United CEO Called Before Congress To Explain Eviction And Injury Of Passenger

United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz in June 2016. He will appear before a House committee today.

Richard Drew/AP


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Richard Drew/AP

United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz in June 2016. He will appear before a House committee today.

Richard Drew/AP

The CEO of United Airlines will be in the hot seat on Capitol Hill this morning, answering what are sure to be pointed questions from members of Congress about last month’s incident in which a United passenger was dragged off a plane.

Executives from other airlines will be there, too, as Congress examines customer service problems across the commercial aviation industry and considers legislation to better protect airline passengers.

United CEO Oscar Munoz will appear before the House Transportation Committee, along with the airline’s president Scott Kirby, to try to explain why the airline needed to bump passengers from a Louisville, Ky.,-bound flight from Chicago after they’d already been seated, and why United called on O’Hare airport security officers to remove the passenger who refused to give up his seat.

Cell phone video shows the officers violently pulling 69-year old Dr. David Dao of Kentucky out of his seat and then dragging him up the aisle and off the plane.

United Airlines Settles With Passenger Dragged From Plane

Dao suffered a concussion, a broken nose and lost two teeth. His attorney says he may need surgery because of his injuries. Dao reached a settlement with United last week for an undisclosed amount.

Munoz has apologized repeatedly for the incident and for his own initial response, which was criticized as tone deaf when he apologized for having to “re-accommodate” the passenger.

United Airlines Changes Its Policy On Displacing Customers

Last week, the airline announced several policy changes to prevent such incidents from happening again. One change is that United will reduce over-booking of flights in order to limit the need to “bump” passengers to a later flight.

When it does overbook, United will now offer up to $10,000 to passengers who volunteer to be bumped. The intention is to limit the need to involuntarily bump passengers, as happened in the April 9 dragging incident.

United also says that the airline will no longer call on airport police or other law enforcement personnel to handle these kinds of matters, unless safety and security are at risk.

Others scheduled to testify at the hearing, which begins at 9:30 a.m. ET, include Joseph Sprague, senior vice president of external relations for Alaska Airlines; Bob Jordan, executive vice president and chief commercial officer at Southwest Airlines; Kerry Philipovitch, senior vice president of customer experience at American Airlines and William McGee, an aviation consultant with Consumers Union

Have An Airline Complaint? Don't Call The Airline  Tell The Dept. Of Transportation

Congress is considering legislation to better protect airline passengers.

Among the bills recently introduced in the wake of the United Airlines incident:

  • The BOARD (Bumping on Overbooked Airplanes Requires Dealing) Fairly act, introduced by Chicago-area Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky, which would prohibit airlines from bumping passengers against their will, ever.
  • The SEAT (Secure Equity in Airline Transportation) Act, which would prevent airlines from removing a customer from his or her seat to make room for another passenger or an airline employee, introduced by Republican Rep. Neal Dunn of Florida.
  • The “Customers, Not Cargo” Act, which would also prohibit airlines from bumping passengers from overbooked flights after they’re seated on the plane, introduced by Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md.
  • The TICKETS (Transparency, Improvements and Compensation to Keep Every Ticketholder Safe) Act, proposed by Democratic Sens. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Brian Schatz of Hawaii, which in addition to prohibiting airlines from bumping passengers who have already boarded, would also lift the federal cap on the amount of compensation airlines have to pay bumped passengers.
  • The Passenger Bill of Rights, which was introduced last year by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Ct. It would expand and update the “Passenger Bill or Rights” implemented by the Department of Transportation during the Obama administration.

Senators will have a chance to grill the airline executives in another hearing scheduled for Thursday. In addition to United executives, Chicago Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans, who oversees O’Hare and Midway airports, will appear to testify to explain the actions of her department’s security officers, who dragged Dao off the plane.

Article source: http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/05/02/526530542/united-ceo-called-before-congress-to-explain-eviction-and-injury-of-passenger?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=news

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