Lawyer: Dragged passenger will need reconstructive surgery

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

CHICAGO — Dr. David Dao was trying to return home from a California vacation with his wife when he refused to give up his seat to an airline crew member on a full United Express flight.

Now his lawyer hopes the 69-year-old grandfather and Kentucky physician, who suffered a concussion and lost two teeth when he was dragged off the plane at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, becomes "a poster child" for the mistreatment passengers suffer at the hands of the airline industry.

"It took something like this to get a conversation going," attorney Thomas Demetrio said at a news conference Thursday.

He indicated Dao will be suing United and the city of Chicago, which employs the officers who were seen on cellphone video pulling Dao out of his seat and dragging him off Sunday's Louisville-bound flight. In the widely shared video, Dao is pulled down the aisle on his back, his face bloody.

Demetrio said the video showed an extraordinary instance of something that happens too routinely: Airlines overbooking flights then bumping paying customers.

It also exposed a corporate culture in which airlines — and United in particular — have long "bullied" passengers, he said. The situation could have been avoided if the airline, which offered $800 travel vouchers and a hotel stay for passengers to rebook on another flight, had simply upped their offer, Demetrio said.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/lawyer-dragged-passenger-will-need-reconstructive-surgery/ar-BBzPfBJ?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=edgsp

[SunSeeker]

1. Demetrio is right. Vouchers are a scam. Only 15% are used.

A common practice among airlines in the U.S. is to offer a voucher for displaced travelers, but once passengers accept it, they enter a new agreement with the airline and waive their rights to further compensation. In the U.S., passengers who are delayed by more than an hour can receive 200% of the value of a one-way flight, capped at $650, while those delayed by more than two hours can receive 400% of the value, with a maximum at $1,300. 

“People need to know their alternatives,” Zillmer said. “They need to know what they’re giving up so they don’t surrender their reservation for benefits. They’re going from $1,300 to $100 . It’s a long way from $1,300.” This practice allows airlines to continue their existing practices of overbooking flights, bumping passengers, and compensating them with vouchers that are redeemed only 15% of the time, he added.

https://www.fastcompany.com/3027718/the-airlines-with-the-worst-track-records-for-bumping-passengers


The airlines should be offering CASH, not hard to use vouchers.

[northoftheborder]

2. Yes, cash instead of vouchers. Not everyone flies every other week and can even use a voucher.