Last Thursday United Airlines revealed its "Review and
Action Report" recapping the April 9 incident aboard United Express Flight
3411. The report, which was promised by United CEO Oscar Munoz in the days
following the incident, includes both a review of what led up to the incident
and recommendations "to prevent a terrible event like this from happening
again."
Included in the report are 10 new or updated customer
service polices meant to prevent episodes like the one that occurred on Flight
3411. Here are those changes, in United's words, as spelled out in the
company's Flight 3411 "Review and Action Report."
1. United will limit use of law enforcement to safety and
security issues only.
United will not ask law enforcement officers to remove
customers from flights unless it is a matter of safety and security. United
implemented this policy on April 12.
2. United will not require customers seated on the plane to
give up their seat involuntarily unless safety or security is at risk.
United implemented this policy on April 27.
3. United will increase customer compensation incentives for
voluntary denied boarding up to $10,000.
United policy will be revised to increase the compensation
levels up to $10,000 per customers willing to volunteer to take a later flight.
This went into effect on April 28.
4. United will establish a customer solutions team to provide
agents with creative solutions
United will create a team to proactively identify and
provide gate agents with creative solutions such as using nearby airports,
other airlines or ground transportation to get customers and crews to their
final destinations. United expects the team to be operational by June. Examples
include:
- Suggest flights to close-by airports and then provide
transportation to the customer's preferred destination.
- If a customer's travel includes a connecting flight,
provide options that would eliminate the connection and still get the customer
to the destination.
- Offer ground transportation where practical.
5. United will ensure crews are booked onto a flight at
least 60 minutes prior to departure
Unless there are open seats, all crew members traveling for
work on our aircraft must be booked at least 60 minutes before departure. This
policy was implemented on April 14.
6. United will provide employees with additional annual training.
United will provide annual training for frontline employees
to enhance their skills on an ongoing basis that will equip them to handle the
most difficult of situations. This training will begin in August.
7. United will create an automated system for soliciting
volunteers to change travel plans.
Later this year, United will introduce a new automated
check-in process, both at the airport and via United app, that will gauge a
customer's interest in giving up his or her seat on overbooked flights in exchange
for compensation. If selected, that customer will receive the requested
compensation and be booked on a later United flight.
8. United will reduce the amount of overbooking.
United has evaluated its overbooking policy. As a result,
adjustments have been made to reduce overbookings on flights that historically
have experienced lower volunteer rates, particularly flights on smaller
aircraft and the last flight of the day to a particular destination.
9. United will empower employees to resolve customer service
issues in the moment.
Rolling out later this year, United will launch a new
"in the moment" app for our employees to handle customer issues. This
will enable flight attendants (by July) and gate agents (later this year) to
compensate customers proactively (with mileage, credit for future flights or
other forms of compensation) when a disservice occurs.
10. United will eliminate the red tape on permanently lost
bags.
United will adopt a new no-questions-asked policy on
permanently lost bags. In these instances, United will pay a customer $1,500
for the value of the bag and its contents. For claims or reimbursement over
$1,500, additional documentation may be required. This process is expected to
be in place in June.
