United Airlines attempt to repair their damage

Olivia Lee, staff writer

Over the past week media coverage of the shocking brutal removal of a United Airlines passenger have surfaced. After asking for a few volunteers to give up their seats on the plane in order to provide seating for staff with no luck, United Airlines, caught on tape, forcefully removed a man from his seat for which he paid. Dr. David Dou, 69, suffered from minor injuries after he was pulled from his seat and dragged from the plane including the loss of two front teeth, a concussion, and a broken nose. Dou claimed to have patients waiting for him in Kentucky and therefore did not feel obliged to the airline’s orders.

This issue can be traced back to the airline itself. The flight had been overbooked on purpose allegedly because all passengers tend to not show up for their flight which allows for extra seating. However, this was not the case for Dr. Dou’s flight. Due to this latest scandal and several past issues, many people are choosing to boycott  United Airlines. In hopes to regain back the trust and loyalty of its passengers, United Airlines has publicly announced the changes made to the policy on staff taking overbooked flights. No longer will staff be able to seize last minute seats on full flights. According to the airline, in the future, any crew members needing to travel will be allocated seats at least an hour before the plane’s departure. However, this resolution does not address the issue of overbooking. It seems that the airline does not plan to lower prices despite threats of boycott due to the sheer fact that there are not many other airlines in the US to choose from.

Future passengers wishing to fly on United Airlines or any other airline should keep this in mind when choosing to fly.