Airlines enact new policies after incidents

Southwest Airlines announced Thursday it plans to stop overbooking flights, while United Airlines announced it will initiate a new policy of paying customers up to $10,000 to give up seats on overbooked flights.

And, the passenger who was dragged off a United flight after he refused to give up his seat to airline employees settled with the airline for an undisclosed sum.

Last year, Southwest bumped 15,000 passengers off flights, more than any other U.S. airline. Carriers say they sometimes sell more tickets than there are seats because often a few passengers don’t show up.

Beth Harbin, a Southwest spokeswoman, said Thursday that with better forecasting tools and a new reservations system coming online next month, the airline will no longer need to overbook flights.

Southwest is the market share leader at Mitchell International Airport, with just under half the market in Milwaukee.

The practice of overbooking flights has come under intense scrutiny since April 9, when passenger David Dao was dragged off an overbooked United Express plane after refusing to give up his seat for a crew member.

Southwest CEO Gary Kelly said Thursday the

airline had been thinking about ending overbooking for “a long time” because it has fewer noshows. But the issue gained more urgency after the United incident, he said.

United Airlines announced Thursday it will raise the limit — to $10,000 — on payments to customers who give up seats on oversold flights and will increase training for employees as it deals with fallout from the video of a passenger being violently dragged from his seat.

United is also vowing to reduce, but not eliminate, overbooking.

The airline made the promises Thursday as it released a report detailing mistakes that led to the April 9 incident on a United Express plane in Chicago.

United isn’t saying whether ticket sales have dropped since the removal of Dao, 69, by three airport security officers, but the airline’s CEO admits it could be damaging.

“I breached public trust with this event and how we responded,” United CEO Oscar Munoz told The Associated Press. “People are upset, and I suspect that there are a lot of people potentially thinking of not flying us.”

To head off customer defections, United had already announced that it will no longer call police to remove passengers from overbooked flights, and will require airline crews traveling for work to check in sooner.

On Thursday, it added several other new policies, including:

Raising the limit on compensation to $10,000 for customers who give up their seats starting Friday. That is a maximum — it’s unclear how many, if any, passengers would see that much. The current limit is $1,350. Delta Air Lines this month raised its limit to $9,950.

Sending displaced passengers or crew members to nearby airports, putting them on other airlines or arranging for car transportation to get them to their destinations.

Giving gate agents annual refresher training in dealing with oversold flights. Munoz said he also wants agents and flight attendants to get more help at de-escalating tense situations.

Later Thursday, Dao settled with the airline for an undisclosed sum in an apparent attempt by the company to put the fiasco behind it as quickly as possible.

Dao’s legal team said in a brief statement that the agreement includes a provision that the amount will remain confidential. One of his lawyers praised Munoz.

Munoz “said he was going to do the right thing, and he has,” attorney Thomas Demetrio said in a statement. “In addition, United has taken full responsibility for what happened … without attempting to blame others, including the city of Chicago.”

The settlement came less than three weeks after the episode, before Dao had even sued. The deal means United will not face a lawsuit that could have been costly, both in legal bills and in further public-relations damage.

United issued a brief statement, saying it was pleased to report “an amicable resolution of the unfortunate incident that occurred aboard Flight 3411.”

Cellphone video of the April 9 confrontation aboard a jetliner at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport sparked widespread public outrage over the way Dao was treated.

The footage showed airport police officers pulling the Kentucky physician from his seat and dragging him down the aisle. His lawyer said he lost teeth and suffered a broken nose and a concussion.

In a phone interview with The Associated Press, Demetrio said the settlement also averts any lawsuit against the City of Chicago. Airport police officers who work for the city pulled Dao off the jet.

“I praise Mr. Munoz and his people for not trying to throw the city under the bus or pass the buck,” Demetrio said. “He stood in front of the world and has stated that, ‘We, United, take full responsibility.’ ”

Demetrio said it was “unheard of” for a company to admit responsibility so quickly and completely.