Introduction
In today’s world, social media has become a popular tool for communication used by many brands worldwide to connect to their audiences. However, this popular media communication platform can quickly become a backdrop for conflicts if not well-managed. One such unwanted skirmish that gathered international attention and criticism from numerous parties was the United Airlines Flight 3411 in April 2017. To date, this incident has been used as a case study of the challenges modern businesses face when dealing with a hyper-connected social media world. This paper will critically analyze this issue, deducing its origins and consequences, and then offer feasible recommendations for crisis management from a manager’s perspective.
Background of the Crisis
The events leading to the United Airlines Flight crisis began with a common practice among airlines at the time: overbooking flights to maximize revenue. On the day of the incident, April 9, 2017, the 3411 Flight was fully booked; however, the Airline needed to accommodate crew members who required transportation to another destination (Lim & Tucker, 2019). The airline’s policies stated that volunteers who gave up their seats would be compensated. However, on this day, there were no volunteers; therefore, the Airline was forced to select four passengers to give up their seats randomly.
Among the passengers selected to be involuntarily removed from their seats was Dr. David Dao. Dr Dao refused to give up his seat, however, explaining to the crew that he was a physician and had necessary appointments with clients the following day. He protested vehemently until security officials were called to remove him from the airplane physically. A passage on the plane was recording the escalations. Once the video reached social media pages, it went viral, causing widespread criticism and condemnation of the Airline for its actions.
In a few days, the incident had blown into a total crisis, revealing various negative issues facing United Airlines and other crews. The event highlighted the issue of airlines overbooking to maximize revenues. This practice originated in the mid-20th century, when airlines observed a rise in the number of no-show passengers (Nazifi et al., 2021).
To mitigate this challenge, airlines, including United Airlines, began selling more tickets than available, assuming that a certain percentage of passengers would not show up. Although this practice was based on well-calculated predictive and mathematical models, it ran a risk of denying boarding to passengers, as seen in the 3411 Flight case. In response to these and various related incidents, airlines have implemented regulations and guidelines to guide booking practices. Nonetheless, overbooking remains a common practice in the industry, as the incentives for profitability are high.
The 2017 United Airlines crisis had significant impacts on the entire airline industry, as stated above. The event highlighted the importance of airlines ensuring that customer rights and privileges are put at the center stage. The brutal removal of Dr. David Dao from the plane demonstrated that passengers must be respected and their tickets cannot be canceled without prior notification (Hearit, 2021).
The incident also brought into light the policies that airlines follow when overbooking instances occur. Instead of randomly selecting passengers who would give up their seats, airlines learned that offering more incentives in ticket compensation was essential. The crisis management and communication strategies employed by the airline revealed the consequences of adopting unsympathetic approaches when dealing with clients within an organization. Moreover, the impacts of the crisis revealed that it is imperative for the brand to proactively manage and maintain a positive image.
Crisis Description
When the incident of Dr. Dao being forcibly removed from the Airline reached social media pages, it went viral for various reasons. First, the recorder shared the content with a few friends and relatives on their Facebook and Twitter, and then the networking effect enabled the video to reach millions of people within just a few hours (Hearit, 2021). The rapid dissemination of content and the ability of people to respond and communicate on social media platforms rapidly escalated the crisis, drawing anger from many.
The comments on many social media pages depicted an image of outraged people, further amplifying the discussions. The high visibility and interest in the issue also prompted mainstream media outlets, including television and print media, to cover the issue and disseminate it further. These mainstream sources interviewed the main stakeholders involved, including passengers on the plane, United Airlines officials, and subject matter experts on the issues of passage rights.
The initial response from United Airlines following the 3411 Flight incident lacked empathy and did not adequately address the seriousness of removing the doctor from the flight. The airline CEO issued a statement that was not apologetic and seemed to defend the Airline’s employees for their actions. The CEO, in his statement, described the physical removal as an act of “re-accommodating” and stated that his crew’s behavior in handling the issue was commendable (Selaković & Ljepava, 2023).
At no point did the response offer apologies to Dr. Dao or the other three crew members. This response did not help address or prevent the public outrage, as the responses were swift and negative. Groups, including passage committees, advocacy groups, and the general public, openly communicated and condemned the airline’s operations. A Twitter hashtag displayed as “#BoycottUnited” also went viral, negatively impacting the company’s bottom line.
Analysis of the Crisis
The 3411 Flight crisis was caused and contributed to by several factors that could have been addressed more effectively. The crisis occurred because the video of Dr. Dao being violently removed from his seat went viral. The video went viral because it was 2017 when many people had access to social media platforms and felt enraged to see a human treated violently.
The root cause of the problem was how the Airline handled a fellow human being, as humans are emotional creatures who can feel pain for others. Therefore, conducting a root cause analysis on the incident reveals that overbooking or removing Dr. Dao from the plane was not the root cause of the crisis, but the brutal removal from the scene. When re-assessing the Airline’s policies, this knowledge could help prevent future crises, as humans are emotional beings and should always be handled with care and respect.
A further analysis of issues reveals that employees at United Airlines had a history of being caring towards their passengers, often using non-cautious language while addressing them. Generally, United Airlines had branded itself as a budget airline and thus did not seek to offer premium services or strive to ensure client satisfaction. Issues of delayed flights, passengers being asked to give up their seats to crew staff, and limited spacing in the Airline’s seats were commonplace. Therefore, the widely condemned decision to forcefully remove the doctor from the plane was not new, but the recording made it a unique case. The crisis highlighted the need for airlines to consistently demonstrate empathy towards their clients, regardless of whether the flight is budget or otherwise.
The customer’s reactions when the airlines stated that four people could volunteer their seats reveal that people have plans they do not want interrupted. The Airline stated that the passengers who gave up their seats would be compensated for their transportation fee. However, most people refused, revealing that the Airline should have offered more incentives, such as ensuring that volunteers would be provided with accommodation or extra financial compensation for giving up their space.
Randomly selecting passengers was a wrong move by the airline, as it could have chosen some people whose time and movement were essential. In this case, delaying Dr. Dao’s treatment may have caused severe complications for his patients, who may have needed immediate medical care. The Airline should have sought out why the passengers were traveling before getting them out to accommodate the crew members. Moreover, the assumption that crew members would have seats because of the expected no-show passengers is bound to fail from time to time, and the Airline could have set methods for addressing the problem when this occurred.
Impacts of the Airline’s Reputation and Financials
The United Airlines incident greatly impacted the Airline’s status as an organization and revenues. The viral video immediately significantly impacted the company’s reputation as people viewed it as insensitive and callous in the way it treated Dr. Dao and the three other passengers. The reputational damage was further exacerbated by the indifferent approach the Airline’s management, particularly its CEO, took on the issue, defending the employees on the ground. The crisis continues to haunt the airlines even after it has subsided, as the incident is used as a case study for mismanagement; thus, the Airline cannot quickly regain public trust.
On the financial side, the Airline had an immediate crisis in its financial position when the event occurred. The hashtags to boycott the Airline resulted in reduced ticket bookings, leading to a drop in the Airline’s revenues. Additionally, the stock market revealed that the airline’s shares dropped in the months following the case (Teo & Lim, 2019). The investors were concerned about the reputational damage’s impact on the bottom line, making many want to sell their shares, while a few wanted to buy. The Airline also grappled with increased operational costs as it had to review the existing policies and guidelines to prevent such a crisis. The company also had to retrain its employees to handle clients and deal with challenging situations effectively, resulting in additional expenses.
The long-term repercussions of the incident could be more challenging to analyze in combination with other decisions made by the company. Nevertheless, it can be deduced that the event had a long-term impact on the company’s revenues, as the ongoing attrition of customers could negatively affect the brand’s image, ultimately reducing revenues. The case serves as a reminder that failing to take proactive measures to prevent problems could result in reputational and financial challenges to an organization.
Recommendations from a Manager’s Perspective
From a manager’s perspective, several actions could be recommended to address the 2017 3411 Flight crisis, mitigate its fallout, and establish a robust crisis management system for the future. The managers should apologize to Dr. David Dao and the three other passengers for the actions and brutality displayed by the airline’s staff. The company should consider contacting them directly and offering compensation for the time and inconvenience they experienced. A sincere display of compensation for the pain caused to Dr. Dao and his colleagues would demonstrate tangible goodwill on the part of the company, thereby repairing the reputational damage.
The Airline’s CEO and other managers must take measures to maintain transparency and accountability of the Airline. The company should be transparent and publicly communicate its policy changes, safety improvements, and internal investigations that help identify the root cause of problems and how they will be addressed. The company should also refrain from seeking to protect its employees from inhumane actions; instead, it should find those liable for the actions and hold them accountable. This would smooth the airline’s operations in the future, as employees would be aware that the airline takes action against wrong actions.
Unlike the statements delivered by the company’s CEO, managers should issue public statements that demonstrate empathy for the pain passengers feel and highlight the airline’s commitment to ensuring passenger welfare in the future. The company’s statements should use statements like “we” and “us” to show that the Airline and its passengers are in the same boat. Managers in the company should allocate resources to ensure comprehensive employee training.
This training may include communication strategies to use in high-pressure situations. The lessons must also equip the employees to be flexible and give them autonomy to go beyond the set guidelines whenever problems occur. Employees should also be trained in situations where they are required to delegate problems to higher authorities. For instance, in this case, the employees on the ground could have spoken with the managers, who would have offered better incentives to passengers who were willing to give up their seats.
The managers must also re-evaluate the company’s overbooking policies and stop overbooking to optimize the company’s revenues. A robust crisis management strategy helps ensure that organizations don’t face challenges similar to those faced by United Airlines (Ritchie & Jiang, 2019). A well-qualified team should be employed to manage social media engagements, ensuring the company promptly responds to client reviews, requests, and complaints via phone.
Client feedback and listening should also be prioritized, as clients with essential needs, such as Dr. Dao, should be given priority. Third-party audits could also prevent such problems in the future, as they would assess the company’s policies and procedures to ensure they align with established industry standards. Drills and simulations to identify areas of weakness and prepare employees for specific scenarios would also ensure that the company can effectively manage unforeseen crises.
Conclusion
The media crisis that United Airlines faced after the 3411 Flight incident is a profound case study of the problems organizations can undergo if they manage situations poorly in today’s interconnected world. The forceful removal of Dr. Dao from his seat, combined with the viral nature of the incident on social media, demonstrates that organizations cannot mistreat people and expect it to go unnoticed. The evaluation of the underlying causes of the crisis reveals that overbooking to maximize profits is a strategy that companies must implement with great care, as it is a catalyst for significant potential problems. The statement by United Airlines’ CEO, defending its employees, shows that in crisis management, managers must be willing to be transparent and hold employees who have done wrong things accountable. United Airlines should implement policy changes, conduct employee training programs, and take a proactive approach in dealing with its passengers to rebuild its brand image and prevent such problems from occurring in the future.
References
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Nazifi, A., Gelbrich, K., Grégoire, Y., Koch, S., El-Manstrly, D., & Wirtz, J. (2021). Proactive handling of flight overbooking: How to reduce negative eWOM and the costs of bumping customers. Journal of Service Research, 24(2), pp.206-225.
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Selaković, M., & Ljepava, N. (2023). Online-ignited crises and post-crisis image restoration: example of Flight 3411 incident. International Journal of Management Trends: Key Concepts and Research, 2(1), 15-40.
Teo, T. S., & Lim, V. K. (2019). Overbooking Debacle at United Airlines, Inc. SAGE Publications: SAGE Business Cases Originals.