United Airlines is a major U.S. airline that was founded in 1926 and headquartered in Chicago. The airlines operate a large number of domestic and international destinations. The brand even merged with Continental Airlines in 2010 becoming one of the world’s largest carriers. However, the brand faced public scrutiny in 2017 due to a controversial incident of dragging a passenger from a flight forcefully because the flight was overbooked. This incident had a massive impact on the brand’s reputation and it was understood. The incident unraveled when the airline needed to make space for their staff and asked the passengers to volunteer their seats. Unable to secure the volunteers, the airlines decided to involuntarily remove passengers. One unfortunate passenger, Dr. David Dao, was dragged forcibly off the plane by security personnel and the disturbing scene was captured on video by the fellow passenger. The horrifying incident went viral rapidly on social media, sparking widespread outrage and condemnation.
Link to video: United Airlines Passenger Violently Removed From Flight – YouTube
IMMEDIATE ACTIONS TAKEN
Learning about the incident, my immediate reaction was a mixture of shock, concern, and empathy as no one deserves to be treated like this under any circumstances. Witnessing the incident on social media intensified my feelings and I was unable to stand out against it. I took the following actions:
- Social Media Engagement:
I engaged in social media engagement to express my feelings and opinions on this sensitive issue. I shared articles on Instagram and Facebook condemning this act by United Airlines, retweeting relevant content and expressing personal thoughts on platforms like Twitter and Facebook. - Sharing the Incident:
I shared the articles and videos about the incident to contribute to the broader conversation and raise awareness about the nature of the events. The goal behind sharing the video was to raise awareness about the current scenario and how the brand should not treat anyone regardless of their status. - Monitoring Brand’s Response:
I actively monitored the brand’s official response to this incident pursuing information from their initial reaction and any upcoming measures they were taking to address the situation. As a consumer, I was expecting the brand to address this topic cohesively and should apologize for such impolite behavior.
Outrage by the public “After Man Forcibly Removed From United Flight”
BRAND’S CORRECTIVE ACTIONS
In the aftermath of the incident, the airlines took several steps to acknowledge and rectify their mistake, realizing the backlash from the public. Some of the actions adopted by the brand are mentioned below:
- Immediate Apology:
An immediate apology was issued by the CEO of United Airlines for the incident, however, people did not consider the apology to be genuine and it was heavily criticized because it was delayed and did not appropriately acknowledge the distress caused to the passengers involved.
CEO’s response to the incident
- Policy Amendments:
United Airlines conducted an extensive evaluation and analysis of the policies and made some changes regarding overbooking and passenger removal. As a result, the company committed to making amendments to prevent any kind of alike incident in the near future. The company issued new policies designed to prevent customer service failures. - Compensation for Passengers:
The company came up with a solution to compensate the passengers who were on the overbooked flight. This included offerings like refunds, travel vouchers, or any other kind of compensation to those who were affected by the disturbance. - Employee Training:
This horrible incident intrigued the company to reevaluate and enhance its training for its staff emphasizing how to deal with difficult situations involving the passengers. This was aimed to avoid any kind of similar activity in the future and to improve customer service.
THE LONG-TERM IMPACT ON BRAND RELATIONSHIP
- Trust Erosion:
Trust is one of the vital components of any brand, as it builds the foundation of a brand-consumer relationship and any severe breach can have lasting effects. Witnessing a highly controversial incident, especially one involving a forceful physical action against a passenger has eroded my trust in the brand. - Reconsideration of Loyalty:
This terrible incident evoked individuals to reevaluate and reconsider their loyalty and trust to the brand. Because of an extremely sensitive scenario like this one, the previous positive experiences and good deeds by the brand were overshadowed by the negative emotions associated with the incident. - Emotional Impact:
It is necessary for a brand to develop an emotional connection with its audience to grow and enhance its brand loyalty as it plays a crucial role in brand relationships. The incident must have triggered strong negative emotions such as anger, rage, disappointment, and even distress, these emotions could remain and can influence future interactions with the brand.
PERSONAL BRAND RELATIONSHIP DYNAMICS AND RESPONSES TO FAILURE
- Previous Positive Experiences:
Past positive experiences act as a savior in difficult times, they help the brand to maintain goodwill, giving the brand the benefit of the doubt. If I’ve had any positive experience with the brand before the incident, I might be more forgiving. - Brand Loyalty:
If I had been loyal to the brand before the incident, I would have been more disappointed after this entire scenario. So, it represents that loyalty involves emotional connections and a crucial failure can feel like a breach of trust in our relationship. - Emotional Attachment:
My emotional attachment to a brand can influence the intensity of my response. If the brand holds sentimental value or has been part of positive memories, the negative incident may evoke stronger emotional reactions. - Overall Satisfaction:
If I was generally satisfied with the brand’s products or services, I might be more inclined to wait and see how the brand addresses the failure. The overall satisfaction level could act as a buffer against an immediate and severe negative response.
References:
Top Branding Fails From Large Companies
United Airlines Passenger Is Dragged From an Overbooked Flight – The New York Times
Passenger dragged off overbook United flight | CNN
Doctor who was dragged, screaming, from United Airlines flight finally breaks silence
United Airlines Mentions Exceed 1.5 Million in a Day As Passenger Dragged From Plane
United Airlines CEO calls passenger’s removal a ‘mistake of epic proportions’
United Airlines Announced 10 Major Customer-Service Policy Changes
United CEO Oscar Munoz Calls Dragging Incident a ‘System Failure’
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