United Airlines PR Crisis Analysis

This assignment requires a critical analysis of the public relations crisis United Airlines experienced due to the mishandling of an overbooked flight situation. Students need to examine the company's actions and communication strategies during the crisis, assessing their effectiveness (or lack thereof) in mitigating negative publicity and protecting the airline's reputation. The analysis should draw upon provided sources and relevant academic literature on crisis management and public relations.

Contents
Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................2
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Errors on Part of Public Relations................................................................................................................3
Learning Outcomes......................................................................................................................................4
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................6
References...................................................................................................................................................7

Public Relations and Flight 3411
Executive Summary
Public relation holds a significant importance when it comes to dealing with a company's clients
and customers. A number of organizations these days are hiring PR companies that specialize in
dealing with a company's clients, resolving any issues that may arise and helping the companies
to manage their reputations.
A saddening incident occurred on 9th April, 2017 where a passenger by the name of Dr. Dao had
been forcibly removed out of an airplane. The whole incident was shot on smart phones by
other passengers of the flight while the crew literally dragged Dr Dao into the aisle and out of
the plane. The outrage that followed and the misplaced responses from United catapulted the
crisis to front page news across the globe and sparked discussion about airline overbooking
policies that could impact the entire industry (BANNISTER, 2017). The doctor suffered serious
injuries on his and mouth and was reported to be bleeding after the incident. Such mishandling
of passengers by United Airways was unexpected and horrific.
The CEO reportedly apologized later for everything that had happened. However, by this time
the airplane company had already suffered major blows to its reputation. A number of people
had already uploaded videos to social media platforms where the crew can be seen pushing,
hitting and dragging the unconscious body of Dr. David Dao.
In a world filled with cameras and smart phones in every corner, one must realize the
consequences of their actions and be smart about tackling difficult situations. The example of
Dr. Dao's case us a perfect epitome of how one must not handle their customers and clients
unless they are willing to face negative PR in heaps.
Introduction
Public relation is an expanding branch. It is essential to any business to gain more exposure in
the market and gain credibility. Building a certain image, brand value, connections with the

right kind of people and reputation in the market takes a considerable amount of time. This is
where PR consultancies and companies play an important role. They help brands tie up with
influencers and build a likable image in the market.
While some small businesses might not be able to afford PR companies to manage their public
relations, most large organizations and businesses indulge and invest heavily in outsourcing
their public relations. While there are barely any down sides to having a PR company handle an
organization's PR, businesses and employees must also realize there is only so much a PR
company can do.
In the present day, where technology has outgrown itself and every single human being has a
smart phone camera, it is essential that one must put great though into their actions and
behave responsibly. The case of flight 3411 is one example of a company facing extremely
negative publicity due to the horrible actions of its employees.
Errors on Part of Public Relations
On the evening of 9th April, 2017 at around 5 p.m., passengers of flight 3411 were set to start
their journey from O'Hare International Airport to Louisville. Little did they know about an
incident that was going to occur shortly before they could even begin to fly. The flight 3411 had
been overbooked. Although overbooking of flights happens all the time, what followed next
was an experience no person would want to be a part of. As the flight was overbooked,
passengers were offered to voluntarily give up their seats for which they would be
compensated. The initial compensation that was offered was $400 and an overnight stay in a
hotel. 4 passengers needed to travel to the destination the very next day. However, nobody
was willing to give up their seats. Upon seeing this response united express decided to increase
their compensation from $400 to $800. 3 out of 4 passengers complied and accepted the travel
vouchers and the compensation. But there was still one spot left to be swapped.
As no passenger in the flight was agreeing to give up their ticket, united Airways told the
passengers that they would select a passenger randomly. The passengers were selected based
on a combination of criteria spelled out in United’s contract of carriage, including frequent-flier
status, fare type, check-in time and connecting flight implications, among others, according to
United (Bacon, 2017). This however, did not work out very well. The selected passenger was Dr.

David Dao. David is a 69 year old doctor who needed to be in his home town, the very next day
as he was expecting to see some of his patients. The doctor revolted and told the crew that he
would not swap his ticket as he had to be in his home town the very next day. Things heated up
after his non compliance as the doctor refused to leave his seat. The officers however, handled
the situation in an extremely disrespectful manner. The arguments between the passenger and
the security officers soon turned into a scuffle. The fight led the doctor bleeding and
unconscious. Security officers literally dragged the unconscious body of Dr. Dao through the
aisle all while the passengers were recording videos on their smart phones. Publics increasingly
use social media during crises and, consequently, crisis communication professionals need to
understand how to strategically optimize these tools (Fisher, 2011). Upon seeing the situation
take a violent turn, some of the passengers decided to board down from the flight. The security
officers mishandled the situation gravely. This was aggravated by the PR team of United Airlines
sending out different statements in the next 2 hours, leaving an even worse impression on the
already dissed passengers. There are a number of things one can learn from the above scenario.
Crisis management in relation to its effect on corporate reputation is what PR companies are
needed for (Antonio, 2014).
Learning Outcomes
It is the job of a PR team to manage delicate situations smartly. Failure can result in serious
harm to stakeholders, losses for an organization, or end its very existence (Coombs, 2007).
However, in the above case scenario, things seemed as if they had gotten out of hand.
Management of information and effective communication at times of crisis is of great
importance (Ashcroft, 1997). Below are discussed a few points that can help in understanding
what went wrong and how it could have been handled better.
1. Communication by an organization during an organizational crisis is essential and often
neglected (Sturges, 1994). PR experts in their reports have said that such a scenario was
completely avoidable with a little bit of better management. “This is what we call in crisis
management ‘creating your own crisis,’” said Eric Rose, a crisis management expert (Martin,
2017). Overbooking of flights is not a new phenomenon and happens all the time. There were a

total of four passengers that had to travel from Chicago to Louisville urgently. Instead of
randomly selecting passengers who had already paid for their tickets as well, the company
should have increased their compensations even further from $800. Even after that, if no
passenger would have been willing to swap, the company could have let the 4 passengers know
about the situation. They would have lost four customers but maintained their global goodwill
(CROWLEY, 2017).
2. Within the next 24 hours after the occurrence of this incident, the CEO of United Airlines
sent out 2 different statements. He only apologized for the fact that the airlines had to
reallocate passengers while keeping mum on a due apology to Dr. Dao. All of this points
towards the mismanagement of the situation by the PR team. Public relations experts say the
CEO should have quickly offered an unreserved apology after a customer was filmed on Sunday
being forcibly removed from his seat and dragged down an overbooked aircraft's aisle (Petroff,
2017). An extreme outrage from passengers and general public could be seen on social media
after t after this incident. This led to bad publicity for the united airlines and with many such
incidences happening in a short period of time before and after this incident, United Airlines is
rapidly gaining bad publicity. What one can learn from this is that it is essential for PR teams to
assess the complete situation before sending out statements as knee jerk reactions. One must
always be prepared for such situations. In addition, one must also know how to handle such
situations tactfully.
3. Soon after the incident occurred, the United Airlines reportedly supported the mishandling
and misdeeds of their staff and tried to put the entire blame on Dr. David Dao. Such behavior is
not only unacceptable but also affects the credibility of a company. While managing PR, it is
essential to stick to facts and not try to put blame on the other party as in the case of flight
3411. After the passengers in the flight shared their recorded videos on social media platforms,
the public soon got to know everything about the incident. By this time, it was too late for the
airlines to take back their statements. This resulted in extreme negative publicity of the
company worldwide. In addition to the above incident, there were many other instances

reported by people where United Airlines was on the bearing end of allegations such as not
allowing two girls who were wearing leggings to board the plane and another passenger who
was bitten by a scorpion. In a world filled with a smart phone is every corner, it is extremely
difficult to hide one’s wrong doings, or carelessness for long. The more a person is educated in
public relations, the more she or he may value social media as a strategic communication tool
(Wakefield, 2016). This results in effective realization of how social media can spread both
negative and positive publicity like wildfire.
4. Handling public relations is a tough job. One needs to be aware of the sentiments of the
other party as well as the public in general. The statement issued by the CEO expressed no
remorse for Dr. David Dao. The company’s response – including the chief executive saying the
airline had to “re-accommodate” passengers hasn’t gone down well (Smith, 2017). This hurt the
sentiments of not just the doctor but a lot of other people as well. First, the United Airlines
overbooked a flight and upon refusal from passengers, the crew and security officers
misbehaved with a passenger. This not only shows how inefficient the airlines is in handling
their day to day bookings, but also how horribly they treat passengers if they refuse to give up
their seats. It is essential that companies understand and teach their employees to respect one
and all and to handle complex situations smartly. After the airlines had already issued
statements supporting the wrong doings of their staff and the general public came to know
about what actually happened, the company reached a point from where it could not turn back.
Therefore one must understand the implications of their actions.
Conclusion
Public Relations can sometimes be tricky to handle. However, one must ensure he or she is
behaving respectfully and responsibly. The case example discussed above shows how
imperative it is to understand the implications of one’s actions. One can also comprehend how
easy it is to avoid tricky situations that have the potential to turn volatile quickly. Instead of
resorting to fore and violence, one must try to handle complicated situations by bringing all
parties involved to a common ground. How one handles a company’s public relations holds

extreme importance. In the above case scenario, united airlines suffered extreme negative
publicity due to their horrible treatment of their passengers in addition to their PR team being
weak, impulsive and not effective enough.
References
Antonio, M. (2014). Crisis Management to Avoid Damage for Corporate Reputation: The Case of Retail
Chain Crisis in the Baltic Countries. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences , 452-457.
Ashcroft, L. (1997). Crisis management ‐ public relations. Journal of Managerial Psychology , 325-332.
Bacon, J. (2017, april 11). United Airlines says controversial flight was not overbooked; CEO apologizes
again. Retrieved october 3, 2017, from USA Today:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/04/11/united-ceo-employees-followed-
procedures-flier-belligerent/100317166/
BANNISTER, K. (2017, april 18). Lessons in Crisis Management From the United Incident. Retrieved
october 5, 2017, from brandwatch: https://www.brandwatch.com/blog/lessons-crisis-management-
united-incident/
Coombs, T. (2007). Crisis Management and Communications. The SCIENCE Beneath the ART of PUBLIC
RELATIONS , 89-103.
CROWLEY, P. (2017, april 11). PR 101: United Airlines’ lessons in how not to manage a crisis. Retrieved
october 4, 2017, from the hill: http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/transportation/328288-what-
others-can-learn-from-uniteds-pr-disaster
Fisher, B. (2011). Examining the Role of Social Media in Effective Crisis Management. Sage Journals , 74-
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Martin, H. (2017, april 10). United Airlines suffers more bad publicity after a passenger is dragged from
an overbooked plane. Retrieved october 3, 2017, from Los Angeles Times:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-united-airlines-bad-pr-20170410-story.html
Petroff, A. (2017, april 11). United Airlines shows how to make a PR crisis a total disaster. Retrieved
october 3, 2017, from money.cnn.com: http://money.cnn.com/2017/04/11/news/united-passenger-pr-
disaster/index.html
Smith, R. (2017, april 11). After United Airlines' response to a passenger being dragged from a flight here
are six of the most memorable airline PR blunders. Retrieved october 4, 2017, from City AM Newsletter:
http://www.cityam.com/262750/after-united-airlines-response-passenger-being-dragged

Sturges, D. L. (1994). Communicating through Crisis. Management Communication Quarterly , 297-316.
Wakefield, R. I. (2016). "Social Media and Strategic Communication: A Three-Year Study of Attitudes and
Perceptions About Social Media Among College Students. Public Relations Journal , 310-356.