United's PR mess is becoming a drag for investors
Shares of United Airlines' parent company fell more than 4 percent on Tuesday
United Airlines issued a report Thursday addressing the April 9 incident where a 69-year-old passenger was dragged off a plane after refusing to give up his seat for airline crew members.
United laid out a series of changes that include increased training for employees, a $10,000 incentive for voluntarily bumped passengers on overbooked flights and a promise to reduce the amount of overbooking on flights.
The review goes on to say that United will no longer require already seated customers to give up their seats.
United has not indicated whether ticket sales have dropped since the videos of David Dao went viral, but Oscar Munoz, the CEO, admitted that the incident could be damaging.
“I breached public trust with this event and how we responded," Munoz told The Associated Press. "People are upset, and I suspect that there are a lot of people potentially thinking of not flying us."
The review spelled out United’s policy on how it selects passengers for involuntary bumping:
--First, anyone without a seat assignment is denied boarding.
--Passengers who paid the least for their ticket top the list for being bumped involuntarily.
--Passengers who paid the same fare are sorted by when they checked in for the flight.
--Customers with status in United's MileagePlus frequent-flyer program won't be bumped unless everyone on the plane has status, in which case the people with the lowest status get bumped first.
--Unaccompanied minors and passengers with disabilities won't be bumped
Thursday’s statements also confirmed the company’s failure in dealing with the event including calling on law enforcement to assist in passenger removal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.