United Continental Holdings Inc will offer as much as US$10,000 to passengers who voluntarily give up their seats on oversold flights, one of 10 changes the airline is adopting after a customer was dragged off a plane by security officers.
The carrier is also to reduce the overbooking of flights and refrain from calling in law enforcement officials unless safety and security are at risk, the company yesterday said in statement.
United issued the changes more than two weeks after the forcible removal of David Dao, a 69-year-old passenger who refused to surrender his seat, by Chicago Department of Aviation officials.
Rigid policies for handling cases where passengers must be denied boarding “got in the way of our values,” United chief executive officer Oscar Munoz said in the statement.
The airline is still dealing with brand damage and other fallout from the April 9 incident, and faced another round of negative headlines on Wednesday when a giant rabbit died as it awaited a connecting flight after arriving in Chicago from London on United.
It is striving to become a “better, more customer-focused airline” to win back the public’s trust after a worldwide furor over Dao’s treatment, and calls from some politicians to crack down on the industry with tougher rules and legislation, the company said.
“Every customer deserves to be treated with the highest levels of service and the deepest sense of dignity and respect,” Munoz said. “Two weeks ago, we failed to meet that standard and we profoundly apologize.”
The United board canceled Munoz’s expected elevation to chairman next year and tied compensation more closely to customer service last week.
The company’s 10 policy changes are being rolled out this year, with some already in place.
The US$10,000 maximum payout was to take effect yesterday. Until now, gate agents were only allowed to offer passengers as much as US$500, while managers could go as high as US$1,350.
Zhang Yazhou was sitting in the passenger seat of her Tesla Model 3 when she said she heard her father’s panicked voice: The brakes do not work. Approaching a red light, her father swerved around two cars before plowing into a sport utility vehicle and a sedan, and crashing into a large concrete barrier. Stunned, Zhang gazed at the deflating airbag in front of her. She could never have imagined what was to come: Tesla Inc sued her for defamation for complaining publicly about the vehicles brakes — and won. A Chinese court ordered Zhang to pay more than US$23,000 in
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday held its first board of directors meeting in the US, at which it did not unveil any new US investments despite mounting tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Trump has threatened to impose 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, prompting market speculation that TSMC might consider boosting its chip capacity in the US or ramping up production of advanced chips such as those using a 2-nanometer technology process at its Arizona fabs ahead of schedule. Speculation also swirled that the chipmaker might consider building its own advanced packaging capacity in the US as part
‘NO DISRUPTION’: A US trade association said that it was ready to work with the US administration to streamline the program’s requirements and achieve shared goals The White House is seeking to renegotiate US CHIPS and Science Act awards and has signaled delays to some upcoming semiconductor disbursements, two sources familiar with the matter told reporters. The people, along with a third source, said that the new US administration is reviewing the projects awarded under the 2022 law, meant to boost US domestic semiconductor output with US$39 billion in subsidies. Washington plans to renegotiate some of the deals after assessing and changing current requirements, the sources said. The extent of the possible changes and how they would affect agreements already finalized was not immediately clear. It was not known
US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose up to 100 percent tariffs on Taiwan’s semiconductor exports to the US to encourage chip manufacturers to move their production facilities to the US, but experts are questioning his strategy, warning it could harm industries on both sides. “I’m very confused and surprised that the Trump administration would try and do this,” Bob O’Donnell, chief analyst and founder of TECHnalysis Research in California, said in an interview with the Central News Agency on Wednesday. “It seems to reflect the fact that they don’t understand how the semiconductor industry really works,” O’Donnell said. Economic sanctions would