Coach's Corner: Handling PR Disasters - What WE Can Learn from the Airline Industry
United Airlines has been in the headlines lately for a few PR disasters triggered when interactions between staff and passengers were revealed or even caught on camera. Just last week, American Airlines also found themselves caught up in headlines after an incident of their own.
United Airlines was harshly criticized for how they handled the various situations brought to light by passengers, and how they addressed the public and concerns after the incidents occurred. At first, it seemed they were simply pushing the problems aside. Only later, after receiving enormous pressure from the public and the threat of dropping stock prices, did United change their tune and issue a more full, sincere-sounding apology. It all turned into a perfect example of how not to handle public relations situations, and seemed for many to be too little too late.