BUSINESS

ETHICS
ASSIGNMENT
TOPIC
REAL LIFE EXAMPLE OF
BUSINESS ETHICS
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INTRODUCTION
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United Airlines: Grounded

In 2017, United Airlines forcibly removed passenger David Dao from

Flight 3411. The airline decided to bump four passengers from the
flight in order to fly four United staff members to a connection point.
The airline offered passengers $800 compensation and a seat on a flight
the following afternoon. But no one took the offer. Four passengers
were then selected by the airline to leave without choice. The fourth
passenger selected, Dao, refused to leave the plane, explaining that he
was a doctor and had patients to see the next morning. United
employees summoned airport security officers who then forcibly
removed Dao from his seat. Dao’s face slammed into an armrest, and he
was dragged off the plane, bleeding.

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United Airlines forcibly removed
passenger David Dao from Flight 3411
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Business Ethics

BUSINESS ETHICS REFERS

TO THE STANDARDS FOR
MORALLY RIGHT AND
WRONG CONDUCT IN
BUSINESS.

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 CNN — United passenger David Dao’s interview

“I just cried,” he told ABC in an interview

shown Tuesday on “Good Morning America”
when asked how he felt seeing the viral video.
Dao, speaking publicly for the first time about
the encounter that left him bloodied, said that
he woke up in a hospital with no memory of
being taken off the plane.

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Dr. David Dao doesn’t recall
officers dragging him off a United
Airlines flight – but he does
remember being emotional after
seeing cell phone video of the
2017 incident that created a
firestorm of controversy for the
airline, he told ABC News.

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Cell phone footage showed security officers dragging Dao by his arms and
legs down an aisle before takeoff from Chicago’s O’Hare International
Airport on April 9, 2017, after he refused to surrender his seat on the packed
plane for commuting crew members.

The incident left him with a concussion, two lost teeth and a broken nose. It
ultimately led to a financial settlement with United and the firing of two
Chicago aviation security officers, and spurred airlines to change some ways
they do business.
“The most important thing is the accident turned out the positive way,” Dao
told ABC. “Airline business (is) willing to change policy.”

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ISSUE

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 GATE AGENTS FIRST ASKED FOR VOLUNTEERS TO
GIVE UP SEATS

Dao and his wife, who were flying home, initially agreed to
take a later flight, a fellow passenger told CNN, but the couple
changed their minds when they learned the next flight
wouldn’t leave until the following day.

United had offered compensation to anyone willing to give up

their seats; Dao apparently was chosen when not enough
people volunteered. Four Chicago aviation officers arrived
when he declined to leave.

In a video shot by two passengers sitting behind Dao, he

repeatedly refused to get off the flight, telling officers he was
a physician and had to work in the morning.

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▰ Employees on Flight 3411 followed protocol. They explained the circumstances to
Dao prior to his removal and, according to Department of Transportation
procedures, called airport security. One passenger on the flight noted that two
security officers spoke calmly to Dao before a third officer approached
aggressively.
▰ After Dao was removed, the four United employees took the vacated seats.
Passenger Tyler Bridges reported that the employees were met with jeers, “People
were saying you should be ashamed to work for this company.” In the following
days, some United customers cut up their United credit cards and posted images of
their cards online. Company share prices slid on the news of the violent removal,
plummeting $1 billion in market value. At least two of the security officers were
fired.
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▰ Andrew Gilman, chief executive of communications
firm CommCore Consulting Group, reflected on the
damage this incident can have to both employees and
passengers. For employees, “It’s a hard enough job
— high stress, tense people, delays — and now you
have people who are suspicious of you.” For
passengers, “[United] unfortunately disrupted a
number of certainties that people tend to rely upon,
…it’s a big trust thing.”

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Ethical Insight

▰ For both ethical and practical reasons, having the legal right to do something
does not necessarily make it ethically appropriate. Legal and ethical rights
largely overlap, but not completely. United Airlines may have had the legal
right to remove passengers from its planes under certain circumstances.
However, having that right did not necessarily make such an action ethically
permissible in the case of passenger David Dao.
▰ In addition, while United employees and airport security may have been
following protocol, their obedience to authority resulted in physical harm done
to Dao as he was forcibly removed. They relinquished their independent ethical
judgment in favor of following orders. Their actions caused a backlash against
the company, damaged public relations for United, and prompted debate over
the legal and ethical treatment of airline passengers.

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Consequences

▰ For United Airlines, the PR disaster would cost them

badly in terms of lost ticket sales, a badly affected
reputation, and certain off-the-record compensations
for the countless law suits (in the lawsuit USA) that
could be launched (justifiably and unjustifiably) -
such as passengers traveling on that flight claiming
mental distress, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, etc.;
not to mention Dr. Dao's  litigation.

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United and other airlines made changes

▰ The dust-up had national repercussions.

▰ United made several policy changes or clarifications. Among them:
The airline won’t remove boarded passengers involuntarily – or
call authorities – unless there’s a safety or security issue.
▰ Though United said the 2017 flight was simply full, and not
overbooked, Southwest Airlines announced it would no longer
overbook flights in an attempt to ensure ticket-holding customers
would not be booted. Delta Air Lines and United said they would,
if space is needed, offer volunteers up to $10,000 to give up their
seats voluntarily

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

https://
www.nytimes.com/2017/04/10/business/united-flight-passenger-
dragged.html
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/04/united-vi
deo-scandal-law/522552
/
http://
www.ibtimes.com/officers-who-dragged-david-dao-united-airlin
es-flight-are-fired-2602777
http://
www.cnn.com/2017/04/11/travel/united-customer-dragged-off-o
verbooked-flight/index.html
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THANK YOU

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