United Announces Improvements After Customer Service Disasters

It's been almost a month since the video of a United passenger being dragged off an overbooked flight went viral.

Now, the airline has announced substantial changes to how it flies, serves and respects its customers.

United unveiled the changes after thoroughly examining its policies and procedures following several recent incidents which have caused a public relations nightmare for the airline over the last month.

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The first major change is that the airline will not call on law enforcement officers unless it is dealing with a safety or security issue. The carrier will also not force passengers who have already been seated to give up their spot involuntarily unless safety or security is at risk.

In addition, United has announced that it will increase passenger compensation incentives for voluntary denied boarding up to $10,000. The airline will also build a new customer solutions team for agents to help passengers bumped from flights get to nearby airports, other airlines or ground transportations in order to reach their final destination.

“Every customer deserves to be treated with the highest levels of service and the deepest sense of dignity and respect. Two weeks ago, we failed to meet that standard and we profoundly apologize,” United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz said in a statement. “However, actions speak louder than words. Today, we are taking concrete, meaningful action to make things right and ensure nothing like this ever happens again.”

“Our review shows that many things went wrong that day, but the headline is clear: our policies got in the way of our values and procedures interfered in doing what's right,” Munoz continued.

“This is a turning point for all of us at United and it signals a culture shift toward becoming a better, more customer-focused airline. Our customers should be at the center of everything we do and these changes are just the beginning of how we will earn back their trust.”

READ MORE: Legislation Introduced in Response to United Incident

United didn’t stop there, however, as the carrier also requires flight crews to be booked onto flights at least 60 minutes prior to departure and is instituting new training procedures so employees can resolve customer service issues in real time.

The airline will also work to reduce the amount of overbooking and create an automated system for soliciting volunteers to change travel plans. United is additionally focusing on cutting the red tape on permanently lost bags.

Most of the new rules and regulations will become effective immediately, but others will be put into place throughout the remainder of 2017.

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