U.S. lawmakers have put the nation's airlines on notice: Improve customer service or we will make you.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee held a hearing for top airline executives to testify, and to determine how Congress might respond after a passenger was violently dragged off an overbooked United Airlines flight.
“Seize this opportunity,” committee Chairman Bill Shuster, a Pennsylvania Republican, told United CEO Oscar Munoz and other airline executives at a hearing. Otherwise, “we're going to act and you're not going to like it,” he said, predicting a “one-size-fits-all” solution that may serve some airlines but not all.
Munoz apologized repeatedly for the removal of David Dao, 69, who last month refused to give up his seat to make room for airline employees. The video of airport police dragging Dao from his seat went viral.
“In that moment for our customers and our company we failed, and so as CEO, at the end of the day, that is on me,” Munoz said. “This has to be a turning point.”
Munoz was joined at the hearing by United President Scott Kirby and executives from American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
美国国会议员们告诫美国各大航空公司，主动改善乘客服务，否则将迫使他们改善。
美国众议院交通和基础设施委员会为美国各大航空公司的高管举行了一场听证会，听取他们的证词，以决定在一名乘客被暴力拖拽出美联航一次超额售票的航班事件后，国会将如何做出反应。
委员会主席比尔·舒斯特在听证会上告诉美联航首席执行官奥斯卡·穆诺兹和美国其他航空公司高管说，“抓住这次机会”。他说，否则“我们将采取你们不会喜欢的行动” 。他同时预计，“一刀切”的方法只适用于一些航空公司，而不是所有航空公司。
上个月，69岁的乘客杜成德拒绝为美联航职员让位而被强行拖走，机场警方从座位上拖拽杜成德的视频在网上疯传。美联航首席执行官穆诺兹一再为此道歉。
穆诺兹说，“那一刻，对于我们的乘客和我们公司而言，我们失败了，作为首席执行官也一样，最终这都是我的失职。这必须成为一个转折点”。
与穆诺兹一起参加听证会的还有美联航董事长斯科特·科尔比，以及来自美利坚航空公司、西南航空公司以及阿拉斯加航空公司的高管。