United Airlines

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday April 12, 2017

Twitter skewers United with #NewUnitedAirlinesMotto

A day after viral videos of a bloodied man being dragged off an overbooked United flight at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport by aviation security fueled criticism of the airline, Twitter users poked fun at the airline’s tactics.

“We overbooked but you pay the price,” ”We Put The Hospital In Hospitality” and “We’ll drag you all over the world” were among the faux slogans being offered up on social media under #NewUnitedAirlinesMottos.

Others posted memes imagining Negan, the bat-wielding villain from “The Walking Dead,” patrolling the plane’s aisle. Another meme repurposed Monday’s viral image of a Florida sheriff denouncing drug dealers while surrounded by menacing officers by making the group appear to be standing in front of a United customer service counter.

United had offered vouchers worth $800 to anyone who would volunteer to give up their seat on the flight Sunday, but found no takers. Merriam-Webster says searches for the definition of “volunteer” in its online dictionary jumped 1,900 percent Monday. Merriam-Webster defines the term as “someone who does something without being forced to do it.”

Jimmy Kimmel quickly reacted to the controversy on his ABC late-night show Monday, with a fake United commercial that showed a flight attendant armed with brass knuckles.

United Airlines’ parent company CEO Oscar Munoz said he’s “upset” by the incident but believes his employees took the right action. (Source: Chicago Tribune)