Politics & Government

Passenger-Dragging 'Mistake Of Epic Proportions,' United CEO Tells Lawmakers

United CEO Oscar Munoz and other airline execs addressed recent customer mishaps during a congressional hearing Tuesday.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz continued his apology tour in response to headline-grabbing incidents that have plagued the airline, doling out mea culpas during a congressional committee hearing Tuesday morning. Lawmakers put Munoz and other airline execs on the hot seat, forcing them to address the causes behind a spate of recent customer service lapses, according to reports. The members of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee also questioned the business leaders about industry policies — such as overbooking flights and bumping passengers, as well as a system fees that can charge customers for switching flights to checking luggage — that are widely viewed as money-grabbing practices, the Chicago Tribune reports.

The main impetus for the hearing was the April 9 incident aboard United Express flight 3411 at O'Hare International Airport when a passenger was violently removed from the plane by aviation police. Dr. David Dao, 69, was one of four people randomly chosen to be bumped from the Chicago-to-Louisville flight so that airline employees could fly. Dao, who refused to give up his seat because he needed return home to see patients the next day, suffered a "significant concussion" and a broken nose in the altercation.

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Video footage of the incident spread quickly across social media, and United has become the target of consumer outrage over Dao's treatment. Last week, the Chicago-based airline reached an "amicable" settlement with Dao, but the terms of the agreement are confidential.

“It was a mistake of epic proportions in hindsight,” Munoz said at the hearing, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

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And Dao's much-publicized ordeal wasn't United's only recent mishap. In March, two teenage girls who were "pass travelers" — passengers who are either airline employees or a dependent of an employee — were barred from boarding a flight at Denver Airport because they were wearing leggings, which the airline claim violated the dress code for pass travelers. Last week, a giant rabbit poised to be the world's largest died while traveling in the cargo hold of a trans-Atlantic flight from London to Chicago.


More Patch Coverage

United Passenger, Airline Reach Confidential Settlement In Dragging Incident: VIDEO: The deal comes the same day as the Chicago-based company released its report on the events aboard flight 3411.

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.

American Airlines Suspends Employee Who Told Passenger 'Hit Me, Hit Me' (Video): The flight attendant yanked a stroller from a mom and caused her to cry on a San Francisco-to-Dallas American Airlines flight, say witnesses.

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.


"At least from United's perspective, this will make us better," Munoz said of the lessons learned from the incident with Dao, the Tribune reports.

United, however, wasn't the only airline to be scrutinized by the committee. Members also put the spotlight on the following difficulties between passengers and carriers, according to the Sun-Times:

  • A passenger was removed from a Delta Airlines flight because he used the restroom while the plane was waiting to take off.
  • In a confrontation caught on video, an American Airlines flight attendant argued with passengers after grabbing a stroller from a woman and almost hitting one of the two children she had traveling with her.

"Clearly what happened was wrong," Kerry Philipovitch, American Airline's senior vice president of customer experience, said of the altercation involving her company's employee, the Tribune reports.

Philipovitch and executives from Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines echoed Munoz and United's pledge to establish new ways of doing business that don't rankle consumers and turn commercial flying into a nightmre. But while the airline officials didn't defend the clashes with customers, they did stand by some of their unpopular policies, such as their fees and the practice of overbooking, the report stated. The executives claimed these measures, which many travelers find unpleasant, allow the airlines to offer lower ticket prices on flights, the report added.

Legislators, however, said airlines needed to do a better job mitigating these bad customer experiences or face possible goverment regulations that do the job for them, according to the Tribune.

"The obvious divide between passengers and the industry needs to be addressed," said the committe's chairman, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pennsylvania).

More via the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune


United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz testified Tuesday, May 2, before members of the U.S. House Transportation Committe. (Photo by Pablo Martinez Monsivais | Associated Press)

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