united airlines and the 69-year-old Passenger who was dragged off an overbooked flight violently have agreed to settle the case. The amount the airlines paid Dr. David Dao was not disclosed.
Earlier this month, a video of a passenger who was removed from a United flight going to Louisville from Chicago went viral. The airline received a flak on how it treated the passenger, who ended up bloodied and injured.
How much was the settlement?
The lawyers of both United and Dr. Dao did not reveal how much the aggrieved passenger received as a settlement.
But while many would have expected it to be huge, a legal analyst for CNN said it could be around $1 million. CNN's Danny Cevallos said it was the right to do for Dr. Dao's camp to settle this early instead of waiting any longer to build up the case. For one, his injuries would not have a huge value as they would heal in the short term. If there's any long-term medical impact on Dr. Dao, they would have to wait further to see how he recovers. By then, he would have lost his leverage.
Since the incident, the airline has been in the bad spotlight, and different other scandals emerged, including the death of a giant rabbit in one of its flights. So the fiasco is more like a bad publicity case for United Airlines rather than Dr.
Dao's injuries. The company does want to avoid bad PR, but should Dr. Dao waited for a year, he would have lost this leverage.
United Airlines introduces changes to win customers
After the settlement, United also announced a couple of policy changes, with the hopes of winning back customers. The airline will give up to $10,000 as compensation to those who will voluntarily change flights if a need arises.This amount, however, is more of a PR, and a passenger won't likely receive this payout, according to Bloomberg's Justin Bachman.
He said that United Airlines won't probably need to pay as much as $10,000, as there are volunteer passengers who accept just around $1,000 for being bumped off. The company can also stop the practice of overbooking, if not just minimize it.
This amount, however, is more of a PR, and a passenger won't likely receive this payout, according to Bloomberg's Justin Bachman.
He said that United Airlines won't probably need to pay as much as $10,000, as there are volunteer passengers who accept just around $1,000 for being bumped off. The company can also stop the practice of overbooking, if not just minimize it.
In addition to the increase in the maximum compensation for bumped off passengers, United Airlines will also introduce changes in boarding procedures, including a new automated check-in process. It will also no longer use airport police to remove passengers nor have boarded passenger give up their seats, as reported by The New York Times.
