Today’s misstep is tomorrow’s viral video
An editorial from the Hamilton Spectator, published April 11:
Oh, to be a public relations staffer for United Airlines this week. If there’s a chapter on “how to deal with your customers” in their go-to manual, those pages are apparently missing. Last weekend, passenger David Dao, a 69-yearold doctor, was forcibly removed from his seat by security personnel. The entire spectacle, recorded by passengers on their cellphones, contains audio of Dao screaming after refusing to give up his seat. He is then dragged down the aisle and off the plane as other passengers watch in stunned horror. Images of Dao taken moments later show a dazed, bloodied man pleading to do what all air travellers want to do – simply go home.
The resulting public relations nightmare continues to unfold. The videos went viral, and sparked swift outcry. United has seen their stock prices fall. A call by Chinese travellers for a boycott of United appears to be gaining momentum. Despite all this, the company, and in particular CEO Oscar Munoz, seemed to fight giving a proper apology until late Tuesday, preferring flinging blame pretty much everywhere but at themselves.
Even some media outlets have tried to excuse the incident by pointing out Dao’s criminal record. In 2005, he was charged with felony counts involving illegally prescribed drugs, and trading drugs for sex with a patient. Regardless, he doesn’t warrant the treatment he received. Like other passengers, he had paid for his seat; it was the airline that overbooked. When they couldn’t find passengers to voluntarily give up their seat, they chose to involve security and brute force.
In a broader context, this incident is reflective of a worsening trend in the airline industry. Given increased costs and thin profit margins, airlines look for efficiencies wherever they can find them to keep ticket prices as low as possible. Flyers routinely deal with extra fees for bags, cramped seats, seemingly invasive security searches, and yes, getting bumped from overbooked planes. Nerves are frazzled on both sides of the counter.
So where do we go from here? It’s impossible to return to the glory days of airline flight, where economy passengers had plenty of legroom and a hot meal. But we, the public, are more than passengers – we are customers. Being treated as a prized commodity, rather than baggage, will go a long way to improving relations. Likewise, passengers need to accept the challenges of modern flight – which can easily take us anywhere on the entire planet in a day – and chill out. Simply put, we need each other.
And what of poor United? Tuesday’s belated apology is a start, at least. It would also be helpful for them, and all of us, to remember that in 2017, everyone has a cellphone, and the record button is on. Someone’s next misstep is tomorrow’s next viral video.