WASHINGTON—Lawmakers on Tuesday threatened United Airlines Chief Executive Oscar Munoz and other airline executives with legislation to force improvements as they took carriers to task after a passenger was dragged off an overbooked flight last month.
Legislators from both sides of the aisle, many of whom fly back and forth to their districts weekly, recounted their own frustrations with delays and overbooking.
“If we don’t see meaningful results that improve customer service, the next time this committee meets to address this issue I can assure you will not like the outcome,” said Bill Shuster, chairman of the House of Representatives’ transportation committee.
“We are not going away, we will hold you accountable and we expect real results,” said Shuster, a Republican.
Republicans, however, largely back President Donald Trump’s push to cut rules and regulations they say hamper business growth. The White House has not weighed in on whether new rules are needed to respond to airline customer service issues.
Consumer anger at cost-cutting by airlines boiled over when David Dao, 69, was violently dragged from a United flight at a Chicago airport on April 9 to make room for crew members.
Fellow passengers shot video of the incident, sparking backlash against the airline, which initially resisted taking blame.
Munoz took two days to apologize for the incident. In an often-tense hearing room on Tuesday, he apologized again.
“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 told lawmakers.
“This has to be a turning point.”
The hearing was viewed a test of how the Republican-led Congress would respond to an incident that enraged air passengers across the country.
Munoz was joined at the hearing by United President Scott Kirby and executives from American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
