As I read John Tamny’s true but tone deaf disquisition at RealClearMarkets on the furor over the treatment of Dr. David Dao by United Airlines last week, I noted that he made an observation I’d pointed out myself:
Lest we forget, a purchase of an airline ticket, particularly a supersaver ticket, is not a guaranteed reservation in the traditional, contract sense. A supersaver ticket is low-priced precisely because such a fare might be bumped – albeit rarely – based on a lack of seats. In Dao’s case he didn’t have a reservation as much as he’d booked the strong possibility of flying when he wanted to.
Should airline reservations be enforceable contracts? Think about the implications before you answer. There are a lot more air traffic customers who miss their flights through no fault of their own than there are those who refuse to relinquish their seats when it’s requested of them and then forcibly removed from the plane.
Based on my reading of the relevant law, opinions of aviation lawyers and the UA contract, it seems to me that United is the one that violated the contract and possibly the law as well.
United contract refusal to transport
Dr. Dao does not fit into any category in this contract.
US law concerning oversales & voluntary and involuntary refusal to board
Had United not boarded Dr. Dao, then they’d could legitimately deny him boarding, but he was already boarded and so they refused to transport him. There are only a few reasons that a carrier can legitimately refuse transport, and making space for deadheading employees is not one of them. If this is actually the case, then the law enforcement personnel abused their authority at a minimum.
Yeah, based on what I’ve been reading United screwed up pretty badly.