Video of a passenger being forcibly and roughly dragged from a United Airlines flight by law enforcement officers created outrage from customers and social media observers. The male passenger was apparently ordered to give up his seat because the April 9 flight from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky, was over-sold and airline gate staff could not get anyone to volunteer to give up their seats. It appears that United needed at least 4 seats for flight crew who were enroute to their next shift. The video clearly shows one of the men grabbing the passenger, who screams, then dragging him on the floor by his arms toward the front of the aircraft. In the struggle, the passenger appears to hit his head against the headrest. United’s CE has acknowledged the incident and called it “upsetting”. <br/>
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United Continental Holdings Monday raised its forecast for Q1 flight capacity. The airline said it expects capacity growth of 2.6% for the quarter ended March 31, compared to a prior forecast of a 1-2% increase. United said the increase in the forecast was driven mainly by an improvement in mainline completion factor in Q1, which resulted in higher flight capacity. The carrier also said it expects Q1 passenger unit revenue to be about flat, compared to a year earlier. "Better than expected close-in traffic in March offset higher than anticipated completion factor in the quarter," United said of the unit revenue forecast. Last week, Delta Air Lines lowered its Q1 passenger unit revenue forecast for the second time, citing slower-than-expected improvement in average fare prices for flights booked at the last minute. <br/>
THAI and Bangkok Airways have entered a codeshare agreement which will remain effective until late October. The two airlines signed the agreement Monday. It covers 15 routes. Bangkok Airways will operate 10 domestic routes. They are Chiang Mai - Mae Hong Son; Samui - Phuket and between Bangkok and Samui, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket, Krabi, Lampang, Sukhothai and Trat. The airline will also operate 4 international round-trip routes between Bangkok and Danang in Vietnam, Luang Prabang in Laos, Maldives and Siem Reap in Cambodia. THAI will open 1 round-trip route between Bangkok and Singapore. More routes to be operated by THAI are still in the consideration process. THAI hoped its ticket sales would increase 20-30% from this codeshare, up from approximately THB170b last year. <br/>