United Airlines knew that a lot of things went out of hand when one of their passengers was dragged off a plane due to an overbooked flight. However, on Thursday, the scandal-hit airline company has pledged a series of changes in its policy with regards to passenger protection.
According to USA Today, the company came up with the decision after it got a lot of negative press following the incident that involved a man named David Dao, who was bloodied as he was dragged out of the plane by airline staff. It happened on the United Express Flight 3411 where one of the passengers took a video and uploaded it online.
United Airlines has released 10 new or updated passenger policies so that the incident that involved Mr. Dao won't happen again. "That breach of public trust is something we have to rework," United CEO Oscar Munoz told USA Today, stating that the new or updated policies are part of the company's efforts of ensuring that customers won't have to experience the same incident.
MSN reported that one of the changes included in the company's policies is that it will compensate passengers up to $10,000 if they volunteer to give up their seats during overbooked flights. To add to that, the company also stated that it would reduce overbooking though it did not reveal any specific details.
The company will also stop removing passengers forcibly once they've already boarded the aircraft except for incidents that involved safety and security. On April 12, it also said that it will no longer call law enforcement officers in situations that involved removing passengers from their flights but with the exception of security and safety reasons.
Munoz said that United Airlines will double their efforts to gain back the trust of their clients by the way they treat them. He added that the bad reputation will fade if the company's employees would follow through.
