United reaches settlement with passenger dragged from plane

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/>