But, he said, “Someone could have just used their head with Dr. Dao
and said, ‘If you’re a doctor, and you need to see patients the next day, let me see if we can find somebody else.’”
Mr. Demetrio, Dr. Dao’s lawyer, said that he and his client both thought
that United’s plans represented “an excellent start in a short period of time” toward solving the problems that passengers face with many airlines.
Dr. Dao and dozens of other passengers had boarded a United Express flight to Louisville in the late afternoon when the airline determined
that maintenance issues with another plane might keep a four-person flight crew from reaching Louisville in time for a flight they were scheduled to work the next morning, according to the airline’s report.
The airline also said that it would no longer ask law enforcement officers to remove passengers from its planes over booking issues and
that all crew members traveling to other flight assignments would be booked into seats at least an hour before departure, two changes it had announced previously.
In a further bid to regain its customers’ faith, United said it would address another cause of frustration
among passengers — compensation for lost baggage — that is unrelated to the episode involving Dr. Dao.
Mr. Munoz, in a statement released on Thursday with the report, said he realized that “actions speak louder than words.”
“Today,” he added, “we are taking concrete, meaningful action to make things right and ensure nothing like this ever happens again.”
United’s report includes a description of what happened in the April 9 episode, though it contains few new details.
He said he hoped that expanded training for United employees would include “how to defuse the situation instead of throwing gasoline on it.”
The episode involving Dr. Dao has also upended United’s top leadership ranks.
