United to compensate fliers

CHICAGO - United Airlines sought to quell the uproar over a man being dragged off a plane by announcing on Tuesday that it would no longer ask police to remove passengers from full flights and would compensate customers who were on the flight when the man was removed.

In an interview on ABC television on Wednesday, United parent company CEO Oscar Munoz said he felt "ashamed" watching video of the man being forced off the jet. He has promised to review the airline's passenger-removal policy.

Munoz, who leads United's parent company, apologized again to Kentucky physician David Dao, his family and the other passengers who witnessed the incident.

"That is not who our family at United is," he said. "This will never happen again on a United flight. That's my promise."

In the future, law enforcement will not be involved in removing a "booked, paid, seated passenger," Munoz said. "We can't do that."

The promise came three days after a passenger was violently removed from one of its flights to make room for its own employees.

A video of the incident, in which the passenger can be seen with blood on his face, went viral on the internet and sparked social media uproar.

The initial response from Munoz drew harsh criticism. In a letter to employees that was leaked to CNBC on Monday, he described the passenger as "disruptive and belligerent".

However, during his interview on Wednesday, Munoz expressed regret for his earlier comments, saying he did not blame the passenger and that his initial words "fell short" of what he felt.

In an effort to calm the backlash, United also announced that passengers on United Express Flight 3411 would be compensated equal to the cost of their tickets. United spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said on Wednesday that the passengers can take the compensation in cash, travel credits or miles.

Munoz called the incident a "system failure" and said United would reassess its procedures for seeking volunteers to give up their seats when a flight is full.

Attorneys for Dao filed court papers on Wednesday asking the airline and the city of Chicago to preserve evidence in the case. Those documents are often the first steps toward a lawsuit.