United Air Says It Has Reformed

Remember that You tube video of the passenger who was bodily dragged from his seat, bloodied and screaming, because he refused to vacate the flight for United employees who were being sent to another city? We might have to send him a thank you note. It galvanized attention on how awful it is for the airline passenger today. As Rodney Dangerfield used to say, we "don't get no respect". Well, now United says it is giving us some respect. They just released new customer service policies that might give us peace of mind that no more passengers will be dragged off or abused in another of the many ways we passengers feel we have been. There is a web site for you to check to visit every lodged airline complaint. https://www.airlinecomplaints.org/  It's revealing.

According to United there will be 10 new customer service plies that are more warm and fuzzy than abusive. The top five are:

1) United will not ask law enforcement officers to remove customers from flights unless it is a matter of safety and security.
2) United will no longer require passengers who are already seated on the plane to "voluntarily" give up their seat un less there is a security or safety issue with the passenger.
3) United will increase passenger compensation amounts when the passenger voluntarily gives up a seat before boarding. The new policy gives a passenger as much as $10,000 if he or she gives up a seat. Wow! United can drag me off the plane for $10,000
4 )United will create a team to "proactively identify and provide gate agents with creative solutions" such as using nearby airports, other airlines or ground transportation to get customers and crews to their final destinations.

That's nice, a good start. But what about addressing some more often seen problems on United or any flight for that matter? I have five suggestions for the airlines to address to motivate them to make passengers feel human.
1) enforce the carry-on limit rules that are ignored- that means the man with two large suitcases, a computer, a oversized roll carry-on and a smelly pastrami sandwich will have to check in the bags or walk to his destination
2) more democratic boarding procedures- Why do kids get boarded first? Whenever the airlines make the announcement for "families with children" to board first the family of 20 heads for the plan and fills most of the over head space. If a child has to board, let one adult accompany him, not the entire city from which the kid comes.
3) normal seat sizes- I know smaller seats means more seats to sell, but the fat guy on my left and the woman with bad breath on my right are killing me.
4) hidden charges-  It's bad enough you have to rent a blanket when the airline AC goes nuts an freezes everyone. But the rumors of pay toilets better not be true.
5) reseating- When the airline changes craft and reseats passengers, the odds are the guy with the bad knee will be reseated in a middle seat. Ether reseat in another aisle seat or let him fly free.
Sigh...I wonder when the next train arrives.