{"id":2473147,"date":"2017-04-24T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-04-24T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prgn.cullencommunications.ie\/bloody-incident-will-haunt-united-airlines\/"},"modified":"2021-10-29T16:32:23","modified_gmt":"2021-10-29T16:32:23","slug":"bloody-incident-will-haunt-united-airlines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prgn.cullencommunications.ie\/es_es\/pr-tips-trends\/bloody-incident-will-haunt-united-airlines\/","title":{"rendered":"Bloody Incident Will Haunt United Airlines"},"content":{"rendered":"

The now famous United Airlines debacle of a bloodied passenger being dragged off a plane<\/a> will resurface in news stories about United for years.\u00a0Virtually everyone has seen the video of the crisis, from school children to captain of industries and because of it, they are paying a lot more attention to United.<\/p>\n

What could United have done better and how much damage has been done to their brand?<\/p>\n

United could not have stopped the worldwide viral video from reaching a mass audience, however, it was the company’s\u00a0reaction<\/em><\/a>\u00a0that moved them into the storm filled skies of negative public opinion. The morning after the incident, CEO Oscar Munoz sent a memo to employees saying \u201cI also emphatically stand behind all of you\u201d and apologized for having to simply \u201cre-accommodate\u201d the passenger. Even a first semester communications student could see that it didn\u2019t matter if the passenger really was belligerent; there was video of his\u00a0unconscious and bloody body<\/em>\u00a0being dragged off the plane.\u00a0It took another full day in the PR crisis-vortex for Munoz to acknowledge the public’s revulsion at the video.\u00a0Unfortunately for United, both Munoz and their initial response froze them into the amber of public opinion as a company who doesn\u2019t give a damn about their customers.<\/p>\n

The incident highlights a danger for all brands in how they respond to fast-moving incidents.\u00a0The dragging video defined United and drew such big audiences that journalists and the public are now sensitized to\u00a0anything<\/em>\u00a0negative about United.<\/p>\n

Seventy two hours after Dr. Dao was dragged down the aisle, a scorpion fell on a passenger<\/a> and stung him.\u00a0This story would normally be relegated to the\u00a0oddities<\/em>\u00a0news, but a good journalist can sniff out an audience, so it got worldwide coverage from news organizations like the\u00a0BBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, CNN<\/em>, the\u00a0Associated Press, Reuters <\/em>and\u00a0The Washington Post<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Fast forward a few more days and broadcasts, banners and blogs led with headlines like\u00a0Bride and Groom Booted Off United Flight<\/em><\/a>\u00a0from KHOU in Houston.\u00a0It doesn\u2019t matter that the couple was trying to grab a free upgrade and lied about being taken off the plane by Air Marshals — journalists were now hyper-focused on United and quickly reported another example of the airline screwing their passengers. They reported and viewers massively consumed the news.<\/p>\n

This sensitivity from journalists to companies that have mishandled the PR surrounding a crisis needs to be a part of crisis communications planning<\/a>, especially for (what should be) short lived stories.\u00a0It highlights three things that all CEOs should know\u00a0before<\/em>\u00a0their staff walks into their office.<\/p>\n