United's staff memo makes the internet even angrier—yes, that's possible
The CEO of United Airlines wants his employees to know the company made a huge mistake, and he's really sorry about it.
Lol, just kidding. In a staff memo, Oscar Munoz called the passenger seen being dragged off a plane in disturbing viral videos "disruptive and belligerent" after they "politely" asked him to "deplane." Ultimately, the crew was "left with no choice but to call Chicago Aviation Security Officers to assist in removing the customer from the flight."
SEE ALSO: Unsettling video captures United passenger being forcibly removed from overbooked flight
That's funny, because it looked like a paying customer was removed against his will by several men who left him bloodied, as terrified passengers screamed at them to stop. The passenger was being removed because United overbooked the flight and no one would volunteer to get off to make room for employees who needed a ride.
INBOX: @united CEO sends letter to employees about United Express flight. pic.twitter.com/obVdl6G2E0
— Ryan Ruggiero (@RyanRuggiero) April 10, 2017
"Our employees followed established procedures for dealing with situations like this," he wrote. "While I deeply regret this situation arose, I also emphatically stand behind all of you, and I want to commend you for continuing to go above and beyond to ensure we fly right."
The internet didn't react well to the tone-deaf letter from United's CEO, especially after his previous apology, where he talked about having to "re-accommodate" customers.
This victim-blaming letter is great motivation to pay the extra $25 for another carrier when @united offers the cheapest flight https://t.co/fT71vIRi4s
— Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) April 10, 2017
This letter explains why that United fiasco happened. The CEO thinks it was justified. I wouldn't trust this company with my safety https://t.co/2D5k93dSiz
— Rusty Foster (@rustyk5) April 11, 2017
This letter is *almost* worse than the original issue. Really poor judgement lately, @united https://t.co/WRaDUCdsfa
— Raleigh Mecklin (@raleigh_mecklin) April 11, 2017
That internal United letter is gross and does nothing but deflect and abdicate responsibility. So, par for the course.
— Tom Shea (@tomshea) April 11, 2017
I'm glad this letter is so terrible. I want them to be bad at PR. Why do we want companies to be good at PR? https://t.co/A7rbb7EcyV
— Jon Lovett (@jonlovett) April 10, 2017
Well, all this should make you think hard about your next airport travel plans. Especially if you just bought some new leggings.