United Airlines Wants you OFF the Plane!
On April 9, 2017, Dr. David Dao was seated on United Express flight 3411, which was about to také off
from Chicago for a short trip to Louisville, Kentucky. Shortly before the scheduled departure, an airline
supervisor came on board the plane and announced: „We have United employees that need to fly to
Louisville tonight… This flight´s not leaving until four people get off“. The flight on which the United
employees had been scheduled was delayed due to mechanical problems, so they boarded flight 3411
instead. Although passengers were offered vouchers to rebook their flights, nobody volunteered to leave
the aircraft. United then selected four passengers to depart involuntarily, despite the fact they had already
been seated.
Dr. David Dao, a pulmonologist, was one of the passengers selected. He refused to give up his seat,
stating that he had patients to see the next morning. Then, United personnel made a fateful decision that
would launch the airline into the public spotlight; they called Chicago Aviation Police to have Dr. Dao
forcibly removed from the plane. The incident was recorded on a cellphone and widely circulated on
social media. United Airlines, which once had promoted the motto, „fly the friendly skies“, seemed
much less friendly.
Overbooking Flights as a Strategy
According to United, the flight was not overbooked, but it appeared to have been from the standpoint of
the passengers. Nonetheless, overbooking in the airline industry is a valid form of revenue enhancement.
The business logic is that not all passengers who reserve a flight arrive on time. The no-show passengers
create empty seat, which represent lost revenue, also knownn within the industry as „spoilage“. Airlines
use mathematical models to calculate how much a specific flight should be overbooked to fill aircraft
without denying boarding to ticketed customers. When overbooking occurs, airlines offer financial
incentives to passengers to take later flights. In most cases, enough volunteers are willing to accept the
financial incentive and take a later flight.
The strategy of overbooking has been mostly successful, and the number of passengers affected by what
the industry calls involuntary boarding denial has been relatively small. In 2016, approximately 660
million passengers boarded flights in the United States, of which only 434 425, or 0.7%, were „bumped“
and voluntarily took a later flight. In total, 40 629 passengers, or 0.006%, were removed involuntarily.
When four United crewmembers suddenly needed to travel to Louisville, the United flight was
technically not overbooked but was full. Indeed, the airline had met its goal of filling every seat, but the
need to transport crew members as passengers was not anticipated. United then offered $400 vouchers
to incentivize four passengers to deplane. When nobody accepted, United offerec $800, but there still
were no takers, most likely because this was the last flight of the night to Louisville. United then resorted
to its involuntary passenger removal policay and proceeded to remove four passengers. A young couple
was told to leave the aircraft, which they did. However, when Dr. Dao was asked to depart, he refused.
The Removal of Dr. David Dao
Before the United incident, forcibly removing a ticketed passenger from an aircraft had only occurred
when a person was discruptive or posed a security threat. However, this situation was different. Dr.
David Dao had firmly maintained that he was not leaving his seat. He had purchased a ticket, was already
seated on his flight, and needed to see patients the next day.
Moreover, this was the last flight of the night going to Louisville. A United manager decided to call
security personnel from the Chicago Department of Aviation, who boarded the aircraft and sked Dr.
Dao, once again, to leave the plane. Cellphone video shot of the incident, which later appeared on Inside
Edition, shows Dr. Dao on his cell phone talking to someone at United saying: „I´m physician. I have
to work tomorrow at 8:00… No, I am not going, I am not going.“ A few moments later, a security guard
(not a police officer) pulled Dr. Dao from his seat and dragged him down the aisle. The resulting scream
was heard „around the world“, as cellphone video showed a bloody and dazed Dr. Dao being dragged
away on his back. The video was soon posted on social media.
United Enters Crisis Management Mode
To its credit, United Airlines took the incident seriously and shifted into crisis management mode. CEO
Oscar Munoz commented: „I continue to be distrubed by what happened on this flight and I deeply
apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all customers aboard. No one should ever be
mistreated this way. I want you to know that we take full responsibility, and we will make it right“.
United conducted an internal investigation of its processes and generated an 11-page report of its
findings. In the report, United noted the following internal failures:
- The airline had no policies governing practice if a customer refused to depart an aircraft for
reasons not associated with security. United had never encountered this type of situation before.
- Gate agents were limited by the amount of compensation they could award a passenger who
was being bumped from a flight.
- There was a lack of training on how to help employees manage a situation involving denied
boarding situations.
United made sweeping changes in its policies involving overbooked flights in the future. A summary of
some of their new policies appears below:
- Law enforcement will not be used to remove passengers unless it is a matter of safety and
security.
- Passengers already seated will not be asked to give up their seat involuntarily unless i tis a
mattter of safety and security.
- Compensation incentives for voluntary denied boarding can be as high as $10 000.
- Training for gate agents will be provided to help them address difficult situations.
- An automated system will be implemented that gauges a customer´s interest in voluntarily
giving up their seat in exchange for compensation.
- Overbooking will be reduced for flights with smaller aircraft and those that are the last flight of
the day to a destionation.
- Flight crews that are travelling to other destinations will be booked at least 60 minutes before
departure.
Other airlines learned from the United debacle. Southwest Airlines vowed to eliminate overbooking. In
2016, Southwest had the highest involuntary denied boarding rate of all passenger airlines. Delta
Airlines increased its compensation for denied boarding to $9950, while American Airlines promised
not to ask a passenger to depart an aircraft after being seats. American also gave its gate agents more
flexibility in offering compensation to those who are denied boarding.
Final Aftermath
United reached an amicable settlement with Dr. David Dao, the terms of which were not disclosed. Two
Chicago Department of Aviation security officers were fired as a result of the incident. A department
report revealed that the officers mishandled a non-threatening situation and provided misleading
statements in their report documenting the event. United recovered from the crisis, however. Although
the airline experienced a massive public relations crisis, its stock hit an all-time high within a month
after the incident.
Discussion Questions:
1. What other optins could United Airlines have taken to avoid this crisis?
2. Some have called for airlines to stop the practice of overbooking altogether. Initiate a class
discussion betwen those who favor the practice and those who oppose it.
3. Why changes could United make to prevent this type of crisis from recurring?
4. Identify and discuss the positive changes in the airline industry that occured because of this
crisis?