United Passenger, Airline Reach Confidential Settlement In Dragging Incident

CHICAGO, IL — A settlement has been reached between United Airlines and Dr. David Dao, the passenger who was violently dragged from his seat on a flight at O'Hare International Airport earlier this month. Statements from United and Thomas Demetrio, Dao's high-profile Chicago lawyer, said Thursday that the settlement over the injuries Dao received in the April 9 incident was amicable. But the deal keeps the amount of the settlement confidential, according to Ryan Ruggiero of CNBC.

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United's settlement agreement with Dao, 69, of Kentucky, comes on the same day it released its findings concerning the events surrounding United Express flight 3411, which gained notoriety after video footage of Dao being forcibly removed by aviation police officers spread online and generated a storm of outrage. The airline's report said inadequate employee training and the company's own policies interfered with doing what's right." To prevent future mishaps, United unveiled a list of changes to its procedures, including reducing the number of overbooked flights and raising the maximum payout for passengers who voluntarily give up their seats on such flights to $10,000.

"We are pleased to report that United and Dr. Dao have reached an amicable resolution of the unfortunate incident that occurred aboard flight 3411," the airline said in a release. "We look forward to implementing the improvements we have announced, which will put our customers at the center of everything we do."

Demetrio had earlier praised United CEO Oscar Munoz and the airline for the steps they were taking to prevent a repeat of the kind of mishap that happened to his client. He continued to echo those sentiments after the settlement was announced.

"Mr. Munoz said he was going to do the right thing, and he has," Demetrio said in his statement. "In addition, United has taken full responsibility for what happened on Flight 3411, without attempting to blame others, including the city of Chicago. For this acceptance of corporate accountability, United is to be applauded."

Dao was one of four people randomly chosen to be bumped from the Chicago-to-Louisville flight so that airline employees could fly. He was dragged down the plane's aisle by the Chicago Aviation Police when he refused to give up his seat. Dao told officers he needed get home because he had patients to see the next day. Dao was bloodied in the altercation and suffered a "significant concussion" and a broken nose, as well as losing two teeth, according to Demetrio.

WATCH: United Airlines unveiled policy changes hours before the Chicago-based company announced a confidential settlement with recently injured passenger Dr. David Dao. Check out a video recap of United's new procedures and then read more about them in Patch's original story below:

Four Chicago Aviation Police officers have been placed on administrative leave by the Chicago Department of Aviation, which oversees the force. The department is reviewing the officers' roles in the incident, but the City of Chicago doesn't have to worry about legal action from Dao.

"We are not proceeding against the city," Demetrio told Crain's Chicago Business on Thursday. "United Airlines accepted full responsibility for what occurred. … The city is the beneficiary of United stepping up to the plate."

Even though there will be no lawsuit against the city, Demetrio said he hopes his client's ordeal creates "good, positive changes in policy and training" for Chicago's aviation cops, the Crain's report added.

United might have been receiving praise from Dao's legal team over its policy changes — particularly the company's pledge to cut back on overbooking — but it was target of a bit of online shade from an air travel competitor. The official Twitter account for JetBlue Airways used the news surrounding United's new procedures and settlement deal to blow its own horn when it comes to h0w that airline books seats:

"Not overselling flights? Been our policy since Day 1. It’s just one of the things we do to bring humanity to the skies. #CustomersFirst," a JetBlue tweet stated shortly after news of the deal between Dao and United broke.

More via Crain's Chicago Business

UPDATED (4:06 p.m. Thursday, April 27)

ORIGINAL STORY

CHICAGO, IL — United Airlines pledged to reduce overbookings, and it is raising the maximum payout for customers who voluntarily give up their seats on such flights to $10,000 as part of "10 substantial changes to how it flies" that the carrier introduced Thursday as it continues to deal with the fallout from a passenger being violently dragged from his seat earlier this month. The new policies and procedures were announced in conjunction with the release of the airline's findings surrounding the April 9 incident at O'Hare International Airport. That flight gained notoriety after video footage of Dr. David Dao being forcibly removed by aviation police officers went viral across social media platforms and news websites.

Along with cutting down on "bumpings" and increasing compensation in such cases, United also will create an automated system to find volunteers on those flights and provide additional training for employees so they're better equipped to deal with potentially volatile situations, the Chicago-based company said in a statement Thursday, April 27, that outlined the new guidelines. Several new procedures are effective immediately, while others will be rolled out the rest of the year, according to the airline.

Two policy changes — prohibiting the use of law enforcement to remove paid passengers who aren't a safety risk, and flight crews being booked at least an hour before takeoff — had already been made by the carrier as a response to the events aboard United Express flight 3411.

RELATED: Check Out United Airline's Policy Changes Outlined In The Full Review And Report Concerning Flight 3411

In its report, United stated it hopes these changes help the company achieve the following goals:

• become more customer-focused
• establish airline policies that avoid placing passengers, employees and other stakeholders into "impossible situations"
• bring the number of involuntary denials of boarding "as close to zero as possible."

"Every customer deserves to be treated with the highest levels of service and the deepest sense of dignity and respect," United CEO Oscar Munoz said in the statement. "Two weeks ago, we failed to meet that standard and we profoundly apologize. However, actions speak louder than words. Today, we are taking concrete, meaningful action to make things right and ensure nothing like this ever happens again."

"This is a turning point for all of us at United and it signals a culture shift toward becoming a better, more customer-focused airline," he added. "Our customers should be at the center of everything we do and these changes are just the beginning of how we will earn back their trust."

In the April 9 incident, Dao, 69, of Kentucky, was one of four people randomly chosen to be bumped from the Chicago-to-Louisville flight so that airline employees could fly. He was dragged down the plane's aisle by the Chicago Aviation Police when he refused to give up his seat. Dao told officers he needed get home because he had patients to see the next day.

Dao was bloodied in the altercation and suffered a "significant concussion" and a broken nose, as well as losing two teeth, according to his lawyer, high-profile Chicago attorney Thomas Demetrio. A lawsuit against the airline is forthcoming, Demetrio has said. But even without the impending legal fight, United has been battling the public outrage the confrontation has caused.

Patch's United Flight 3411 Coverage:

Dead Giant Rabbit On United Flight Creates New Problem For Airline: The animal died while traveling in the cargo hold of a flight headed from London to Chicago.

Passenger Was 'Aggressive'; Aviation Cops Used 'Minimal But Necessary Force': Incident Report: Records concerning the events of flight 3411 claim Dr. David Dao was combative with officers before being removed from the plane.

Chicago Lawyer In Passenger-Dragging Will Represent American Airlines Customer: Attorney Thomas Demetrio said both incidents illustrate the unfair treament customers receveive from airlines during a TV interview Monday.

Passenger Dragged From Flight Suffered Concussion, Broken Nose: VIDEO: A lawsuit likely after United forced a doctor off the plane to "re-accommodate" him so an airline employee could take his seat.

United's Image Takes Online Beating In Memes, Comments: Social media reaction to video footage of a passenger being dragged from a full flight Sunday night has been swift and merciless.

Records and recordings of the incident released by the City of Chicago earlier this week claimed Dao "responded repeatedly in an aggressive manner" when he was asked to give up his seat and that officers used "minimal but necessary force" in the situation. United's report, however, does not describe Dao's behavior in the incident, and it firmly lays the deterioration of the situation at the feet of the airline, blaming its operating procedures and insufficient employee training:

"Our review shows that many things went wrong that day, but the headline is clear: our policies got in the way of our values and procedures interfered in doing what's right," Munoz stated.

The report identified the following four areas as failures in the handling of finding volunteers to give up their seats and how United had Dao removed from the plane:

• using Chicago aviation cops in a situation that didn't pose a security or safety threat.
• last-minute rebooking of the flight crew during the boarding process, a violation of airline policies.
• offering insufficient payouts and other transportation or destination compensation for volunteers because United agents didn't have the authority to make those decisions.
• inadequate training and "empowerment" given to employees to prepare them so they could properly deal with what transpired.

On Thursday, Munoz continued doing damage control not only concerning the airline's actions, but also with his own response to the unfortunate event. The CEO was criticized for not quickly apologizing on behalf of United for the incident, as well as ininitially characterizing Dao as "belligerent."

“That first response was insensitive beyond belief,” Munoz told The Associated Press on Thursday. “It did not represent how I felt.”

“I breached public trust with this event and how we responded,” he added. “People are upset, and I suspect that there are a lot of people potentially thinking of not flying us.”

If the airline's new protocols had been in place at the time, the turmoil that unfolded leading to their creation possibly could have been avoided in the first place, Munoz said.

“We could have spent a lot of $10,000s and made that thing right,” he said.

Demetrio, Dao's attorney, said in a statement Thursday he was pleased with the steps United was taking to prevent a repeat of the kind of mishap that happened to his client:

“Both Dr. Dao and I applaud United for promptly addressing the many issues that have plagued passenger satisfaction in the arena of airline customer service. All of its policy changes announced today are passenger friendly and are simple, commonsense decisions on United’s part to help minimize the stress involved in the flying experience."

United and Dao haven't been the only parties dealing with the aftermath of the now-infamous flight. Four Chicago Aviation Police officers have been placed on administrative leave by the Chicago Department of Aviation, which oversees the force. The department is reviewing the officers' roles in the incident.

Originally, the aviation department did not identify the officers, claiming their contract prohibited it. However, the names of Officers Mauricio Rodriguez Jr. — the responding officer who wrote the incident report — James Long and Stephen Smith, and Sgt. John Moore were revealed this week with the city's release of the records, recordings and other documents connected to the incident.

U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-9th District) also announced that once Congress is back in session, she plans to introduce a bill prohibiting airlines from bumping passengers off overbooked flights. She says she wants to enact compulsory measures that apply to all carriers — not just United.

"If an airline chooses to oversell a flight, or has to accommodate their crew on a fully booked flight, it is their responsibility to keep raising their offer until a customer chooses to give up their seat," the congreswoman stated in an April 12 release. "My legislation will direct the Department of Transportation to update federal rules to make sure that is the case. It will also ensure that all negotiations with passengers willing to give up their seats are carried out before they board the aircraft. These fixes would prevent the situation we saw on video from ever happening again."

At the time, Schakowsky said she intended to "thoroughly review" United's report regarding the incident.

Screen shot via Audra D. Bridges | Facebook

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