“This will never happen again,” United Chief Executive Oscar Munoz said in an interview during ABC’s Good Morning America on Wednesday. “That’s my promise.”
When asked if he would resign following the airline’s latest public relations blunder, Munoz responded: “No. I was hired to make United better, and that’s what we’ll do.”
The CEO added that he didn’t issue a more in-depth apology until Tuesday, two days after the incident, because “the expression of apology is important in a discussion like this.”
Explaining why the debacle happened in the first place, Munoz told GMA it was a “system failure,” where the company didn’t provide the right tools or resources to allow United’s “front-line managers” to “use their common sense.”
Further, Munoz said United will not use law enforcement to remove on-board passengers in the future, as was the case on Sunday evening.
Shares of United traded slightly higher in premarket trade Wednesday.
Initially on Monday, when a video surfaced of a United passenger being dragged from his flight by law enforcement, covered in blood, the stock climbed around 1 percent as Wall Street largely ignored the issue. But overnight outrage spread internationally, and the stock lost as much as 4 percent Tuesday.
CEO Munoz issued a detailed apology, his second statement on the incident, late in the day Tuesday, and shares pared back their initial losses, closing the day down around 1 percent.
“The truly horrific event that occurred on this flight has elicited many responses from all of us: outrage, anger, disappointment. I share all of those sentiments, and one above all: my deepest apologies for what happened. Like you, I continue to be disturbed by what happened on this flight and I deeply apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard. No one should ever be mistreated this way,” Munoz said in a statement.
Also on Tuesday, attorneys for the passenger, who was revealed as Dr. David Dao, issued a statement on behalf of the doctor and his family.
“The family of Dr. Dao wants the world to know that they are very appreciative of the outpouring of prayers, concern and support they have received. Currently, they are focused only on Dr. Dao’s medical care and treatment,” said Chicago attorney Stephen Golan of Golan Christie Taglia, adding that Dao’s family has asked for privacy.
Source: FactSet