United and the passenger who was dragged from a Chicago flight earlier this month have reached a settlement for an undisclosed sum, they said Thursday, in the carrier's latest step to contain damage from an incident that sparked international outrage. Viral videos of Dr David Dao being dragged down the aisle of a United jet and CE Oscar Munoz's handling of the incident touched off a public outcry, prompted calls from congressmen for new industry regulation, and led United's board of directors to reverse an agreement to make Munoz company chairman in 2018. United said earlier Thursday that it would offer passengers who give up their seats up to $10,000, reduce overbooking of flights and no longer call on law enforcement officers to deny ticketed passengers their seats. United has taken "full responsibility for what happened on Flight 3411, without attempting to blame others, including the City of Chicago," said Thomas Demetrio, an attorney for Dao. Demetrio said there was no need to proceed with separate litigation against the city. Republic Airways, United's regional partner which operated the flight that Dao was on, has also been released from responsibility as part of the settlement, Demetrio's office said. United said in a separate statement that it was pleased to reach "an amicable resolution of the unfortunate incident that occurred aboard flight 3411." "We look forward to implementing the improvements we have announced, which will put our customers at the center of everything we do," the airline said.<br/>
star
United says it will offer up to $10,000 to passengers who give up seats on overbooked flights. The change comes as part of a review following an inquiry set up after a man was dragged screaming from a fully booked plane early this month. Dr David Dao lost two front teeth and suffered a broken nose when he was removed from the Chicago to Louisville flight to make room for crew members. The incident caused outrage and widespread condemnation of the airline. Shocking footage was shared and watched by millions of people online. In addition to the $10,000 compensation offer, the series of actions announced as part of the report into the incident includes:<br/>No more use of law enforcement officers to remove passengers from flights unless it is a matter of safety and security<br/>Seated passengers will not be asked to leave involuntarily<br/>Crews to be booked on flights 60 minutes before departure<br/>Annual training for staff to handle "the most difficult situations"<br/>
Lufthansa posted its first opening quarter operating profit since 2008, as revenues climbed more than 11% and freight traffic rose. The German airline group, which also includes Austrian Airlines, Swiss, Brussels Airlines and Eurowings, posted E16m in earnings before interest and taxes, versus a E49m loss the year before. Adjusted EBIT was E25m, versus analysts’ forecasts for a loss of E45m. Revenues were up 11.2% to E7.7b, ahead of estimates at E7.2b. Ulrik Svensson, CFO, said the numbers showed the company was on a successful track thanks to “significantly higher traffic revenues” and a positive pricing environment. Passenger traffic rose 13% and cargo sales were up 8.3%. Nearly 5 percentage points of the passenger traffic increase reflects the incorporation of revenue from Brussels Airlines, which it acquired in December. “For a period that is traditionally difficult for the airline industry, we have posted our first positive earnings result since 2008,” Svensson said. “This is mainly attributable to favourable trends at Lufthansa Cargo and strong growth at Lufthansa Technik. This demonstrates the strength of our broad setup as aviation group.” He said cost control would continue to be a priority. In the quarter, non-fuel constant currency unit costs at the Group’s airlines rose by 1.4%.<br/>