The shocking footage of Dr David Dao - a paying customer - was dragged from a United Airlines flight went viral earlier this week, as people struggled to believe what they were seeing.
Dr Dao was roughly pulled from his seat and through the aisle after the company oversold its seats and asked him to leave. Dao refused, telling staff that he had to 'get to work' and he was then removed from the plane by security.
Now, a second passenger has come forward to talk about the treatment he also received from United staff on a separate flight.
Geoff Fearns, 59, told the LA Times he was threatened with handcuffs if he didn't get off the flight, which he had paid $1000 (£800) for.
Advert
Fearns was travelling to LA from Hawaii after attending a business conference and booked a first-class ticket. He claims that he took his seat and was awaiting take-off when he was approached by a United employee who told him he needed to get off the plane because the flight was 'overfull'.
Like Dr Dao, Fearns refused to give up his seat, telling them that he had paid and was already seated, so he shouldn't have to give up his place.
Read more:
- United Airlines Has Lost A Sh*tload Of Value On The Stock Market
- Doctor Dragged Off Plane Hires Two Lawyers
- Authorities Drag Doctor Off United Airlines Flight In Shocking Video
"That's when they told me they needed the seat for somebody more important who came at the last minute," Fearns said.
"They said they have a priority list and this other person was higher on the list than me."
He claims that he was later told that, due to mechanical troubles, the scheduled plane couldn't fly, so was swapped with a smaller one which had fewer first-class seats.
Fearns said that while he understood that on occasion airlines needed to 'bump people', he believes he should have been told at the gate.
Credit: Twitter/Tyler Bridges
Advert
While he continued to argue this point with the member of staff, he claims that he was told they would put him in cuffs if they had to.
Fearns eventually moved to economy class, where he was sat between a couple who argued for 'nearly six hours'. Fucking hell, this man needs a medal.
Once home, Fearns went to his lawyers who wrote to United requesting a refund and a donation of $25,000 to a charity of his choice. He got neither. The company offered to refund him the difference in price between his first class ticket and an economy one, and offered him $500 credit for a future flight. Something tells me he won't be using that.
Following Dr Dao's ejection from the plane, United Airlines' parent company - United Continental Holdings Inc - saw a drop in share price of 2.6 percent by Tuesday morning. Or to put that another way - $600 million wiped from the airline's market capital in a couple of days.
Featured Image Credit: PA/KTLATopics: flight, Plane, United Airlines