United Airlines is in the midst of a public relations disaster.
On Sunday, David Dao, a doctor was forcibly removed from a United plane scheduled to depart from Chicago O’Hare Airport to Louisville, Kentucky and was dragged down the aisle and off the aircraft by his arms. There are multiple videos of the incident that show the man bloodied and disorientated after being taken off the aircraft multiple times; the final time, he fell over between seats and had to be carried off on a stretcher. The man is now in a Chicago-area hospital and plans to file two lawsuits against United Airlines.
The incident started when a United employee boarded the aircraft and announced that four passengers would need to give up their seats to make room for United staff who needed to be in Louisville. The passengers were offered an incentive to disembark; they were first offered $400, then $800. The airline later said that it offered up to $1,000 in compensation. Three complied, while a fourth protested because he claimed to be a doctor and needed to be in Louisville that night because he needed to see patients the following day.
Public Backlash
The backlash against United Airlines on social media was swift and resulted in the airline losing almost a billion in market value the following day.
What escalated the backlash was the perceived frigidness of United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz. The CEO had released three statements in two days, in the first, Munoz says “I apologize for having to re-accommodate these customers.” This attempt to tone done the incident by using the word “re-accommodate” came off as corporate jargon and insincere. Ironically, Munoz was the recipient of PRWeek’s Communicator of the Year Award last month.
The second statement Munoz made was meant to quell the uproar from his first, in which he starts off by saying “The truly horrific event that occurred on this flight has elicited many responses from all of us: outrage, anger, disappointment. I share all of those sentiments, and one above all: my deepest apologies for what happened.”
Chris Ann Goddard, president of CPPR public relations, says United Airlines should have immediately shifted into crisis mode instead of being forced to backtrack.
“Three apologies in two days? Really?” Goddard told USA Today. “Put the heartfelt apology out there, issue a thoughtful statement, admit a company’s wrongdoing, be consistent on social media. … And, oh, by the way, don’t blame anyone else, especially the victim.”
The public backlash stems from the lack of empathy shown by Munoz. His initial statement came off as defensive and callous when the right approach would have been to acknowledge all wrongdoing on the company’s part along with a sincere apology to the individual.
Show Empathy
Even if Munoz actually believed the protocol in “re-accommodating” passengers to make room for United Airlines was sound, the outrage on social media should have been taken into account. Customer service is vital to those in the airline industry because they are reliant on loyalty in a saturated market. By not apologizing directly to the customer and not being clear on their policy of removing passengers, it has eroded trust in their brand.
Ultimately, customers who fly with United will be leery of their staff because it has skewed the assumption that once you are in your seat, it’s yours.
Too Little, Too Late
Munoz did not send out his first statement until the following day, which by that time, was already a full-blown public relations crisis. The company was already trending and being ridiculed on social media with the hashtag #NewUnitedAirlinesMottos. The incident also attracted huge attention in China because the passenger is of Chinese origin, which is one of United’s key growth markets.
An airline like United that has been in operation since 1931 should have approached their policy of removal with more incentives and have a clear crisis management plan in place in the event of a fallout. For example, the airline should not have stopped at providing an incentive of $800, they should have kept increasing that amount paired with add-ons like points or hotel accommodation. This would have been much cheaper than having to lose millions in future revenue.
Social media is vital to your company’s online reputation management and a crucial component of consumer outreach. Don’t take your company’s online presence lightly; OnPath has the tools and expertise to create a comprehensive online reputation management plan that ensures you’re prepared for any crisis. Give us a call today at 1.855.420.3244 or browse our full-scale B2B lead generation services here.