transportation. Boarding starts with entering the vehicle and ends with the seating of each passenger and closure of the doors"

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boarding_(transport)

Cool, I'll tentatively accept that definition. Would be better if it were from an airline, since any legal proceedings will go by the airline's own rules, regulations and definitions, but this works in the interim.

If that's the case, then United had the right to bump him. I still maintain that the way they went about it is still criminal.

[caervek]

[I]"But in this case, the passenger was already onboard and the airline wanted to take him back off, presumably in order to put another passenger in his seat. Does United have the right to do that? Yes, because Rule 25(A)2(b) of United’s Contract of Carriage...

Rule 25(A)2(b) does not give them the right to do that because Rule 25(A) in it's entirety applies to the boarding of an oversold flight. The airline decide after boarding the passengers that they wanted to remove some in order to do another airline a favour and fly some of their employees.

[Magicpot]

And (and i'm paraphrasing) it doesn't fucking matter.

Does though. He's a convicted felon and a sham to his profession. Any sympathy anyone should have had for when he got roughed up for being a crybaby on a plane should evaporate that instant.

[Tinykong]

If it was cheaper, they would do it. These corporations are evil greedy profit grabbers. If it was cheaper they would do it.

They don't do it because they are gambling that passengers will accept the voucher, which costs them nothing, and they can dead head the crew for free.

In this case, they gambled and lost.

Overbooking is a bad policy that allows airlines to sell seats twice, and should be regulated into non-existence. If an airline can't afford to fly a plane with empty seats, they should increase the penalty for not showing up or make all sales final.

[Kathandira]

I love the damage control. Adding his drug offenses to try to dampen his credibility. The only reason his job matters is that he is a doctor who needs to see patients.

Indeed, that last bit is completely irrelevant to the issue at hand.

[Paarthurnax]

I bet United is wishing they just paid people $5,000 a seat and be done with it...drop in the bucket compared to the millions they are going to lose when you combine the BAD PR and the lawsuit that is coming...stupid company. This is all good news for other Airlines, they will adjust their overbooking rules and procedures so this kind of thing wont ever happen again.

[Tonkaden]

Does though. He's a convicted felon and a sham to his profession. Any sympathy anyone should have had for when he got roughed up for being a crybaby on a plane should evaporate that instant.

It still doesn't fucking matter. I don't care what he did 3 years ago. Its not about sympathy. He is IN FACT a doctor. He was going to see patients. It doesn't really matter if he was getting head from prosties for pills or not. This should never happen to anyone. Period.

[zenkai]

Source is here: http://www.state.ky.us/agencies/kbml...ders/22439.pdf

Paraphrasing:

He got charged with and convicted of felony drug trafficking, in one incident in exchange for sexual favors. He lost his license but got it back in 2015

Thanks, I also found the article on it

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I love the damage control. Adding his drug offenses to try to dampen his credibility. The only reason his job matters is that he is a doctor who needs to see patients.

I agree, doesn't matter who he was or has done, it's just slandering.

[Magicpot]

It still doesn't fucking matter. I don't care what he did 3 years ago. Its not about sympathy. He is IN FACT a doctor. He was going to see patients. It doesn't really matter if he was getting head from prosties for pills or not. This should never happen to anyone. Period.

So? Lawyers who have trials get bumped off planes too.

[Allybeboba]

It sucks for everyone, but it is worse for people with important appointments.

The odds of you getting caught up in it are very very slim. United bumped less than 70,000 out of ~96,000,000 last year.

[minteK917]

I bet United is wishing they just paid people $5,000 a seat and be done with it...drop in the bucket compared to the millions they are going to lose when you combine the BAD PR and the lawsuit that is coming...stupid company. This is all good news for other Airlines, they will adjust their overbooking rules and procedures so this kind of thing wont ever happen again.

Oh the other airlines already do. They bump you before you ever enter the plane and give you added value on top of cash.

[Allybeboba]

So? Lawyers who have trials get bumped off planes too.

People that fly often have upper tiered selection. Thus, won't be selected to be bumped.
A person can pay extra for this privilege too.