If it was just that the flight attendants fucked up by calling in the cops in a situation that didn't really call for it that would be one thing. But it was more than that. The CEO made the situation worse by not apologizing and instead blaming the passenger for being "disruptive and belligerent". It was only after the stock dropped that he apologized. This shows that poor customer service is ingrained in this corp.

I also understand your sentiment, and I may be guilty of it too. But this is the exact sort of attitude that blocks real change.

Massive retaliation is an effective deterrence strategy, and probably one of the only options that a weak group like consumers have against an oligopoly like airlines.

It's not even about punishing United, it's about showing other players that if they behave in the same way, _they_ might randomly be subjected to this sort of punishment. People are not going to stop using airlines, but we might stop using yours for just long enough to make it hurt.

once people start doing this, the companies will change. The companies will start valuing the customers more.

Perhaps people would start new companies with their absence.

We can draw the line at having the cops beat people to cover up for their screw-ups though, right? This isn't questionable stock trades, it smashing an old man in the face because you're shitty at your job.

That's the problem. The airline industry in the US is a oligopoly in dire need for a regulatory intervention.

Same sentiment in this op-ed piece on Medium. https://medium.com/@thisTenqyuLife/united-airlines-should-go...

United consistently fucks things up.