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That makes no sense. From what I can tell, The Independent article was not sourced from an expert either so your attempt to show that the Independent article h

That makes no sense. From what I can tell, The Independent article was not sourced from an expert either so your attempt to show that the Independent article has more "weight" does not back things up. Here's an article quoting an aviation attorney: http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/stu_bykofsky/United-Airlines-right-is-wrong-for-passengers-.html http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/stu_bykofsky/United-... "Under certain conditions, airlines can bar passengers from boarding - if the passenger is unruly or intoxicated or on a terrorist watch list - but United had no right to remove Dao, says aviation law expert Arthur Wolk, a Center City attorney who read the 45-page “contract of carriage.” Wolk says Dao “absolutely” had the right to the seat, and this was not a case of “overbooking,” he says, because all the passengers had seats. What happened to Dao was “assault and battery,” he says. “There’s absolutely no humanity left in the airline business,” Wolk says, adding that United routinely finishes low in surveys of passenger satisfaction. “I would sue their asses off.” Is there any question that Dao is going to sue? John Banzhaf, a professor at the George Washington University Law School, agrees with Wolk’s analysis. He says United is “citing the wrong federal rule to justify its illegal request to force a passenger already boarded and seated to disembark.”" Regardless of the outcome, I would hope that people will agree that injury in a case like this is not deserved and not just "too bad, he didn't behave himself".

FabHK 10y ago
I think the contention that Dao "absolutely" had the right to the seat is too strong. Wolk seems to know his stuff, and his contention that he "would sue their asses off" might well be true (he has sued Piper, USAir, the NTSB, AVweb.com, and threatened to sue TechDirt, who wrote "We have heard of multiple other bloggers who have decided that they simply will not write anything about Arthur Alan Wolk out of fear of being sued by him."). Let me cite another source though, Bloomberg, which, again, echoes the received wisdom as far as I can tell: 1. Can airlines just throw seated passengers off planes? Yes. When you purchase an airline ticket you’re also entering into a detailed contract that specifies the many rights an airline has related to the trip. One of them allows the carrier to seize your seat in return for compensation and an alternate means of transport, usually on a later flight. Airlines also can determine that when their employees must be somewhere for duty -- a status that, yes, may place them ahead of paying customers -- a passenger’s seat can be taken. That’s because not positioning a crew member can lead to a future flight cancellation or delay. > Thatcher Stone, a lawyer who has successfully sued airlines over bumping incidents, advises that passengers should always follow instructions of airline crew, no matter how strongly they may feel. Agreed that injury was not deserved, but what do you suggest should be done if people don't follow a lawful order to vacate the premises? https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-11/can-airlines-really-do-that-bumping-and-the-law-quicktake-q-a https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-11/can-airli...

FabHK 10y ago

I think the contention that Dao "absolutely" had the right to the seat is too strong. Wolk seems to know his stuff, and his contention that he "would sue their asses off" might well be true (he has sued Piper, USAir, the NTSB, AVweb.com, and threatened to sue TechDirt, who wrote "We have heard of multiple other bloggers who have decided that they simply will not write anything about Arthur Alan Wolk out of fear of being sued by him."). Let me cite another source though, Bloomberg, which, again, echoes the received wisdom as far as I can tell: 1. Can airlines just throw seated passengers off planes? Yes. When you purchase an airline ticket you’re also entering into a detailed contract that specifies the many rights an airline has related to the trip. One of them allows the carrier to seize your seat in return for compensation and an alternate means of transport, usually on a later flight. Airlines also can determine that when their employees must be somewhere for duty -- a status that, yes, may place them ahead of paying customers -- a passenger’s seat can be taken. That’s because not positioning a crew member can lead to a future flight cancellation or delay. > Thatcher Stone, a lawyer who has successfully sued airlines over bumping incidents, advises that passengers should always follow instructions of airline crew, no matter how strongly they may feel. Agreed that injury was not deserved, but what do you suggest should be done if people don't follow a lawful order to vacate the premises? https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-11/can-airlines-really-do-that-bumping-and-the-law-quicktake-q-a https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-11/can-airli...