Skift Take
This has been a rough two and a half weeks for United, which was clearly caught off guard by the fallout from this now-famous April 9 incident. It will be some time before the airline regains its footing, but perhaps this report is a step in the right direction.
United Airlines will not remove passengers already seated on an airplane unless safety or security is at risk, one of several policy changes the airline detailed on Thursday, two and a half weeks after United employees in Chicago called security officers to force a customer off a regional jet because the airline needed seats for crew members.
By now, the story of United passenger David Dao is known almost everywhere, including in China, where the incident trended on Weibo, the popular social media site.
On April 9, Dao had boarded a United Express flight operated by Republic Airlines from Chicago O'Hare to Louisville, Kentucky, when he and three other passengers were told they would have to leave so four late-arriving crew members, all of whom worked for Republic Airlines, could board. The crew was needed to fly the next morning from Louisville to Newark, and the flight they had planned to take from Chicago was delayed. The other passengers agreed to get off, but, Dao, a doctor, said he needed to return home to treat patients. After Dao refused, United called airport security, which dragged him off the plane and seriously injured him. The story went viral after another passenger took video, and Dao, who later taken to a hospital, is preparing a lawsuit.
United CEO Oscar Munoz
