如果你也遭遇美聯航事件,你應該知道這些事大綱

In case the viral video of police violently dragging a man off an overbooked United Airlines flight didn’t make it clear, let us repeat: Airlines often have more passengers than available seats and some carriers, apparently, aren’t afraid to kick you off.

警察暴力地把一名男子從一架超售的聯合航空公司航班中強行拉走，如果這個瘋狂傳播的視頻還不夠清楚的話，我們再重複一遍：航空公司經常會有多於可用客座數的乘客，而且一些公司顯然並不怕把你踢走。

1. Why are there more tickets than seats?

爲什麼機票會比座位多呢？

Airlines frequently sell more seats on their flights than the airplane holds, a way to guard against passengers who cancel or somehow fail to make it to the airport. It’s legal and no airline wants to give passengers compensation, so United’s incident also exposes a poorly managed inventory system.

與飛機可載乘客數相比，航空公司經常會售出更多的機票，以此防止乘客取消航班或由於某種未知原因而無法到達機場。這是合法的，而且沒有哪家航空公司想給乘客補償，所以聯合航空的事件也暴露了（航空公司）管理不善的庫存系統。

2. Do I have to get off the airplane?

我一定要下飛機嗎？

Yes. There are two ways passengers can be denied boarding: voluntarily and involuntarily. The US Department of Transportation requires airlines to first seek volunteers to take a later flight and carriers will generally offer compensation in the form of a voucher for future travel.

是的。乘客可能會被拒絕登機並且有兩種方式：自願的和非自願的。美國交通部要求航空公司首先尋找自願換乘隨後航班的乘客，而且航空公司一般會爲乘客提供代金券形式的補償用於未來出行。

3. What if no one wants to take another flight?

如果沒人想換乘其他航班怎麼辦？

This is where airlines get nervous, and passengers should too. Without volunteers, airlines can pick passengers at random to get bumped. The Department of Transportation and airlines’ contracts of carriage spell out the amount of compensation, which depends on the fare and how long it will be before bumped passenger can fly.

這就是航空公司緊張不安的地方，而且乘客也應爲此而緊張。沒有自願的乘客，航空公司就可以隨機挑選顧客趕下飛機。交通部以及航空公司的運輸合同詳細說明了補償金額，而這取決於票價以及被趕下飛機的乘客多久才能啓程。

The passenger in the video was reportedly a doctor who refused to be bumped because he had patients scheduled the next day, according to the Courier-Journal.

據《信使日報》報道，視頻中拒絕下飛機的乘客是一名醫生，因爲他第二天有預約的病人。

4. Can an airline forcibly remove me?

航空公司可以強行趕我走嗎？

Yes. Airlines have a low bar for kicking passengers off planes. An airline can remove you from a flight for screaming at passengers, singing, or even for smelling badly.

是的。航空公司在趕乘客下飛機上有較低的限制。一家航空公司可以因你朝乘客大喊大叫，唱歌，甚至是身上有異味等理由把你趕下飛機。

Under those rules, the United crew generally would be allowed to deem the passenger a security risk merely for his refusal to obey crew instructions. That brings on airport security or the police.

在這樣的規定下，聯合航空的機組人員通常會被允許認定這名乘客爲危險分子，僅僅因爲這名乘客拒絕遵守機組人員的指令，而這會招來機場安檢人員或警察。

5. Isn’t there a better way?

難道沒有更好的方式嗎？

Probably. Higher compensation to the passengers might have drawn more volunteers, and saved the airline from yet another public-relations black eye.

可能有。給予乘客更高的補償也許會吸引更多自願換乘的乘客，並且使航空公司免於進行再一次的醜聞公關。