United Airlines initiates self-immolation

[Angel Eyes]

[Vincent Vega] Did you just order a thirty dolla' breakfas'?

[Mia Wallace] Um-hm.

[VV] That's a breakfas' - that's bacon 'n' eggs?

[MW] Last I heard.

[VV] That's thirty dolla's?

It's San Francisco, where a slice of toast is $4:  http://www.bonappetit.com/restaurants-travel/article/how-to-make-perfect-toast

[MechAg94]

It's San Francisco, where a slice of toast is $4:  http://www.bonappetit.com/restaurants-travel/article/how-to-make-perfect-toast

Good bread I can understand (a little), but even regular grocery store bread tastes good toasted with plenty of butter melted in.  Shouldn't the butter on the bread in that picture actually be a little melted?  It looks like they buttered a cold piece of toast.  

Maybe that is what United Airlines can do.  Serve the passengers crappy hipster toast to make up for occasionally dragging them off the plane.  

[charby]

Well I see my connecting flight home is 45 minutes apart, looks like I may be staying in Denver Thursday night.

[Ben]

Well I see my connecting flight home is 45 minutes apart, looks like I may be staying in Denver Thursday night.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo0MIUrrNpc

I've done Denver getting there just as the boarding announcement hit for my connection. My checked bag didn't make it, but I did. You will too, especially if it's the same airline. Unless your connection is to podunk, there should also be some later flights. Denver is a pretty decent hub.

[MechAg94]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-united-chicago-aviation-police-met-20170413-story.html
http://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/put-all-airport-security-in-hands-of-chicago-police/
I was browsing Massad Ayoob's blog and came across these links in the comments on the United incident.  Interesting info on who the Chicago aviation cops are and what official authority they have.

http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/2017/04/15/what-might-have-spared-the-tao-of-dr-dao/
Here is the blog post where I found it. 

[charby]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo0MIUrrNpc

I've done Denver getting there just as the boarding announcement hit for my connection. My checked bag didn't make it, but I did. You will too, especially if it's the same airline. Unless your connection is to podunk, there should also be some later flights. Denver is a pretty decent hub.

Flying to Des Moines, last flight of the night, I'll be staying the night.

[Ben]

Flying to Des Moines, last flight of the night, I'll be staying the night.

Only if your flight is late. In 45 minutes you should be able to do three laps around DEN on the train with a beer break in between.

[Scout26]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-united-chicago-aviation-police-met-20170413-story.html
http://chicago.suntimes.com/opinion/put-all-airport-security-in-hands-of-chicago-police/
I was browsing Massad Ayoob's blog and came across these links in the comments on the United incident.  Interesting info on who the Chicago aviation cops are and what official authority they have.

http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/2017/04/15/what-might-have-spared-the-tao-of-dr-dao/
Here is the blog post where I found it. 

Yep, there's a big kerfuffle here about the Aviation Police as the Chicago is desperately trying to find something/someway to CYA in the upcoming lawsuit.  Along with trying to prevent being sued in the future.  In the meantime.  Achmed and Mohammed are busy taking notes as to how this will create gaps and holes in airport security.   Nice job Dr. Special Snowflake *expletive deleted*bag Dao. 

[HeroHog]

http://ijr.com/2017/04/857826-delta-slammed-kicking-passenger-off-plane-using-bathroom-theres-story/

[dogmush]

http://ijr.com/2017/04/857826-delta-slammed-kicking-passenger-off-plane-using-bathroom-theres-story/

From the link:

In her open letter, Krista Rosolino sided with the artist and DJ:

“Delta, what was Nice Gentleman supposed to do? Here are the options as I see it: 1) Urinate in his seat. This would be unpleasant for him, everyone around him, and the airline staff member who has to clean it up. 2) Urinate in a vomit bag or some type of device he could have possibly found. Again, same issue with being uncomfortable for him, those around him, and anyone cleaning up later. 3) Do what he did—wait as long as humanly (remember, we are humans?) possible, and then go to the bathroom as quickly as possible.”

Well Ma'am, there is a fourth option.  He could be a mother*expletive deleted*ing adult and take a leak in the terminal before boarding.  I guarantee that if he had been to the gate on time he had time to nip away from the line, tinkle, and still board before the doors closed.

[HeroHog]

From the link:

Well Ma'am, there is a fourth option.  He could be a mother*expletive deleted*ing adult and take a leak in the terminal before boarding.  I guarantee that if he had been to the gate on time he had time to nip away from the line, tinkle, and still board before the doors closed.

Not everyone has healthy kidneys and a bladder. Perhaps at the time he was waiting to board, he didn't need to go.

[RoadKingLarry]

I'm kind of surprised by all the "good little puppet" responses this thread has brought forth.

[dogmush]

Not everyone has healthy kidneys and a bladder. Perhaps at the time he was waiting to board, he didn't need to go.

While that's true for many people, I'd say if it were the case for this guy I'd assume he'd lead with that.  And maybe have mentioned it to Delta.

I'm kind of surprised by all the "good little puppet" responses this thread has brought forth.

I am as fed up and annoyed by Air Travel's security theater as the next guy, and more than many.  I fly quite a bit, and HATE that I have to waste as much of my life on useless idiotic dictates as I do.  That said, the good little scared citizens voted for this crap and deciding to be all special and playing the "federal law doesn't apply to me!!" card once you are on the airplane is the wrong answer, and makes it worse for the rest of us.

For that matter, the "Don't let people walk around and go into the bathroom during taxi, takeoff, and landing rule that the dude in Atlanta blew off is one of the few rules that is actually logical and useful from a safety and security standpoint.

[Fly320s]

The FAs are instructed to tell people to sit down whenever the seatbelt sign is on.  The problem is that some FAs and some pilots have an authority complex.  In this case, returning to the gate was stupid.

[LadySmith]

If you want to go deeper down that rabbit hole...

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/26/travel/bunny-death-united-trnd/
 

[White Horseradish]

http://backwoodshome.com/blogs/MassadAyoob/2017/04/15/what-might-have-spared-the-tao-of-dr-dao/
Here is the blog post where I found it. 

He would be right, if they were offering cash.

Everything I read suggested they were offering vouchers, which is totally not the same thing.

[Fly320s]

http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/26/travel/bunny-death-united-trnd/
 

Don't ship live animals in airline cargo.

He would be right, if they were offering cash.

Everything I read suggested they were offering vouchers, which is totally not the same thing.

Correct.  Travel vouchers that are good for future flights, but they expire after one to two years.

[Hawkmoon]

Correct.  Travel vouchers that are good for future flights, but they expire after one to two years.

Which renders them valueless for a very large percentage of the traveling populace. Which is part of the reason the airlines use vouchers rather than cash. A cash payment of $800 involves $800. I don't know what a major airline's profit margin is, but an $800 voucher, if redeemed, only costs the airline the net cost of flying that seat, so something less than $800. And then they factor in that 'X' percentage of the recipients won't redeem the voucher at all, and that's a win for the airline.

[HeroHog]

Back to the "pee guy," there is a reasonable expectation that the plane will get off the ground in a reasonable amount of time, and if it doesn't, there are working bathrooms on board. I seriously doubt this guy held his pee until he got on the plane on purpose.

[MechAg94]

The FAs are instructed to tell people to sit down whenever the seatbelt sign is on.  The problem is that some FAs and some pilots have an authority complex.  In this case, returning to the gate was stupid.

Agreed.  If he was going to sit on the throne for 20 minutes, that might be an issue, but a quick trip to empty the bladder should not have been a problem.  More than likely, everyone would know when the plane started moving again to set up for take off.

Are there rules saying the plane can't take off if a passenger is in the bathroom?

[Fly320s]

.

Are there rules saying the plane can't take off if a passenger is in the bathroom?

Yes. Black and white.

The rules are more grey for taxiing with a passenger standing.

[charby]

How many flights are taken without incidents? If this was really an issue you hear about it non stop in the media since airline service is a easy target.

[Hawkmoon]

Munoz is back in the news, busily at work trying to lock the barn door after the horse has been stolen:

http://nypost.com/2017/05/02/united-ceo-vows-to-stop-asking-seated-customers-to-leave-flights/

[makattak]

Munoz is back in the news, busily at work trying to lock the barn door after the horse has been stolen:

http://nypost.com/2017/05/02/united-ceo-vows-to-stop-asking-seated-customers-to-leave-flights/

He may be using weasel words so he might mean what I'm saying, but "asking" people to get off the flight wasn't the problem.

Not a single person in this country (note: HYPERBOLE) had a problem with asking people to get off the flight.

It was the ordering people to get off the flight under threat of force and then (what made this a massive black eye for his company) use of force.

[Hawkmoon]

He may be using weasel words so he might mean what I'm saying, but "asking" people to get off the flight wasn't the problem.

Not a single person in this country (note: HYPERBOLE) had a problem with asking people to get off the flight.

It was the ordering people to get off the flight under threat of force and then (what made this a massive black eye for his company) use of force.

And THEN they killed the Easter Bunny!