This Article is From Apr 14, 2017

5 Times Airlines Needed A Really Good PR Manager

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Offbeat Written by

The United incident is just one of the many times a major airline has faced a PR nightmare

New Delhi: Last week, United airlines was the one topic that dominated social media. A video of a passenger being violently dragged off an overbooked flight sparked outrage across the world. Thousands lashed out at United for the incident, many even decided to boycott the airline. The passenger, 69-year-old Dr David Dao, suffered a broken nose and lost two teeth in the incident.

It was really the PR blunder of the year.
 

Passenger Dr David Dao was dragged off a United Airlines flight last week

But airlines aren't new to such bad press. Here is the list of airlines who have made headlines for the wrong reasons

1) This wasn't United's first fiasco of the year. Last month, two teenagers were barred from boarding a United flight by staff as they were wearing leggings. Following backlash on social media, the airline clarified that the girls were travelling on a staff pass, which has a fixed dress code.

2) In December 2016, YouTube star Adam Saleh said he was kicked off a Delta flight because passengers felt uncomfortable that he was speaking in Arabic. The airline confirmed that two passengers were removed from the flight from London to New York after a disturbance in the cabin and over 20 passengers expressed discomfort.

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3) In November last year, a passenger found a cockroach in an in-flight-meal on a Chicago-bound Air India flight. The airline apologised for the unwanted ingredient in the food and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on the caterer.

4) In 2015, British Airways made not one but two bloopers. First, they lost Sachin Tendulkar's baggage and when the cricket legend angrily tweeted to them complaining about it, they asked the god of cricket his 'full name', something which made the airline a target of Twitterati.

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5) British Airways that seems to be a repeat offender with misplacing baggage did the same with Ustad Amjad Ali Khan's favourite sarod. The musician was travelling London to Delhi when the airline lost his musical instrument. The airline did trace his sarod a day later.

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