Wouldn’t it be better to just bring any book of the same value into the library and file it on the right shelf? Even less work for everyone then!
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That is a good point. It would be hard not to say something, like "You must have very important business in Louisville. They beat a man to near unconsciousness because he though his business was as important as yours. See the blood?"
But with them now saying that the flight was not actually overbooked, and the fact that they keep referring to it as “denial of boarding”. They decided after the passengers were in their seats, that they wanted the seats for another flight crew. “Denial of boarding” is somewhat passive. “Get up, and give your seat to this person who is more important than you, or by God we will hurt you” is completely different.
I am wondering what comes next. Now that they have publicly established what they will do to you if you don’t “volunteer”, will they even feel the need to offer their stupid vouchers? I can see this episode emboldening the small percentage of airline employees who already have hostile, aggressive attitudes.
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Until someone tries to check it out and the poor clerk realizes it doesn’t have a barcode.
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Ok, I get the regulations and definitions, but when United paints itself into a corner, it’s up to United to properly extricate themselves, with courtesy and “market rate” compensation. I guarantee that 4 volunteers would have been found for a higher $ consideration, which is a pittance compared to the heat they’re taking now.
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He sues the airline, he sues the airport, he sues the cops, and he sues the maker of the armrest. And they get to sort it out amongst themselves.
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What exactly is unreasonable about expecting to be allowed to remain on the flight that you planned, reserved, paid for, checked in, boarded, and stowed your luggage, after following all the rules and regulations and submitting to all searches and scans required?
This man was quite reasonable. It’s his attackers who weren’t reasonable and weren’t even making an attempt at being reasonable. CoC or not.
I wonder if the victim has lived a life where being right was sometimes a successful strategy. Perhaps in the culture he was raised in, people sometimes took a moment to consider right and wrong.
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I’m willing to wager you’ve never been treated like cattle that didn’t deserve respect and could be beaten into submission.
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Calling the cops was just plain stupid.
I agree with this. Just announcing that the plane would not be departing until 4 people got off should have done the trick. I’m amazed they didn’t cancel the flight and kick everyone off after this incident. Just fly the plane to the next destination and start over.
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probably on copyright reasons. abusing passengers is a patented and trademarked business model by United.
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The thing that makes it unreasonable is that’s not how this works; that’s not how any of this works. There is a small but nonzero chance that due to overbooking or (as was the case here) other unusual circumstances, some passengers who are paid and ticketed will not actually be able to use their seats after all and will have to be rescheduled. Yeah, it sucks if it happens to you, but it’s part of the deal.
Also, just because the victim was being unreasonable doesn’t mean that his attackers were, contrariwise, behaving reasonably. That doesn’t follow at all; of course they were misbehaving. Rampantly and violently.
Come now, that thought was a lot more nuanced without the selective quoting. 
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After you’ve been asked to leave? That’s a heck of a question. Let me say it this way: How dare they kick him off his own airplane?
I wonder if the victim has lived a life where being right was sometimes a successful strategy.
Right and wrong are preceded by correct and incorrect. Let us not mix terms and lose nuance.
He was incorrect, and then he was wronged. He had no right to be on the plane, he had paid for a privilege, which was then revoked under the terms he agreed to. I don’t think he did anything improper before he was violated, though he was trespassing at some point - and that was handled very poorly by the authorities.
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The “low-cost” airlines (Easyjet and Ryanair, for example) don’t overbook. They deal with it by having the vast majority of the tickets they sell be non-changeable and non-refundable.
Overbooking isn’t banking on no-shows, it’s banking on people who change their tickets.
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Can we talk a bit about the Chicago PD being called in to enforce a corporate policy? Is that the norm now? The passenger wasn’t breaking a law, was he? Or is refusing to go along with the CoC illegal? I honestly don’t know. You seem to have a lot of knowledge on the whole CoC and standard procedures, so hoping you can weigh in.
I see you’ve been getting beaten up a bit about that statement, but I hear what you’re saying here. I found myself in a similar situation as the doctor, only I was 19, on a roadside after an unfounded traffic stop. I behaved “unreasonably” for the situation and made everything worse for myself. Knowing my rights and asking that they be respected was unreasonable given the nature of the authority figures and the isolated location. The memory still burns. But, even knowing that I was trying to stand for what’s right, if I had kids I’d encourage them to play the long game if they were in a similar situation. Do what’s needed to get through the moment without being harmed or incercerated, get badge numbers, and follow up.
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Surprise! In early trading this morning, UAL has made back nearly all of its losses from yesterday.
Wall Street smirks at you, puny, insignificant customer.
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From their fist class non-United seats. 
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Don’t slip, Sigmund.
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HaHaHa… That’s part of the Fifty Shades upgrade package. With the Fifty Shades upgrade package you can be bound and beaten your way. Fly United, it never hurt so good. [image of woman biting her lip]
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