Oscar Munoz, Ceo of united airlines, issues an apology for the second time after an incident wherein a passenger at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport was forcibly removed from a Louisville-bound flight on Sunday. The confrontation was caught on video and posted on the internet that caused outrage among netizens.
The passenger was David Dao, who was pulled out of his seat and dragged off the plane.
Chicago attorneys Stephen Golan and Thomas Demetrio are representing Dao and stated that the latter is undergoing treatment in a Chicago hospital for injuries he sustained from the said confrontation.
Munoz stated in a statement, “I continue to be disturbed by what happened on this flight, and I deeply apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard,” USA Today reported. The CEO issued his first apology on Monday; however, he later sent a letter to credit the staff of United for following procedures on the flight. Munoz praised the crew for dealing with an unruly passenger.
Was the flight overbooked?
The United Express Flight 3411 was not even overbooked as previously reported. Instead, the company needed to accommodate four crew members and offered passengers a compensation of $1,000 to anyone who would agree to take a different flight to Louisville. However, no one on the flight took the offer.
United and regional affiliate Republic Airlines decided to select four passengers to be removed from the flight based on criteria written on the company’s contract of carriage, which includes frequent-flier status, check-in time, type of fare the passenger has and connecting flight consequences. Three passengers quietly agreed to the decision, but the fourth had to be pulled out of his seat and off the flight.
United Airlines stock plummets
Sunday’s violent episode caused the company’s stock to plummet on Tuesday and shed off an estimated $255 million of its market value. UAL shares were down 81 cents or 1.1%.
Just two weeks earlier, United was heavily criticized for making two girls change out of their leggings before boarding a flight to Denver.
The company explained that employee pass privileges also represent the company, thus wearing leggings and yoga pants are not allowed.
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