United Airlines

United Airlines, Inc., commonly referred to as United, is a major U.S. airline headquartered
in Chicago, Illinois.[10][11][12] It is the world's third-largest airline when measured by
revenue, after American Airlines and Delta Air Lines. United operates a large domestic and
international route network, with an extensive presence in the Asia-Pacific region.[13]
United is a founding member of Star Alliance, the world's largest airline alliance. Regional
service is operated by independent carriers under the brand name United Express. Its main
competitors are American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Alaska Airlines, and Southwest Airlines.
United was founded in 1926 as Varney Air Lines[1] and was later known as United Air Lines
(UAL).[14] Just prior to the use of the United Airlines name, The Boeing Company operated a
predecessor airline.
United operates out of nine airline hubs located in Chicago, Denver, Guam, Houston, Los
Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, Tokyo and Washington, D.C.[15] Chicago-O'Hare is United's
largest hub, both in terms of passengers carried annually (16.8 million in 2016) and in terms
of departures (181,488 in 2016). This passed George Bush Intercontinental in Houston,
which carried 15.5 million with 178,019 departures.[16] United operates maintenance bases
in Cleveland and Orlando in addition to the maintenance locations located at United's
hubs.[17]
The company employs over 86,000[9] people while maintaining its headquarters in
Chicago's Willis Tower (formerly known as Sears Tower).[18] Through the airline's parent
company, United Continental Holdings, it is publicly traded under NYSE: UAL with a market
capitalization of over $18 billion as of September 2014.

United Express Flight 3411 incident

On April 9, 2017, O'Hare International Airport police forcibly removed passenger David Dao
from United Express Flight 3411 after he refused to depart the airplane upon the demand of
management. Dao screamed as officers pulled him out of his seat, and his face hit an
armrest during the struggle. Officers then dragged him, apparently unconscious, by his arms
on his back along the aircraft aisle past rows of onlooking passengers. He was later seen
with blood around his mouth. Prior to the confrontation, managers offered travel vouchers
to passengers to vacate their seats to make room for four airline employees who needed to
travel to the destination, Louisville International Airport, but none of the passengers
accepted. Four passengers were then selected for involuntary removal from the flight. Three
other passengers complied, and Dao was selected to be fourth. Republic Airline operated
the scheduled passenger flight on behalf of United Express, a United Airlines regional
branch.
Video of the incident recorded by passengers went viral on social media, resulting in outrage
over the violent incident. Politicians expressed concern and called for official investigation.
U.S. President Donald Trump criticized United Airlines, calling treatment of their customer
"horrible".
The next morning United CEO Oscar Munoz issued a statement which appeared to justify
the removal of the unwilling passenger, referring to it as "re-accommodating the
customers". Munoz also sent an email to United staff commending the crew's actions for
following established procedures, and referring to Dao as "disruptive" and "belligerent".
Munoz and United were sharply criticized for their initial statements. Two days after the
incident Munoz issued an additional statement,[4] apologizing and promising that this type
of incident would never happen again on United aircraft. He said, "No one should ever be
mistreated this way". Munoz was denied a previously planned promotion to chairman as a
result of the incident.[5][6] Dao reached an "amicable" settlement with United on April 27,
the terms of which were not announced.

Incident
Just before 5:40 p.m. on April 9, 2017, after passengers were seated in the United Express
flight 3411 aircraft but while the plane was still at the gate, the United gate agent
announced that they needed to remove four passengers to accommodate four staff
members who had to cover an unstaffed flight at another location.[9] The crew members
were originally scheduled to take flight 4448 which was to depart at 2:55 p.m. but that
plane was experiencing a significant mechanical delay and had the possibility of being
cancelled. The crew was not re-booked to flight 3411 until 5:21 -- 19 minutes before flight
3411's scheduled departure time. Passengers were initially offered US$400 in vouchers for
future travel on United, a hotel stay, and a seat on a plane leaving more than 21 hours later
if they voluntarily deplaned. With no volunteers, the offer was increased to $800 in
vouchers.
With still no volunteers, a manager boarded and informed the flight that four people would
be chosen by computer. A spokeswoman for United has since stated that the selection is
based on specific factors, including priority to remain aboard for frequent fliers and those
who paid a higher fare. Three of the selected passengers, a couple and a woman thought to
be Dao's wife, agreed to leave. The fourth selected passenger, 69-year-old David Dao, an
Asian-American doctor from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, refused, saying he needed to see
patients the next day at his clinic. United Airlines staff requested assistance from Chicago
Department of Aviation security officers, whose powers differ from those of Chicago Police
Department officers; they cannot, for example, file arrest reports.
Dao refused to leave his seat, and in the ensuing scuffle he suffered injuries to his head and
mouth when, according to another passenger, a security official threw him against the
armrest[20] before dragging him down the aisle by the arms, apparently unconscious.
During the altercation, a number of passengers distressed by the incident voluntarily left the
aircraft. Four Republic Airline staff then sat in the vacated seats. Shortly afterwards, Dao
managed to re-board the aircraft, repeatedly saying, "I have to go home." Eventually he
collapsed in a seat and was removed from the aircraft on a stretcher. The remaining
passengers were then deplaned while blood from the scuffle was cleaned up.
Dao was seen with a bloody face after he was removed from the seat. Other passengers on
the flight recorded the event on video using smartphone cameras, which was widely
circulated on social media. Another passenger also reported hearing Dao say that he had
been chosen because of his ethnicity. Dao was taken to the hospital with non-life-
threatening injuries including a broken nose, loss of two front teeth, sinus injuries, and "a
significant concussion" requiring reconstructive surgery according to Dao's lawyer.[24][25]
The flight departed at 7:21 p.m CDT., two hours and two minutes later than scheduled. It
arrived at Louisville at 9:01 p.m.CDT, two hours behind schedule.

Aftermath
An April 11, 2017, statement from law firms Golan Christie Taglia and Corboy & Demetrio,
who said they represented Dao, indicated that their client's family "wants the world to know
that they are very appreciative of the outpouring of prayers, concern and support".
One of the officers who removed and dragged the passenger was placed on administrative
leave soon after the incident; the other two officers were placed on administrative leave on
April 12. The Chicago Department of Aviation said that "The incident on United Flight 3411
was not in accordance with our standard operating procedure and the actions of the
aviation security officer are obviously not condoned by the Department..." The aviation
police receive more training and better pay compared to private security guards, but less
training and less pay than officers of the Chicago Police Department. Two of those officers
were later fired.

Airport security insignia changes

Following a review prompted by this incident, in July 2017 the Chicago Department of
Aviation reported that their non-sworn, unarmed airport security personnel were not
actually police officers under Illinois law. Their uniforms, badges, and vehicles had been
“improperly” labeled “police” due to historical reasons. It promised that the incorrect
insignia would be removed within months.

Social media
Video footage from passengers who remained on the aircraft throughout the incident was
widely shared, and was then picked up by mainstream media agencies. One such video was
shared 87,000 times and viewed 6.8 million times in less than a day.
The victim was initially thought to be Chinese American as one of the witnesses told The
Washington Post, "He said, more or less, 'I'm being selected because I'm Chinese.'" His
daughter Crystal Dao Pepper later said in the press conference that her father was
Vietnamese Chinese. The incident thus drew outrage on mainland Chinese and Vietnamese
social media, and became the number one trending topic on the Chinese micro-blogging site
Weibo, attracting the attention of more than 480 million users. The incident also outraged
Yelp users and low star rating were given to United Airlines in Chicago and other cities
including San Francisco.[38][original research?] An article in Foreign Policy noted the racial
and political reasons for the wide spread of the video throughout the mainland Chinese
mediasphere, where there are heated debates over the nature of America's political system
and its relations to China, and asserted that the video would serve the ends of the
authorities and critics of America in challenging America's cultural sway in China. Ire in
Vietnam grew after it was reported that Dao's origins in that country. There was also
negative reaction to allegations over Dao's past being reported in the United States, which
was viewed as irrelevant and possibly racist.[39] Dao's reported account of feeling racially
profiled incited outrage elsewhere in Asia.
The incident had taken place shortly after another controversy in which United refused
boarding to two teenage girls wearing leggings. There were calls by social media users
across the world, especially those in the United States, China, and Vietnam, to boycott
United Airlines. Customers of the airline posted pictures of their United loyalty or credit
cards cut into pieces. Another petition called on the U.S. federal government to launch an
investigation into the incident, invoking the Black Lives Matter movement by using the
hashtag "#ChineseLivesMatters".

Stock market
Shares of United Continental Holdings (UAL), the parent of United Airlines, closed at $70.88
on April 7. On April 10, the first trading day after the incident, they rose by 0.9% to close at
$71.52. [45] Although UAL shares declined by 1.1% on April 11, they closed at $70.71, only
$0.17 or 0.2% less than the April 7 closing price. Furthermore, they traded above their April
7 closing price during the April 12 trading session.

Research analysts S3 Partners commented on the effect the incident would have on UAL's
future financial performance, saying that "consumers might not have much choice but to fly
UAL due to airline consolidation, which has reduced competition over most routes. As a
result, with passengers having fewer options these days when it comes to carriers, UAL's
revenues may not suffer as much as expected unless passengers opt for longer and more
expensive flights."[47] Analysts Wolfe Research and Cowen & Co. were also confident of
future performance.
Investor Warren Buffett, a major investor in airline stocks, said that United made a "terrible
mistake," and that public perceptions were influenced by the CEO's initial reaction. Buffett
said that even though airlines may become "like cattle cars," that reflects the public's
preference for cheap flights, which has resulted in high load factors. The result of high load
factors is a "fair amount of discomfort."

Consumer preference
A poll of 1,900 people conducted three days after the incident suggested that all else being
equal, 79% of prospective fliers who had heard of the incident would choose a non-United
Airlines flight. 44% would choose a non-United Airlines flight even if it cost USD$66 more
and took an additional three hours.
Despite calls for a boycott, United Airlines reported 39% greater profits over the previous
year in the second quarter of 2017, as well as increased sales. Economist John Kwoka Jr.
attributed this to the high level of consolidation of American airlines, with a majority of
flights controlled by four corporations – United, Delta, American and Southwest – making a
boycott impractical. Additionally, for many travelers, ticket price is the primary deciding
factor when booking flights, outweighing other considerations such as customer service.

Industry behavior
In August 2017, data from the U.S. Department of Transportation showed that bumped-
passenger rates were at their lowest since 1995. The rate "markedly decreased" starting in
April 2017 (the same month this incident occurred) from 0.62 per 10,000 passengers, to
0.44 per 10,000 in the second quarter of 2017.

Responses
United Airlines
On April 9, United issued a statement: "Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville was
overbooked. After our team looked for volunteers, one customer refused to leave the
aircraft voluntarily and law enforcement was asked to come to the gate. We apologize for
the overbook situation. Further details on the removed customer should be directed to
authorities."[53][54][55] The company also tweeted "Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville
was overbooked. After our team looked for volunteers, one customer refused to leave the
aircraft voluntarily and law enforcement was asked to come to the gate."[56] By April 11,
United clarified that the flight was not overbooked, but sold out, and the four employees
who needed the seats were considered "must-ride" passengers who had to travel to
another city to work as aircraft crew. [57]
United CEO Oscar Munoz stated on April 10: "This is an upsetting event to all of us here at
United. I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers. Our team is moving with
a sense of urgency to work with the authorities and conduct our own detailed review of
what happened. We are also reaching out to this passenger to talk directly to him and
further address and resolve this situation."[58][59] Munoz's use of the word "re-
accommodate" received particular attention and ridicule from social media and
commentators.[60][61][62]
Later on April 10, in an e-mail to employees, Munoz praised and defended the crew's
actions, while claiming the passenger was "disruptive and belligerent".[63] He stated that
this was not a mistake, but "Our employees followed established procedures for dealing
with situations like this."[64] This led to an online petition calling for his resignation.[65]
In a subsequent public statement released by United in the afternoon of April 11, 2017,[18]
Munoz was more sensitive to public opinion. His note described the Dao incident as "truly
horrific" and expressed an understanding of the "outrage, anger, disappointment" felt by
many. He took full responsibility and apologized, adding that "No one should ever be
mistreated this way". He promised to conduct a thorough review and release a report by
April 30. The public statement ends with this comment: "I promise you we will do
better."[66]
During a television interview on April 12, Munoz announced that effective immediately,
United Airlines would no longer use police in involuntary bumping situations: "We're not
going to put a law enforcement official... [onto a United aircraft] to remove a booked, paid,
seated passenger." He apologized to Dao and his family and said, "That is not who our family
at United is. You saw us at a bad moment; this can and will never happen again on a United
Airlines flight. That is my promise." Asked if Dao was at fault in any way, he said, "No, he
can't be... no one should be treated that way, period."[67][68][69]
In response to a signed petition, Munoz said he did not intend to resign.[70][71]
Three days after the incident, United Airlines elected to provide all passengers aboard
United Express Flight 3411 compensation equal to the cost of their tickets.[72] An email
obtained by the CNN news agency stated that this compensation was in the form of a $500
voucher toward future travel on United Airlines.[73] On April 13, 2017, United internally
announced a policy change to ensure that flight crews are booked "at least 60 minutes prior
to departure."[74][75] On April 18, Munoz reported that no one will be fired as a result of
the incident.[76][77][78]
On April 21, it was reported that Munoz would not become chairman of the airline, as had
been planned, because of the incident.[6] Munoz's employment agreement was amended
subsequent to the incident to reflect that he would not be elevated to chairman. In a
government filing, United said that the airline was developing a program for 2017 so that
compensation was "directly and meaningfully tied to progress in improving the customer
experience."[5]
United and Dao reached a confidential settlement on April 27.[7][79] At the same time, the
airline announced ten policy changes in response to the incident. These included raising the
maximum amount of travel vouchers to passengers "bounced" from flights to up to $10,000
and a $1,500 "no questions asked" fee for permanently lost luggage, and the airline
promised to reduce overbooking.[80]

Public relations professionals

The handling of the incident by Munoz was described as a "fumbling response" by
Bloomberg News, part of a "public-relations disaster" for United.[63] Munoz had been
named "Communicator of the Year for 2017" by PRWeek in March 2017.[81] Steve Barrett,
Editor-in-chief of PRWeek US, later noted: "It's fair to say that if PRWeek was choosing its
Communicator of the Year now, we would not be awarding it to Oscar Munoz … In time, the
episode and subsequent response will be quoted in textbooks as an example of how not to
respond in a crisis."[82] Public relations expert Rupert Younger, director of the Oxford
University Centre for Corporate Reputation, called the handling of the situation "a major
disappointment." In Younger's view, Munoz should have moved more quickly and been
more genuinely apologetic from the start.[83] Former Assistant Secretary of State for Public
Affairs Philip J. Crowley said: "It's hard to think of a case study that went so compellingly
wrong so rapidly."[84]

United Master Executive Council

On April 13, 2017, the United Master Executive Council, the United Airlines bargaining unit
of the Air Line Pilots Association trade union, issued a statement to shift blame from United
to Republic Airline, one of the carriers under contract to operate United Express flights, and
especially the Chicago Department of Aviation. The statement read in part: "this violent
incident should never have happened and was a result of gross excessive force by Chicago
Department of Aviation personnel."

Other airlines
Emirates launched an advertising campaign that parodies United Airline's "Fly the Friendly
Skies" slogan and Munoz's previous statements about airlines in the Middle East.[87][88]
Royal Jordanian put up a picture of a no-smoking sign on its Twitter account with the
messages, "We would like to remind you that drags on flights are strictly prohibited by
passengers and crew," and "We are here to keep you #united. Dragging is strictly
prohibited."
Delta Air Lines increased the amount of compensation supervisors can offer to displaced
passengers from $1,350 to $9,950 with gate agents able to offer $2,000, up from
$800.[75][90] American Airlines also enacted a new policy: passengers who have already
boarded will never be removed to seat others.[91] Southwest Airlines announced they will
no longer overbook flights.

United States government

Executive branch
The White House's "We the People" webpage received 100,000 petition signatures in one
day—exceeding the threshold needed for official review—demanding a government
investigation into the incident.[93] White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer commented
that "It was an unfortunate incident" and added "when you watch the video, it is troubling
to see how that was handled."[94][95]
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) said it was reviewing the incident.
"While it is legal for airlines to [involuntarily] bump passengers from an oversold flight when
there are not enough volunteers, it is the airline's responsibility to determine its own fair
boarding priorities," the agency said in a statement.[18] On April 12, the USDOT stated that
it was "reviewing the involuntary denied boarding of passenger(s) from United Express flight
3411 to determine whether the airline "complied with the oversales rule."
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie asked the United States Secretary of Transportation,
Elaine Chao, to suspend allowing airlines to overbook passengers.[98]
U.S. President Donald Trump criticized United Airlines' response to Dao in an interview with
The Wall Street Journal. He said the airline's treatment of their customer was "horrible" and
that the airline should have further increased the financial offer to customers to voluntarily
leave the plane, instead of choosing to use force. Trump told The Wall Street Journal: "You
know, there's a point at which I'm getting off the plane ... seriously. They should have gone
up higher. But to just randomly say, 'You're getting off the plane,' that was terrible."
Congress
A bipartisan group of senators on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation
Committee described the incident as "disturbing", and wrote to Munoz and the Chicago
Department of Aviation. The group sought information about the crew-scheduling mix-up
that required passengers to give up their seats, and asked whether United considers
bumping a passenger to accommodate employees to be the same as an "oversold"
situation. They asked the Chicago Department of Aviation about their security protocols and
whether Dao had been passive or threatening during the incident. Both parties were given
until April 20, 2017, to respond.[100] United Airlines submitted their response on April 26,
2017.[101]
Separately, twenty-one Democratic U.S. Senators wrote to Munoz to express their deep
concern, and asked a range of questions about the incident, requesting a response by April
24, 2017.[102][103]
Congressional Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) called for hearings from the House
Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee.[104] Dan Lipinski (D-IL), member of the
House Transportation Committee's Aviation subcommittee, called on Congress to make
legislative amendments to give passengers more rights and to prevent further similar
incidents.[105][98] Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ) said the incident was disturbing and
criticized Munoz's "empty apology."
Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is drafting the "Customers Not Cargo Act", which would
ban airlines from involuntarily bumping passengers who are already on the aircraft and
seated. He previously said United must do more than "apologize", and called for a full
investigation.[107][108] Separately, congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) stated she
intended to introduce legislation to end involuntarily bumping of passengers, requiring
airlines to increase their offer until a customer voluntarily gives up their seat.[109] On April
26, 2017, Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) introduced a bill
which would change how airlines handle their boarding and bumping policies.[110]
Illinois General Assembly
Illinois state Representative Peter Breen has introduced the Airline Passenger Protection Act
in the Illinois House of Representatives. The act forbids state or local government
authorities from removing passengers that are not dangerous or causing a disturbance in
non-emergency situations. It also forbids the state of Illinois from doing business with
airlines whose policies allow removal of paying passengers to make room for employees
traveling on non-revenue tickets.[111][112]
Chicago City Council
Chicago City Council's Aviation Committee held hearings starting April 13 to investigate the
incident. Committee Chairman Mike Zalewski said the incident had damaged the reputation
of Chicago and O'Hare International Airport. Zalewski wanted responses from United,
Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans and from the union representing aviation police, SEIU
Local 73.[102]
An April 12 statement by the Chicago Department of Aviation offered these comments
about their security staff: "While they do have limited authority to make an arrest, Sunday's
incident was not within standard operating procedures nor will we tolerate that kind of
action. That is why we quickly placed the aviation security officer on leave pending a
thorough review of the situation. The action we have taken thus far reflects what we
currently know, and as our review continues we will not hesitate to take additional action as
appropriate."
Litigation
Dao's personal injury lawyer asked the Cook County Circuit Court for an order requiring
United and the city of Chicago to retain all video, cockpit recordings, and other reports from
the flight, including personnel files of the Aviation Department officers who pulled Dao from
the plane.[114][115] United and the city of Chicago agreed, forgoing a court hearing.[116]
Through his lawyers, Dao described his ordeal as "more horrifying" than his experience of
the Fall of Saigon during the Vietnam War.[117]
On April 24, Dao's attorney announced that Dao intended to file a lawsuit against
United.[118][119] Three days later, United and Dao reached a confidential settlement.[7][8]
Third-party legal commentary
Early reports and United Airlines initially characterized the incident as a consequence of
overbooking, leading some experts to question whether that was the case.[120] John
Banzhaf, a professor of law at the George Washington University Law School, states that
United was "citing the wrong federal rule to justify its illegal request to force a passenger
already boarded and seated to disembark," since the regulation cited only covers denial of
boarding, and not removing a passenger after boarding.[121]
Another observed that while United has asserted a right to remove passengers after
boarding, none of the reasons for doing so specified in the airline's contract of carriage
applied in this situation.[122] One attorney pointedly stated United "had absolutely no right
to remove that man from the airplane"[123] and described the incident as "assault and
battery."[121]
Chicago City Council alderman Michael Zalewski questioned whether the Chicago Airport
Police even had the legal authority to enter the aircraft.[124]
A partner at Kreindler & Kreindler, a law firm specializing in air disaster litigation, concluded,
"United, if they're smart, will quickly and quietly settle the case."
 United Flight 3411: A moment-by-moment timeline
SUNDAY, APRIL 9, 2017
(All times reported in CST)
3:40 p.m.: Travelers scheduled for United Express Flight 3411 begin trickling through
security at O'Hare International Airport for a 5:40 p.m. flight to Kentucky.
During the boarding process: United announces Flight 3411 has been overbooked. Flight
attendants seek volunteers to give up their seats to accommodate United employees who
planned on flying on to Louisville. The company offers the following to would-be volunteers:

 A $400 voucher
 An overnight hotel stay in Chicago
 And later to entice passengers to volunteer, an $800 voucher
When no one volunteers, the United manager boards the plane and announces passengers
would be chosen at random to vacate their seats.
5:21 p.m.: Passenger Tyler Bridges, husband of Audra D. Bridges, posts a video on Twitter
showing a removed passenger who somehow managed to get back on the plane. He is seen
with blood on his face, running up the center aisle of the plane.
The unnamed passenger was removed again by police after expressing fears he might be
harmed further, according to passengers on the plane.

6:30 p.m.: Passenger Audra D. Bridges posts video on Facebook, adding further context to
her husband's video. Her video shows an attempt by an officer to forcibly remove
passengers from the plane.
7:01 p.m.: Now an hour and a half past the scheduled time of departure, passenger Jayse D.
Anspach, of Louisville, posts a video on Twitter showing the unknown passenger in Tyler
Bridges' video being dragged off the plane by a Chicago Department of Aviation officer.
The unidentified passenger's face is bloodied in the incident, and other passengers can be
heard protesting his violent removal from the plane.

7:21 p.m.: United Airlines Flight 3411 leaves O'Hare, 2 hours and 2 minutes later than
scheduled.
9:01 p.m.: United Airlines Flight 3411 arrives at Louisville International Airport two hours
later than scheduled.
Late Sunday evening: United Airlines issues the following statement to the media explaining
what happened on Flight 3411:
"Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville was overbooked. After our team looked for
volunteers, one customer refused to leave the aircraft voluntarily and law enforcement was
asked to come to the gate. We apologize for the overbook situation. Further details on the
removed customer should be directed to authorities."

MONDAY, APRIL 10, 2017

5:03 a.m.: A United Airlines employee begins directing complaints and inquiries for details
about what happened to "authorities" via the company Twitter account, but is unclear
about who media and customers should contact.
5:36 a.m.: Re-citing an official United Airlines statement provided to the media, employees
who manage the company Twitter account begin to tell its customers that the incident only
escalated after a customer refused to leave the flight.

11:27 a.m.: United CEO Oscar Munoz issues the following response to the media about what
happened on United Express Flight 3411. It is also posted on Twitter, prompting an uproar
from some social media users:

Later Monday: The Chicago Department of Aviation issues its own statement regarding the
security officer involved in removing passengers from United Express Flight 3411:
"The incident on United flight 3411 was not in accordance with our standard operating
procedure and the actions of the aviation security officer are obviously not condoned by the
Department. That officer has been placed on leave effective today pending a thorough
review of the situation."