United may be hot water this week over its treatment of a Kentucky doctor who refused to give up his seat and wound up dragged from the airplane with what we now know was a serious concussion, damage to his sinuses, and two missing teeth. But it turns out United has been working to make air travelers miserable for a very long time.
It’s not alone of course—most major airlines try to lobby against deeper Federal regulations that prioritize air travelers over airlines—but United has, on average, spent more than $3 million per year trying to stop bills that would protect passengers from extra fees, decreased leg room and yes, even passenger-bumping.
They spend money at both the state and Federal levels and on Republicans and Democrats almost evenly—and they have regularly focued on “Passenger Bills of Rights” that are supposed to guarantee more on-time arrivals and better customer service, and more transparency with airline fees.
Some of that legislation might have had a direct impact on the plight of Dr. Dao and the passengers of United 3411, because those bills would have specified how and when airlines are allowed to overbook flights and boot unwanted passengers.
But United’s lobbying efforts have also made every air traveler’s life just a little bit worse.
Airline seats, for example, are already minuscule. But United has twice blocked legislation that would stop them from making their seats even smaller by establishing a Federal-level standard airplane seat size (of course, even at 16.5 inches, they’re pretty tiny).
In 2015, they fought against the Comfortable and Fair Flight Rule, that would have prevented them from leveling additional charges on consumers who had already paid for their flights. Since then, of course, airlines have begun charging for everything from checked baggage to soft drinks, and despite the fervent wishes of all Americans, have routinely considered charging people to pee on board the aircraft.
Now that they’re in the news, United is likely to see nearly all these bills— especially the ones about bumping paying customers from already boarded aircraft—come around again.
For most airlines, like United, these rules tend to subvert the free market—after all, if passengers are willing to pay to upgrade tiny seats, eat on planes, even for insurance that promises they won’t be kicked off flights, why shouldn’t United take full advantage? But the system does pose the risk of exactly what happened last week: limits being pushed until a policy truly becomes a problem.
