Airlines’ PR action turns into a fiasco

ONE of the top stories on Twitter (and nearly everywhere else) this week was about an American doctor who was violently removed from an overbooked United Airlines flight to make room for a company staffer.

Other passengers filmed the screaming man, who was bloodied and later removed from the plane on a stretcher, as he was dragged off the flight on Sunday night. Before long, their videos racked up hundreds of thousands of views online.

According to another passenger, the doctor refused to give up his seat on the Chicago-to-louisville flight because he needed to see patients the next morning.

In response, the Washington chapter of the American College of Emergency Physicians tweeted: “When you injure a doctor on a plane, @United, do you still ask ‘Is there a doctor on the plane?’”

The Twitter hashtag #Neverflyunited appeared thousands of times on Sunday and Monday, according to the social media research firm Texifter.

One typical post read: “You had a paying passenger beaten up on your plane. I hope he sues you for millions of dollars. #neverflyunited.” Another: “Well, choosing an airline just got a hell of a lot easier. #neverflyunited.”

Here’s the statement United posted on Twitter on behalf of chief executive officer Oscar Munoz: “This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United. I apologise for having to re-accommodate these customers. Our team is moving with a sense of urgency to work with the authorities and conduct our own detailed review of what happened. We are also reaching out to this passenger to talk directly to him and further address and resolve this situation.”

Here’s the statement the airline should have posted: “All of us at United were horrified by what happened on Flight 3411 last night. We have reached out to the passenger to apologise, offer assistance and make amends. Nothing is more important to United than the safety of our passengers. This incident doesn’t reflect our values and we’re going to make sure it never happens again.”

The company’s actual response – which doesn’t include a direct apology to the injured passenger – was probably influenced by lawyers worried about admitting liability.

That’s incredibly short-sighted. It’s clear to any reasonable person watching the videos that what happened to this passenger was very wrong. By not fully apologising, United suggests that it might believe otherwise. For anyone considering flying with the airline, that’s a scary possibility.

United may think it doesn’t need to worry about good consumer public relations because Americans tend to book flights based on price.

But plenty of travellers with expense accounts can choose to splurge on higher fares with airlines they prefer, and many more still try to pick a single airline to fly with to rack up their upgrades and miles in the same place.

What should a company do in a situation where it obviously has screwed up royally? The answer is simple. First, apologise immediately. And second, overreact to demonstrate that what happened doesn’t reflect the company’s values and how it conducts its business.

In the case of this passenger, for example, United should offer full coverage of his medical expenses and free first-class flights for life for his entire family.

In my crisis communication courses, I teach my students that in such situations, they should think of an appropriate response and then “add a zero”.

It’s a phrase I picked up from former US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner when I was a spokesperson for his department.

Counselling his European counterparts on how to fix their debt crisis in 2010, he told them to add a zero to the €50 billion rescue fund they proposed. That’s because the way to stem a financial crisis is by restoring confidence. The same applies to companies. – Washington Post