By now, we have all seen the video of a man being dragged off a plane.
United responded with a note full of corporate-speak, which has compounded the ire many people feel toward the airline.
The memo claimed that employees "followed established procedures" when removing a passenger from a plane because it was overbooked, and calling the passenger "disruptive and belligerent."
CEO Oscar Munoz went on to say that the passengers who were removed were "re-accomodated."
The problem is, it wasn't overbooked. The airline simply wanted to bump paying customers to move a flight crew into Louisville.
Now, would I have allowed security to drag me kicking and screaming off a flight? No. I would have been a bit disruptive, however. I have been known to yell.
The problem is, with all those passengers having cell phones, and knowing that the video was likely put on their Facebook pages before the flight even left the ground...United had a PR problem blowing up in it's face from the get-go.
The simplest way to deal with the problem? Offer more money for people to volunteer. You are asking people who have already paid a lot of money to fly, to "re-accomodate," themselves.
Make it worth it to them.
In case you are wondering, I have volunteered to be kicked off several flights, when the price was right, and time was no object. I'll take their money, no problem.