Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 13 april 2017

United to compensate people on flight when man dragged off

DON BABWIN go alderman said represen-
Associated Press tatives from United and the
CHICAGO (AP) — United city’s Aviation Department
Airlines sought to quell the have been summoned
uproar over a man being before a city council com-
dragged off a plane by an- mittee to answer questions
nouncing on Tuesday that it about the confrontation at
would no longer ask police O’Hare Airport.
to remove passengers from Alderman Mike Zalewski
full flights and would com- said he did not know who
pensate customers who will represent the airline be-
were on the flight when the fore the Aviation Commit-
man was removed. tee, but Munoz has been
In an interview with ABC’s notified of the hearing
“Good Morning America” scheduled for Thursday.
aired Wednesday, United Chicago Aviation Commis-
parent company CEO sioner Ginger Evans will also
Oscar Munoz said he felt speak.
“ashamed” watching vid- Munoz called the incident
eo of the man being forced a “system failure” and said
off the jet. He has promised United would reassess its
to review the airline’s pas- procedures for seeking
senger-removal policy. People with Asian community organizations from Chicago hold signs to protest after Sunday’s volunteers to give up their
Munoz, who leads United’s confrontation where David Dao, 69, of Elizabethtown, Ky., was removed from a United Airlines air- seats when a flight is full.
parent company, apolo- plane by Chicago airport police at O’Hare International Airport, during rally near United’s counter United was trying to find
gized again to Kentucky at the airport’s Terminal 1 in Chicago on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. seats for four employees,
physician David Dao, his (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune via AP) meaning four passengers
family and the other pas- ment will not be involved in sated equal to the cost of go’s O’Hare International had to deplane.
sengers who witnessed him removing a “booked, paid, their tickets. United spokes- Airport on Sunday when It was at least Munoz’s
being taken off the flight. seated passenger,” Munoz woman Megan McCarthy the man was dragged off. fourth statement about the
“That is not who our family said. “We can’t do that.” said Wednesday that the Video shot by passengers confrontation.
at United is,” he said. “This In an effort to calm the passengers can take the showing the man’s blood- After the video first
will never happen again backlash, United also an- compensation in cash, ied face went viral on so- emerged, he said the air-
on a United flight. That’s my nounced that passengers travel credits or miles. cial media, prompting a line was reaching out to
promise.” on United Express Flight The flight was loaded and storm of protest. the man to “resolve this
In the future, law enforce- 3411 would be compen- preparing to leave Chica- Also Wednesday, a Chica- situation.”q
Airlines pushing back on talk of banning overbooking flights

DAVID KOENIG businesses,” Ed Bastian said most of the big U.S. carriers. can happen if the plane video everybody has seen
AP Airlines Writer Wednesday. “The key is He said that plane seats is overweight or air mar- — a 69-year-old man being
DALLAS (AP) — With the managing it before you get are perishable commodi- shals need a seat. Some- dragged off the plane by
federal government and to the boarding process.” ties — once the door has times it happens because security officers after refus-
a Senate committee look- Federal rules allow airlines been closed, seats on a the airline needs room for ing to give up his seat.
ing into the dragging of a to sell more tickets than flight can’t be sold and lose employees who are com- In a series of three state-
man off a United Express they have seats, and air- all value. muting to work on another ments and an interview,
flight, airlines are beginning lines do it routinely because Bumping is rare — only flight — that’s what hap- United CEO Oscar Munoz
to speak up against any ef- they assume some passen- about one in 16,000 pas- pened Sunday on United became increasingly con-
fort to bar them from over- gers won’t show up. sengers got bumped last Express. trite. On Wednesday, he
selling flights. The CEO of The practice lets airlines year, the lowest rate since Flight 3411 was sold out — told ABC-TV that he would
Delta Air Lines called over- keep fares low while man- at least the mid-1990s. But passengers had boarded, fix United’s policies and
booking “a valid business aging the rate of no-shows it angers and frustrates cus- and every seat was filled — that United will no longer
process.” “I don’t think we on any particular route, tomers who see their travel when the airline discovered call on police to remove
need to have additional said Vaughn Jennings, plans wrecked in an instant. that it needed to find room passengers from full flights.
legislation to try to control spokesman for Airlines for Bumping is not limited to for four crew members. Politicians have jumped on
how the airlines run their America, which represents flights that are oversold. It That eventually led to the the public outrage.q