Photo by Flickr user honorphotobar
Earlier this week a 69 year old Vietnamese immigrant refused to give up his seat on a United flight while getting ready to take off with his wife back to his home in Louisville. I’ve been reading the news about this and was amazed to learn that it’s within the airline’s rights to kick off passengers to accommodate airline employees (which is different from overbooking). It’s one thing if this happened pre-boarding, but to do it while seated on the plane, especially with other family members on-board is beyond the pale.
If this happened to me I would be beyond pissed off. But would I do what the passenger, Dr. David Dao did and stand my ground? I doubt so. What would you do? I think this passenger could be considered a hero who may single handedly change how airlines treat seated passengers getting ready for take-off. This reminds me of the mad as hell scene from the movie Network (1976):