United overbooking backlash extends to China
The fallout from the shock of seeing a passenger dragged unceremoniously from an overbooked flight is playing out differently in China.
Yet the outcry is arguably more severe with perceived racism behind the backlash.
Dr David Dao, 69, was forcibly dragged off the plane and was thought to be of Chinese descent but media reports identified him as Vietnamese-American.
China’s Twitter equivalent Weibo has been hot with comments harshly critical of United.
It has become the biggest trending topic with more than 150 million views and about 100,000 comments.
Unsurprisingly many have called for a boycott which spells more bad news for the Chicago-based airline.
It has a big presence in China and has worked hard to be the ‘most-friendly US airline in China’, such as by adopting Alipay payment processing.
It is also the only US airline to venture into second tier markets in China.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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