Respect passengers
United Airlines parent company CEO Oscar Munoz should have been mortified by the video of a passenger being bloodied and dragged off one of his flights simply for not voluntarily giving up his seat on an overbooked flight.
But Munoz’s first response was not to apologize to Dr. David Dao, a 69-year-old man who simply wanted to get home to see his patients the next morning. Rather, it was to express regrets for having had to “re-accommodate” him.
When, unsurprisingly, that did not put an end to the controversy, Munoz shifted to blaming the passenger for becoming “disruptive” and “belligerent” and praised his staff for going “above and beyond.”
This tone-deaf response received the appropriate social-media drubbing. “Congrats United,” wrote one Twitter user, “you now have all the volunteers you could ever want giving up their seats on your flights #BoycottUnited.”
But the incident has implications beyond the commercial consequences for United. It’s yet another reminder of the need for legal protections for airline passengers.
This is particularly true here in Canada, where a lack of airline competition has produced high airfares and, too often, poor service. Meanwhile, the absence of robust consumer protections of the sort we see in many of our peer countries has left flyers vulnerable to abuse.
It was encouraging, then, in the aftermath of the United debacle, to hear Transport Minister Marc Garneau reiterate his government’s commitment to introduce a passenger bill of rights this spring.
Garneau promises his bill will finally establish clear, minimum requirements for compensation when flights are oversold or luggage is lost. At the moment, when a plane is overbooked most airlines simply increase the value of compensation vouchers they offer until someone accepts. But travellers who are victims of airline incompetence or greed are entitled only to whatever justice the company sees fit.
That’s not good enough, as Garneau seems to recognize. “When a passenger books a ticket, they are entitled to certain rights,” he said. Presumably, that includes the right not to be dragged down the aisle of a plane like Dao.
United is now paying the price for its misstep: As it faces the threat of a boycott and the mockery of every late-night talk-show host, its stock has taken a significant hit.
But in Canada, where consumers have fewer choices and fewer protections, the need for government intervention is particularly pronounced. No one should be bumped from an overbooked flight without just compensation, and certainly never by force.
Ottawa should make sure that what happened to Dao never happens here.
The abuse of a United Airlines passenger who refused to give up his seat underlines need for a passenger bill of rights