I don't know what they told the passengers, but it for sure wasn't a "random" decision. They most certianly followed the guidelines in the CoC.Zunardo;1846950 wrote:I read United's CoC. The wrinkle is, if they actually chose the guy randomly, then they didn't follow their own contract. It states the priority for non-volunteers will be those who paid the least go first, not a random selection.
Of course, they'll probably say there's a provision in the contract that says they can "change the contract at anytime", which means it's pretty damn worthless as a legal contract. Any guesses how they would have responded for the following situations during this "random" bumping?
- the random passenger that turned out to be a 7 year-old kid traveling with this parents. Airline entitled to force just the kid off by himself?
- a family of two parents and three kids are on the flight, and the parents are chosen. Airline entitled to force just the parents off?
- the doctor was at the midpoint for a stop on a continuous flight. Airline entitled to kick him off the plane after he's already flown partway?
I've been told anecdotally that just because a company claims no liability before you use their service, there has to be a "reasonable man" doctrine in play. You don't give up all your rights just because a company says you do. Any truth in that, and could that be in play here?
As soon as the guy started making a fuss and being disruptive, he was in violation of at least two more sections of the CoC, and they were at that point perfectly within their rights to drag his ass off the plane. While it's certianly debateable from a "right thing to do" and PR standpoint, they're legally in the clear.
If Dr. Feelgood's lawer is worth a shit, he'll advise his client to accept what I'm sure will be a more than generous offer from UA, and quietly ride off into the sunset.
