Two couples were chosen at random to create space for the crew. The first couple
selected was unhappy about the decision but grudgingly left the plane. The second
couple, David Dao and his wife refused to surrender their seats. When the united crew
failed to get Dao to leave, they called on the Chicago department of aviation security
officers to handle the situation. Dao was requested to deplane and reschedule his flight
to make room, but after continuing to refuse, the security officers resorted to physical
measures to get him off the plane. One of the officers reached over two seats to grab
Dao and pull him out of the seat and into the aisle. In this process, Dao's face struck an
armrest knocking him unconscious. Dao suffered from injuries including a broken nose,
the loss of 2 front teeth, sinus injuries, and a concussion. The officer then dragged Dao,
with a bloodied face and limp body, through the aisle and off the plane. Dao was taken
to the hospital for non-life-threatening injuries, and shortly after, the united crew filled
the vacated seats, and flight 3411 took off.
Aftermath
In less than 24 hours, the video of Dr. David Doa was widely shared and picked up by
mainstream media agencies. In one of the videos, you could hear the passenger claim
he was chosen because of his race, which wasn't the case. This incident affected the
United States stream and reached Chinese sites, eventually leading to 480 million
people watching this situation. After this incident, many United States, Chinese, and
Vietnamese citizens started protesting United Airlines by posting pictures/videos of
loyalty and credit cards being cut apart. In return to social media backlash, the U.S.
federal government decided to launch an investigation into the accident by using the
hashtag #ChineseLives Matters.
Oscar was having a hard time dealing with this sudden situation. Soon after the social
media posts circulated worldwide, the stock market took a big hit for the company. As
Oscar tried his best to address this situation on social media, he noticed he had another
concern to solve. One might say Oscar wasn't aware of this situation and found out at
the same time everyone else did. The stock had decreased by 1.1%, which questioned
the company's future financial performance. Especially since surveys indicated that 77%
of fliers would never choose United Airlines even if that meant it would cost more.
Because of this situation, many United Airlines competitors have taken this situation to
their advantage. Many competitors decreased their bumped cases to showcase their
advantage over Delta. On top of that, many airlines started listening to the customers
and adapting rules and changes based on feedback. Delta did its best to follow these
principles too but was still criticized for the incident.
