PR SUICIDE

United Now Says Flight Wasn’t Overbooked

Airline had to make room for four “must-ride” crew members.

United Airlines now says that the flight in which a passenger was dragged from his seat and off the plane was not overbooked. According to USA Today, “United spokesman Jonathan Guerin said all 70 seats on the flight were filled, but the plane was not overbooked as the airline previously reported.” It turns out the operator of Flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville decided to pull four passengers off the flight to make room for crewmembers designated “must-ride” passengers due to their need to be in Louisville the next day for a connection. 69-year-old passenger David Dao—a physician from Elizabethtown, Kentucky—refused after being asked to exit the plane to accommodate those needed seats, and was videotaped being dragged and bloodied by responding police officers. The video subsequently went viral, leading to worldwide outrage at the airline.