Reports indicate that united airlines CEO Oscar Munoz is changing his tune after recent evidence has offered more insight into what happened on the now infamous Sunday flight.
Passenger David Dao was forced off of a plane after doing nothing wrong
To recap, a passenger by the name of David Dao was forcibly removed from his seat and dragged off of a United Airlines plane after he refused to leave the cabin. Dao was one of four asked to voluntarily give up their seats when the airline realized it had erroneously overbooked a flight. Dao indicated that he was a doctor and, as such, could not afford to wait for the next flight.
United Airlines subsequently called aviation Police, who, upon arriving, grabbed the elderly Asian man and ripped him out of his seat and onto the floor. The doctor suffered a bloody lip, and appeared unconscious as he was taken down the plane's center aisle. His mistreatment sparked outrage in China and around the world, with several people even calling for a boycott of the multi-billion dollar company.
Munoz retraced his steps today by issuing an official apology
Surprisingly, Munoz backed his airline through the controversy, reportedly even denouncing Dao's actions in the ordeal. That all changed today.
In a statement on "Good Morning America" this morning, Munoz recanted his earlier dialogue, saying instead, "That is not who our family at United is.
And you saw us at a bad moment." He went on to describe how embarrassed he was after recently watching the footage of the incident, claiming that "the word 'ashamed' comes to mind" when considering how unnecessary the officers' -- and the airline's -- actions were. A far cry from the rather stoic and unfeeling statement the CEO made just yesterday.
Wednesday's Oscar Munoz adamantly claimed the passenger was not at all at fault. He even went as far as to indicate that "no one should be treated like that."
The CEO's actions were drastically different from Tuesday's
Ironically, on Tuesday, reports indicate Munoz praised his team for "following procedures and handling the situation the way they had been trained to do." Sources claim that the separate, internal letter he allegedly sent his employees in the wake of the incident also assured them that he would defend them until the backlash was over.
Speculation suggest Munoz may have had to change tactics to cover what little ground the company seems to have left. Recent reports indicate that the airline lost over $1 billion in the past few days alone.
A check-in with the 69-year-old passenger on Wednesday suggests that the man is still doing as poorly as he was when he was admitted. When asked what specifically was ailing him, the Vietnam native told CNN correspondents bleakly, "Everything."
