United Airlines' Passenger Ejection May Cause Permanent Brand Damage, Experts Say
Posted in: Uncategorized
Pepsi may be secretly thanking United Airlines today as social media backlash has shifted from the beverage brand’s Kendall Jenner ad fiasco to the airline company after a video surfaced Sunday evening of a passenger being forcibly removed from an overbooked flight.
Brand and communications experts told Ad Age that this public relations nightmare could impact UA’s reputation and business results in the long run, especially with the incident following just weeks after another sticky situation in which two teenagers were stopped from boarding a flight for wearing leggings. In that incident, though, the airline said the girls were traveling on “buddy passes,” which requires adherence to a policy dress code.
Despite the social media storm, stocks for UA parent United Continental Holdings were up about 1% on Monday afternoon. Also, the airline has no current plans to alter its advertising schedule, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Edelman is United Airlines’ PR agency of record and McGarryBowen is the brand’s advertising partner. Representatives from both agencies were not immediately available for comment.
Post a Comment