01 June 2017

Ten grand to get bumped

Travel & Leisure has an article by Jess McHugh about United Airlines' recent PR move:

United Airlines can now offer passengers up to $10,000 in travel vouchers to give up their seat an overbooked flight, the company announced Thursday.
The announcement comes after the carrier conducted an internal investigation into an incident that took place two weeks ago in which a United passenger was dragged off a flight after he refused to give up his seat to a crew member, causing a public relations crisis for the company. Most airlines cap their offers of vouchers at $1,350, according to The New York Times.
The huge bump in compensation was one of several policy changes to come out of the investigation. United introduced ten new rules, including vowing not to remove boarded passengers unless they were a danger to others, and forcing crew members to book their place on a flight an hour before it departs.
United will not be the first to offer more than seven times the industry standard, however. Delta bumped their maximum from $1,350 to $9,950 earlier this month, following the United controversy.
United's policy change comes as lawmakers have also sought to prevent any similar incidents from occurring in the future.
The Senate introduced a bill Wednesday that would prevent airlines from removing a passenger from a plane once they had already boarded, so long as they did not pose a security risk.
“The horrifying incident on United Flight 3411 made clear that we need stronger consumer protections for the flying public,” said Senator Maggie Hassan, one of the bill’s sponsors. “This common-sense legislation will help prevent incidents like that from happening again."
Rico says a little late for United, but good for passengers...

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