United got some bad press a few weeks ago when they wouldn't let some girls wearing LEGGINGS board a flight, because they said it violated their dress code.
That bad press PALES in comparison to THIS!
A United flight from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky was overbooked on Sunday night. And United said they NEEDED four people to give up their seats so four of their employees could get to Louisville.
They offered $800, a hotel, and a flight on Monday afternoon, but no one took them up on their offer. So apparently, their policy in that case is to pick people RANDOMLY and FORCE them to give up the seats THEY PAID FOR.
That already sounds like a disaster . . . but it gets worse.
Some of the people who were randomly picked wound up leaving the plane, but one 69-year-old guy wouldn't go. He said he was a doctor, he needed to get home to his patients, and he couldn't wait to fly out on Monday afternoon like they were offering.
So United called in airport security, and three security guards grabbed the guy and literally DRAGGED him off the plane screaming. And other people on the plane were taking videos the whole time.
The guy wound up bleeding pretty bad from his mouth after it smashed into an arm rest. Eventually the cops stepped in and he was taken to the hospital for his injuries.
United's CEO offered a non-apology yesterday, quote, "This is an upsetting event . . . I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers . . . we are reaching out to this passenger to talk to him directly."
Then, in an email to employees, he doubled-down and BLAMED the passenger for refusing to get off the plane. He also called the guy "disruptive and belligerent."
The Chicago police say they're investigating what happened.
Apparently, under the Code of Federal Regulations, this situation is called "involuntarily denied boarding." And if it happens to you, you're probably entitled to 200% to 400% of what you paid for your ticket.
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