Fly the Friendly Skies

[mirth]

You teasing, wanting strumpet.

You know me so well it's frightening.

[BanzaiCat]

Dr. Dao isn't exactly an angel. While it's pretty damned awful what United did, the comment earlier about you do what the cops tell you to do and you don't get hurt, is absolutely correct. It doesn't matter how correct the good doctor thought he was - you have to ask yourself, in what world exactly does this guy actually get away with this?

"Get off the plane."

"No."

"Oh. Okay, nevermind"

???

Also, it's been interesting that nobody's really talked about how the good doctor is a convicted felon; specifically, 98 counts of trafficking and illegally prescribing. He's also had his license suspended for trading gay sex with a patient in return for giving said patient pills.

Hardly the paragon of sympathy, this guy.

[MetalDog]

I don't see how his past transgressions relate to how we should sympathize with what happened to him on the plane.  I think it's unfair that the first inclination of people is to dig as much dirt up as possible on the people involved.  What about the cops that pulled him off?  Or the person sitting next to him?  Or the 30 people he passed while flat on his back going down the aisle?  How come we don't know the skeletons in their closets?
Seems a little ridiculous, doesn't it?

[mirth]

I'm surprised dirt hasn't been dug up on the mother of twins on that American Airlines flight. She probably deserved it too.

[OJsDad]

I'm surprised dirt hasn't been dug up on the mother of twins on that American Airlines flight. She probably deserved it too.

Nay.  Just the kid she was holding deserved it. 

[mirth]

Stupid brat. I heard he never eats his vegetables.

[trailrunner]

As a United frequent flyer, I receive this email from United.  It was titled "actions speak louder than words."

Dear Mr trailrunner,

Each flight you take with us represents an important promise we make to you, our customer. It's not simply that we make sure you reach your destination safely and on time, but also that you will be treated with the highest level of service and the deepest sense of dignity and respect.

Earlier this month, we broke that trust when a passenger was forcibly removed from one of our planes. We can never say we are sorry enough for what occurred, but we also know meaningful actions will speak louder than words.

For the past several weeks, we have been urgently working to answer two questions: How did this happen, and how can we do our best to ensure this never happens again?

It happened because our corporate policies were placed ahead of our shared values. Our procedures got in the way of our employees doing what they know is right.

Fixing that problem starts now with changing how we fly, serve and respect our customers. This is a turning point for all of us here at United – and as CEO, it's my responsibility to make sure that we learn from this experience and redouble our efforts to put our customers at the center of everything we do.

That's why we announced that we will no longer ask law enforcement to remove customers from a flight and customers will not be required to give up their seat once on board – except in matters of safety or security.

We also know that despite our best efforts, when things don't go the way they should, we need to be there for you to make things right. There are several new ways we're going to do just that.

We will increase incentives for voluntary rebooking up to $10,000 and will be eliminating the red tape on permanently lost bags with a new "no-questions-asked" $1,500 reimbursement policy. We will also be rolling out a new app for our employees that will enable them to provide on-the-spot goodwill gestures in the form of miles, travel credit and other amenities when your experience with us misses the mark. You can learn more about these commitments and many other changes at hub.united.com.

While these actions are important, I have found myself reflecting more broadly on the role we play and the responsibilities we have to you and the communities we serve.

I believe we must go further in redefining what United's corporate citizenship looks like in our society. You can and ought to expect more from us, and we intend to live up to those higher expectations in the way we embody social responsibility and civic leadership everywhere we operate. I hope you will see that pledge express itself in our actions going forward, of which these initial, though important, changes are merely a first step.

Our goal should be nothing less than to make you truly proud to say, "I fly United."

Ultimately, the measure of our success is your satisfaction and the past several weeks have moved us to go further than ever before in elevating your experience with us. I know our 87,000 employees have taken this message to heart, and they are as energized as ever to fulfill our promise to serve you better with each flight and earn the trust you've given us.

We are working harder than ever for the privilege to serve you and I know we will be stronger, better and the customer-focused airline you expect and deserve.

With Great Gratitude,
Oscar Munoz
Oscar Munoz
CEO
United Airlines

[Sir Slash]

The wife and I flew to Tel Aviv from Newark--14 hours. The really bad part is you have to fly back-- 14 hours.  #:-)

[Con]

Dr. Dao isn't exactly an angel. While it's pretty damned awful what United did, the comment earlier about you do what the cops tell you to do and you don't get hurt, is absolutely correct. It doesn't matter how correct the good doctor thought he was - you have to ask yourself, in what world exactly does this guy actually get away with this?

"Get off the plane."

"No."

"Oh. Okay, nevermind"

???

Also, it's been interesting that nobody's really talked about how the good doctor is a convicted felon; specifically, 98 counts of trafficking and illegally prescribing. He's also had his license suspended for trading gay sex with a patient in return for giving said patient pills.

Hardly the paragon of sympathy, this guy.

The key though is that the cops did not know any of the history of Dr. Dao prior to initiating this incident.  His past does not factor at all into how United escalated and post incident treated this situation as reflected by the 500M they lost in 1 day off their share price.  I too got the actions speak louder than words email and trust me it was the market cap loss that United suffered that caused them to change their ways not any sense of decency (though they have recovered quiet a bit since then)

[BanzaiCat]

I don't see how his past transgressions relate to how we should sympathize with what happened to him on the plane.  I think it's unfair that the first inclination of people is to dig as much dirt up as possible on the people involved.  What about the cops that pulled him off?  Or the person sitting next to him?  Or the 30 people he passed while flat on his back going down the aisle?  How come we don't know the skeletons in their closets?
Seems a little ridiculous, doesn't it?

MD...yes. As I stated initially, it was terrible what they did; it was use of force where it really wasn't warranted.

United employees made a dumb decision.

I worked for them back in 1999-2000 on the ramp, and did flight management later (sitting in the ramp office doing weight/balance calculations for flights to give to pilots so they could set their takeoff parameters appropriately - flaps, etc.). I recall at that time that overbookings were dealt with by upping the ante until people bit. They went with $400, then $800, then decided to pull a real-world example of 'The Lottery.'

There's a line to draw there somewhere. I mean, if the guy was a convicted child molester, and this wasn't reported, would it have made a difference? No, not in the scheme of things; United was still wrong. In terms of the news reporting it and expecting sympathy, well...I think people would react differently.

Despite the guy's transgressions, he was punished as the law saw fit for them, and he didn't deserve a beating. But this kind of ties in with saying no matter how right you think you are, if an officer (in this case, security?) tells you to do something, you do it, and sort that shit out later to avoid this kind of thing.

I think he was awarded a settlement out of court, though I haven't heard of any numbers involved. I'm sure it was commensurate with whatever he suffered.

[MetalDog]

I don't see how his past transgressions relate to how we should sympathize with what happened to him on the plane.  I think it's unfair that the first inclination of people is to dig as much dirt up as possible on the people involved.  What about the cops that pulled him off?  Or the person sitting next to him?  Or the 30 people he passed while flat on his back going down the aisle?  How come we don't know the skeletons in their closets?
Seems a little ridiculous, doesn't it?

MD...yes. As I stated initially, it was terrible what they did; it was use of force where it really wasn't warranted.

United employees made a dumb decision.

I worked for them back in 1999-2000 on the ramp, and did flight management later (sitting in the ramp office doing weight/balance calculations for flights to give to pilots so they could set their takeoff parameters appropriately - flaps, etc.). I recall at that time that overbookings were dealt with by upping the ante until people bit. They went with $400, then $800, then decided to pull a real-world example of 'The Lottery.'

There's a line to draw there somewhere. I mean, if the guy was a convicted child molester, and this wasn't reported, would it have made a difference? No, not in the scheme of things; United was still wrong. In terms of the news reporting it and expecting sympathy, well...I think people would react differently.

Despite the guy's transgressions, he was punished as the law saw fit for them, and he didn't deserve a beating. But this kind of ties in with saying no matter how right you think you are, if an officer (in this case, security?) tells you to do something, you do it, and sort that shit out later to avoid this kind of thing.

I think he was awarded a settlement out of court, though I haven't heard of any numbers involved. I'm sure it was commensurate with whatever he suffered.

I guess what I am getting at is that there was no need to report anything but the facts of what happened during the incident.  Digging into this guys background had nothing to do with the incident and therefore is not germane to the story.  But, don't get me wrong, I understand why it's done.  Human interest.  Padding the life cycle of the story.  And maybe, hitting the jackpot with salacious details.

[Steelgrave]

I guess what I am getting at is that there was no need to report anything but the facts of what happened during the incident.  Digging into this guys background had nothing to do with the incident and therefore is not germane to the story.  But, don't get me wrong, I understand why it's done.  Human interest.  Padding the life cycle of the story.  And maybe, hitting the jackpot with salacious details.

This is exactly the kind of spin control BS that always seems to happen. It could have been Mother Theresa yanked off that plane (and I can see her peacefully resisting) and someone would have leaked that she ate meat on Fridays and a viberator was found among her luggage. Seriously, look at Aaron Hernandez, someone that none of us has any sympathy for (and I'm not suggesting we should). He commits suicide while in custody in a state where the suicide rate of inmates is 8 times the national average. Black eye for Maine, right? So suddenly we hear that Hernandez was bisexual and that his sexual orientation may have even been the reason he murdered the one guy, something that was never brought up during trial. Is it possible that authorities may have called some reporter and whispered that "information" in an effort to scare off Hernandez's relatives from a lawsuit? Mike Florio of profootballfocus.com has been pushing that angle pretty hard this week.

Look, most of us have some dirty laundry of one kind or another. If you don't think you do, run for office against any incumbent and see how long yours remains private. Granted, this guy had dirtier laundry that most, but like Dawg says, his past transgressions don't relate to what happened to him on that plane. And while we don't know how big a check United had to write, it shouldn't have been a nickle less because of anything in his past.

[MetalDog]

I always knew I liked you, Steelie  O0

[mirth]

He is remarkably likeable

[Silent Disapproval Robot]

Time to dig up some dirt on him.