United CEO Oscar Munoz Got Grilled By D.C. Lawmakers

By Stephen Gossett in News on May 2, 2017 9:20PM

United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz testifies before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee about oversight of U.S. airline customer service in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill May 2, 2017 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The mea-culpa tour and we-will-improve parade for United Airlines climbed all the way to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, as CEO Oscar Munoz this time apologized to House committee in Washington D.C.—although he was the far from the only airline exec to feel the heat from the panel; and the dragging fiasco was just one in a litany of air travel-related grievances expressed by lawmakers.

"The reason I'm sitting here today is because on April 9, we had a serious breach of public trust," Munoz told the US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, according to ABC News.

"I'm personally sorry for the fact that my immediate response and the response of our airline was inadequate to that moment," he added, seemingly in reference to his notorious, outrage-inducing "re-accommodate" comment and initial characterization of Dr. David Dao—the passenger who was violently dragged down the plane's aisle—as "disruptive and belligerent."

But representatives extended their righteous anger beyond Munoz and involuntary bumping, as executives from American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and Alaska Airlines were taken to task over everything from industry consolidation to added fees and general passenger rights. When they did zero in on Munoz, reps were sometimes almost comically pointed.

"Why do you hate the American people?" asked Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-CA, according to CNBC. "I was going to ask how much do you hate the American people, but I'm not going to ask that."

Whether or not Congress actually takes steps to regulate airline customer service will depend on whether companies can prove they've made amends and changed their ways, the Tribune reports.

Dao, a 69-year-old Kentucky doctor, was dragged off a United airline in April after he refused to give up his seat on the fully booked plane in order to make room space for airline staff. He suffered a broken nose and concussion and lost two front teeth, according to his lawyer. Dao settled with United Airlines for an undisclosed amount on Friday.