A single incident can result in a $1 billion loss. In 2017, United Airlines faced nearly $1 billion in losses because of an incident. In today’s world, public statements play a crucial role. This article will explore the significant impact that public statements have on marketing.
What Happened on United Airlines in 2017? The Incident That Shook the World
The incident occurred on April 9, 2017, on United Express Flight 3411, en route from Chicago O’Hare International Airport to Louisville. The incident attracted worldwide attention and became a major controversy.
Four passengers had to give up their seats as the flight was overbooked. However, no one volunteered despite United offering $400 in compensation, which later increased to $800. Eventually, four passengers were chosen to leave their seats using a random selection process. Among them was Dr. David Dao, a 69-year-old physician.
Dr. Dao refused to leave his seat, stating that he had to see patients the following morning. Security personnel were then called and forcibly removed from the plane. The incident was captured on video, showing Dr Dao dragged from the corridor, which quickly went viral.
After the video went viral, United Airlines faced widespread criticism for its policies and poor treatment of passengers.
CEO Oscar Munoz initially described Dr Dao’s behaviour as disruptive but later formally apologised, admitting to mishandling the situation.Dr. Dow and United Airlines have settled for an undisclosed amount.
What Were the Losses Faced After the Passenger Dragging Incident
Apart from the financial loss due to the above incidents, their reputation has been badly affected, as mentioned below.
Type of Loss | Amount/Details |
Market Value Loss | Approximately $1 billion loss in market capitalization due to a drop in stock value. |
Settlement Compensation | Reached a settlement with Dr. David Dao for an undisclosed amount. |
Policy Change Costs | –Enhanced compensation for voluntary seat relinquishment is up to $10,000. – Involuntary removal of passengers after boarding is prohibited. |
Reputational Damage | Long-term customer trust and loyalty loss due to global criticism and social media backlash. |
Legal and Operational Costs | Additional costs for handling legal matters, policy revisions, and operational practice improvements. |
The Cost of Ignoring Public Sentiment: Digital Marketing Insights from United Airlines’ PR Fiasco
The story of United Airlines in 2017 teaches us how important public opinion is in the age of digital marketing. A video of a passenger being forcibly removed from a plane seat sparked global outrage. The incident not only damaged United’s reputation but also taught an important lesson: Ignoring public opinion is not only risky—it’s also costly.
The faster the video went viral, the more negative comments it received. Hashtags like #BoycottUnited and #UnitedFail trended for days. This situation caused the company’s situation to begin to deteriorate. The result? Within a few days, the company lost nearly $1 billion in market value.
Lessons from United Airlines’ PR disaster:
- How a viral video can instantly destroy a global brand’s reputation.
- In the digital age, businesses must be alert and sensitive to public opinion.
- The brand needs to connect with the public.
- In any case, it is not good to over-excite public opinion in business
- No matter how bad the situation is, some reasonable steps should be taken very quickly to deal with it
- Reputation recovery through apology and policy review.
How Competitors Used Negative Marketing on Social Media
Competitors used the 2017 United Airlines incident for negative marketing, running satirical campaigns against the incident. United Airlines used the 2017 incident for negative marketing, running a satirical campaign against the incident
Airline | Campaign Slogan | Message |
Southwest Airlines | We beat our competitors, not you. | Highlighting their customer-first approach with a sarcastic jab at United. |
Delta Airlines | Delta means comfort. Delta means care | Emphasizing passenger comfort and respectful treatment. |
JetBlue Airways | We treat you like a person, not a seat number. | Focusing on personalized service and humane treatment of passengers |
Emirates Airline | Fly the friendly skies… this time for real. | Mocking United’s slogan while promoting their superior customer experience. |
Alaska Airlines | Flying with care, not conflict. | Stressing a peaceful and enjoyable travel experience |
Virgin Atlantic | A seat you’ll fight for, not over. | Using humor to highlight their premium seating and smooth booking process. |
How Small Businesses Can Go Viral
In today’s digital age, even a small business can go viral with proper planning and strategy. If properly managed, the right campaign for your business can reach thousands of people overnight. Below are some practical ways:
- Engage customers: Communicate directly with your customers and seek their feedback. Participate in various contests or social events so that they can get to know your brand better.
- Follow the trend: Create content that follows current trends or viral themes. But keep your brand’s core message consistent while following trends.
- Use social media: Promote your products on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Reels or short videos are more popular, so use them to communicate a simple message in less time.
- Use the right hashtags: Using the right and trending hashtags on social media will help your content reach more people.
- Share good customer experiences: Share your customers’ positive experiences in video or post form. This helps attract new customers.
- Make emotional appeals: Include a message in your content that makes people laugh, cry, or fascinate. Emotional content easily wins people’s hearts.
- Be patient: Going viral doesn’t happen overnight. Create good content regularly and be persistent in your efforts.
How United Airlines Recovered from the 2017 Passenger Dragging Crisis
They took steps after the United Airlines incident in 2017, which led to their agreement to recover their financial losses and reputation.
Below are their steps
- Instant response: United Airlines immediately accepted its responsibility after the incident.CEO Oscar Munoz sincerely apologizes for this situation. He expressed some of his views, including – We should not have treated our customers like this, and I want to ensure that this will never happen again.
- Compensation and Remedies:Passengers agreed with Dr David Dow to indemnify the passengers and pay him an undisclosed amount of compensation.
- Policy change and operational development:United Airlines has changed some of its internal policies and improved efficiency.
- There will be no more forceful disembarkation of passengers, be it for general or special passengers.
- The staff will be specially trained to deal with any future situation with unique skills.
- To avoid the problem of overbooking, they changed their approach and began offering incentives to customers to take seats on later flights.
- Clear communication: Announcing their new policy on all channels, including social media, makes everyone aware of their new policy, and nothing like that will happen again. It helps in customer recovery.
- Public apology and PR campaign: They appeared in the media to express their apologies and discuss the organization’s plans. CEO Muñoz appeared on multiple TV shows and formally apologized to customers.
- Control the situation on social media: United Airlines engages with customers on social media, listens to their concerns and shares details of steps. This lets customers know that the company is taking their complaints seriously.
- Brand Rebuilding: United began promoting positive customer experiences to rebuild their brand, which received warm customer support.
What Would You Do If Your Small Business Faced a Viral Crisis? Here’s How to Turn It Around
In small organizations, mistakes or problems may occur. Then, it is very important to decide how to recover from such a situation and win people’s hearts. Below is a short story that shows how a crisis situation can be turned into a big opportunity.
A small restaurant had been doing well for several years. It had online and offline booking facilities. Suddenly, one night, the restaurant had no seats due to overbooking. A group booked online but did not get a seat as they arrived a bit after their scheduled time. This dramatically upset them, and a misunderstanding arose; some sitting on the seats next to the restaurant took a video of this scene and made it viral on social media. The restaurant’s reputation is damaged.
Below are the steps that the owner took to handle this situation:
- Immediate action: The immediate owner admits his mistake and explains to them why it happened. And the owner will take his steps so that this does not happen again.
- Immediate Compensation: The owner offers them a free meal or invites them to return to the restaurant later with a special offer.
- Reactions on Social Media: The owner uploads a post or video about the situation, apologizing to the customers and clearly defining what caused the situation. Inform them that they have already resolved it. This move sends a positive message to customers, and other customers see that the owner is addressing the situation and working to regain their trust.
Later, they gave the new caption “We Don’t Beat You, We Care You” on their restaurant page. Their behaviour has a lot of influence on social media, spreading the reputation of their restaurant
Conclusion
As the United Airlines case 2017 proves, ignoring public opinion can cause significant damage to a brand. However, trust can be restored through quick action, proper communication, and sincere policy changes. Business success in today’s digital age depends on fast action, adequate communication, and sincere policy changes to address any crisis. By learning from mistakes, every situation can be turned into an opportunity. Because it is not a fault to make a mistake – it is a fault not to learn from it.
