Public Relations Disaster Airlines or as people call it, United Airlines, is in the news again. For all the wrong reasons, obviously.
After dragging a passenger off a United Airlines flight, giving a passenger’s tickets to a different passenger and accidentally sending a dog to Japan, United Airlines has done the unimaginable- a flight attendant forced a passenger to put their dog in an overhead bin, where he died in flight. A co-passenger posted-
The flight attendants of flight UA1284 felt that the innocent animal was better off crammed inside the overhead container without air and water. They INSISTED that the puppy be locked up for three hours without any kind of airflow. They assured the safety of the family’s pet so wearily, the mother agreed.
There was no sound as we landed and opened his kennel. There was no movement as his family called his name. I held her baby as the mother attempted to resuscitate their 10 month old puppy. I cried with them three minutes later as she sobbed over his lifeless body. My heart broke with theirs as I realized he was gone.
The grieving family spoke about the ordeal, how the little guy fought hard for his life, filling the flight with his cries until he finally ran out of breath. The 10-month-old French bulldog was in the overhead compartment for the entire three-and-a-half hour trip from Houston to New York. United Airlines has come out and ‘apologized’ for the unfortunate event.
Here’s what the Airlines had to say:
This was a tragic accident that should never have occurred, as pets should never be placed in the overhead bin. We assume full responsibility for this tragedy and express our deepest condolences to the family and are committed to supporting them. We are thoroughly investigating what occurred to prevent this from ever happening again.
Source: Quartz
Really, United Airlines? How about hiring staff with basic understanding about how stuff works? This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Last year, 18 animals died while being transported on United. Not a very good track record. And ‘feeling sorry’ just isn’t going to cut it, not this time.
