As said on the other post.
This has done many time before, and has been for some time, and this type of deplane action WILL Continue to exist.
1.) UA did not do anything wrong, in term of Civil Aviation, you board their plane, you are ENJOYING THEIR service, that is their plane, they have the right to let anyone board, as well as having the right to refuse anyone board their plane and within FAA ruling, they are allow to kick passenger and luggage out of their plane, you are an end user.
When you buy a plane ticket from United, You are require to agree to a contract called Contract of Carriage in this contract, United Set out the limits of liability for service carriage, which include the United Carriers’ rights and limits on liability for delay or failure to perform service, including schedule changes, substitution of alternate air carrier or aircraft, and rerouting.
https://www.united.com/web/en-US/content/contract.aspx
- Limits on liability for delay, damage or loss of baggage, including fragile or perishable goods.
- Claims restrictions, including time periods within which a passenger must file a claim or bring an action against United.
- United’s rights to change terms of the Contract of Carriage.
- Rules on reconfirmation of reservations, check-in times and refusal to carry.
- United Carriers’ rights and limits on liability for delay or failure to perform service, including schedule changes, substitution of alternate air carrier or aircraft, and rerouting.
The flight in question is NOT OVERBOOKED. Which mean the passenger were at the right ratio, the account came from 4 United Employee need to fly to Louisville to replace another crew, this is done according to FAA rules.
2.) Each airline have their policy on who to kick off their plane, United, according to my wife, have a policy to kick people according to several factors, the dependent situation (If that traveller have dependent children on-board?), frequent flyer mileage, ages and accessibility (Is he old and frail?) and Flight Schedule (Is he or she have to make a connect flight or if a replacement flight is going to be available readily?). It was then choose at random within this pool of passenger. It have nothing to do with pax profession, race and sexual preference.
United Followed Protocol to have that passenger deplane, according to FAA guideline, United Offered money and incentive before deplaning, but when no one volunteer, they need to kick people off at random.
3.) Civil Aviation dictated that Crew and Staff (active and relief) have priority right on any civil aviation over Passenger. it is a common practice to maintain Aviation Safety. This extend to not just crew and staff at their own company, but other company.
4.) The passenger in question did no comply to Flight Crew Instruction to deplane, which mean he has broken the law -
49 U.S. Code § 46504 - Interference with flight crew members and attendants
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/46504
When a certain instruction was given by the flight commander or crew, if a passenger refused to follow that instruction, that is breaking the 49 US Code Number 46504. This come with a first class felony, and it come with 20 years imprisonment sentence, life imprisonment if the passenger attack the crew with a deadly weapon.
5.) Deplaning is extremely rare, even tho overselling is extremely frequent. The airline would first e-mail passenger if an overselling occur, and ask if they could volunteer to skip the flight, then if that does not works, the company will refuse passenger boarding, and when that does not works, the plane will first unload luggage first, then deplane passenger
He had sign the contract when he bought the ticket from United, that contract require him to give up his seat if asked by the airline employee, and his right on the aircraft can be freely adjust by the company, he has broken the law, and the term of contract from United, it does not matter if he is a doctor, an Asian, a Chinese or Vietnamese or British or Martian, this is the contract set forth, and if the pax design to sue the company and the company decided to fight it, the passenger will lose, as he was contract bounded to do so to smooth flight operation, EVERYONE taking a flight are subject to the same condition, it's not a matter of discrimination or anything.
-The information is from my wife, who was a former Flight Attendant from Scandinavian Air Service (SAS) and a Doctor of Law in Sweden.
If an overbook is pushing up before pax actually boarding, the standard procedure is that
1.) Offer Incentive, Compensation to Pax for them to volunteer not check in with the aircraft.
There exist pax that live on this bumping, as airline usually pay obscene amount to bump people off when they overbook, Delta on average offer 10 times worth of their original ticket, plus free hotel accommodation, plus free upgrade to a first class on later flight
2.) Closing the check in
When there are not enough people volunteer to give up their place. they will stop the check in procedure and put everyone else on standby, and to be carry out with next available flight.
3.) Finding alternative airline
Some Airline would even buy their pax ticket from a different company to carry them to the original destination without delay or sometime earlier. Usually will not do it if the replacement flight leave later than the original flight.
Only then, if it is still overbook, then passenger will be kicked at random
