United Airlines initiates self-immolation

[mtnbkr]

Why does the Dr remind me of Chow from The Hangover?

Chris

[bedlamite]

[Brad Johnson]

The story I thought I heard (I think it was from twitter or the Facebook comments so you know it is true) is that 3 people took the $800 and one person offered to leave for $1600, but they were not taken up on it.

Depending on profession and location needs, $1600 might be a pittance compared to potential financial losses should the passenger not make their destination. A physician simply making patient rounds can clear more than that in an hour.

Brad

[Unisaw]

Apparently, United's CEO is a PR genius:

http://www.prweek.com/article/1426909/united-airlines-ceo-oscar-munoz-named-prweek-us-communicator-year

The award was for communicating well with employees, not customers.

[Ben]

Depending on profession and location needs, $1600 might be a pittance compared to potential financial losses should the passenger not make their destination. A physician simply making patient rounds can clear more than that in an hour.

Brad

Yet there were probably at least a dozen people on the flight that make $800 or less a week that didn't want to make $800 for ~12 hours of their time. The incident aside, I'm still a little perplexed that they didn't get more people to volunteer. If the next flight doesn't leave till the next day, that should mean hotel and per diem would be included as well.

[zxcvbob]

I'm waiting for the police brutality case (this probably isn't it) where the person who called the cops gets sued because they knew (or should have known) that beating people up or shooting them without any justification is what CPD does (or NOPD, or Baltimore, or Philly, etc.)    

"They have qualified immunity, you don't."

[makattak]

Yet there were probably at least a dozen people on the flight that make $800 or less a week that didn't want to make $800 for ~12 hours of their time. The incident aside, I'm still a little perplexed that they didn't get more people to volunteer. If the next flight doesn't leave till the next day, that should mean hotel and per diem would be included as well.

Small flight, Sunday night. Probably lots of people unable to take and extra day of vacation.

Bosses look askance at people suddenly adding another day to their vacation.

[Triphammer]

Could have been how the subject was broached. If someone had come on a loaded plane & announced that "four of you peons have to get off to make room for more important people because we screwed up", you can bet you'd have to fight me off the plane.

[K Frame]

Well...

This just got WAY more interesting...

http://nypost.com/2017/04/11/doctor-dragged-off-flight-convicted-of-trading-drugs-for-sex/

[Ben]

Small flight, Sunday night. Probably lots of people unable to take and extra day of vacation.

Bosses look askance at people suddenly adding another day to their vacation.

Seems like a good way to blame it on United though. 

[MillCreek]

^^^Wow, having read the source article, I find it interesting that Kentucky still allows him to have a medical license.  He had a good lawyer.  Sexual contact with patients is bad enough, but then with the narcotics issues on top of that.

[Angel Eyes]

Semi-related:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RL6b-QgceE



https://youtu.be/FwPdWEdbgxY?t=272

"You do what we say, when we say, and there won't be a problem.  Capiche?"

[Jim147]

well I know the stock can bounce back but it has cost them over 600 million so far.

If they keep making it worse heads are going to roll even if it was legal.

[wmenorr67]

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article143948159.html

This story states that over 40K fliers were bumped last year.

[KD5NRH]

The passenger has already paid to be sitting in that seat. He's entered into a service contract with the airline (something you don't do just by walking into a brick and mortar store location).

Right; this would be more akin to a store forcing you to leave without the merchandise you've already paid for, on a promise that they'll let you come pick it up some other time.

[KD5NRH]

Small flight, Sunday night. Probably lots of people unable to take and extra day of vacation.

Bosses look askance at people suddenly adding another day to their vacation.

$800 and a ticket to wherever?  Bump me to first class on the next available flight and I'll figure out an excuse for the boss.  TSA issues are believable if the boss flies at all.

That nobody else was taking that deal should have indicated to them that maybe it's their employees who should get bumped, or cut a deal with another airline.

[MechAg94]

http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article143948159.html

This story states that over 40K fliers were bumped last year.

The percentage is really small out of all the passengers for a year, but 41,000 tickets that had to be inerted on another flight is a lot of potential lost revenue.  I guess if the next available flight had empty seats, the loss isn't so much, but it is still some loss.  It is just small compared to the total.  

United actually had a lower rate of involuntary bumping than the two largest carriers, Southwest and American. One in every 10,000 Southwest passengers was involuntarily bumped last year. Only Expressjet Airlines had a higher rate. United’s rate was 0.43 passengers in 10,000.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article143948159.html#storylink=cpy

My only thought is there has to be a different or better way to manage moving personnel around, but it isn't my business.

[MechAg94]

$800 and a ticket to wherever?  Bump me to first class on the next available flight and I'll figure out an excuse for the boss.  TSA issues are believable if the boss flies at all.

That nobody else was taking that deal should have indicated to them that maybe it's their employees who should get bumped, or cut a deal with another airline.

That was my thought.  If you didn't have to pay for a hotel room and you just got delayed a few hours, $800 means a pretty nice new pistol.  I just saw a Glock 19 Gen 4 with the MOS red dot mounting plate.   

[KD5NRH]

Yet there were probably at least a dozen people on the flight that make $800 or less a week that didn't want to make $800 for ~12 hours of their time. The incident aside, I'm still a little perplexed that they didn't get more people to volunteer. If the next flight doesn't leave till the next day, that should mean hotel and per diem would be included as well.

Four people; $3200 cash plus whatever the value of the tickets offered, plus lodging, plus whatever.  It's just under 5 hours to drive from Chicago to Louisville, so why the heck not rent the employees the nicest car available at OHare for a few hundred and let them get a nice meal on the way?  Two get to sleep the whole way and the other two half each, at worst, or they all take a turn and get just under four hours rest each.  Heck, how much would a driver and a comfy van be for that trip?  Just not seeing much in the way of common sense on United's part here.

[Blakenzy]

Legal or not, intentionally sellng more than you can provide in any service is a dishonest practice... so we are off to a bad start already.

Being that travel is not only about cash but also the consumer's time, people are right to demand the service on the date and time advertised by the seller. Clearly, compensation offered in this case was not enough (according to the market- the passengers on board) and needs to be reviewed if it failed ot create sufficient incentive, not forced by goons. If UA "bumping" procedure leads to physical confrontation in the cabin of their planes, then that procedure is ass backwards. Backing up a dishonest -yet legal- business practice with force is just slimy.

[Ben]

Legal or not, intentionally sellng more than you can provide in any service is a dishonest practice... so we are off to a bad start already.

I don't think that in itself is dishonest. From what I've seen, on a flight that size, statistics indicate that 4-5 people will not show up, hence they overbook to cover the no-shows. I don't think there is anything wrong with that business practice based on the math. It's how you handle it when the math is wrong and the no-shows show up.

[Neemi]

From articles I've read, the airlines are "encouraged" by the government to offer up to $1300/person for bumping them... So why the airline employees stopped at offering only $800 and called the cops is problematic, to say the least. I get that they have the right to kick anyone off for any reason... But trying to save $500/person at the cost of millions in lost stock and lost revenue is, well, dumb.

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk

[Fly320s]

The payout is in airline credit, not cash.

[wmenorr67]

The payout is in airline credit, not cash.

Which if the case most of your vacation travelers would not take because when would they be able to use it.

I was on a flight a couple of weeks ago from KC to Indy where Southwest was offering $300 cash and if I heard correctly credit for the ticket they had purchased to bump to a later flight.

[Blakenzy]

I don't think that in itself is dishonest. From what I've seen, on a flight that size, statistics indicate that 4-5 people will not show up, hence they overbook to cover the no-shows. I don't think there is anything wrong with that business practice based on the math. It's how you handle it when the math is wrong and the no-shows show up.

If the airline discloses the percentage of overbooking at the time you are looking to buy the Ticket, and the explicit caveat that your odds of being bumped to boarding that flight are X:Y, then that would be more honest and you would be an informed gambler  , not a sucker.