Both can use government to evict you from your seat or land.

CAEPLA can help negotiate a better outcome.

BUT IS IT WORTH A BROKEN NOSE?

What Landowners Can Learn From The United Airlines Incident

By Sean Corbett

BUT IS IT WORTH A BROKEN NOSE?

What Landowners Can Learn From The United Airlines Incident

On April 9, 2017, a man was yanked off of United Airlines Flight 3411 by police. 

For the next week, we were treated to photos of his busted-up face and crimson streaming nose. 

The public image of Dr. David Dao told many tales. He was the traumatic victim of unspeakable jackbooted thuggery. He was the luckiest soon-to-be-millionaire alive. 

Real soap opera stuff.

Let’s dial back the hysterics, and see how this relates to you, the landowner.

 “They can’t treat people like this!" 

But they did. 

Sort of like when “they” come to expropriate your family farm. Your options are swiftly narrowed.

You can ponder the justness of it all AFTER you’ve dealt with the risk at hand.

The United dust up gives us some good jumping points. Put aside whether or not it should have happened, and run some outcomes.

Vouchers are offered for fliers to give up their seat. No takers. So the offer goes up.

Still no volunteers. Finally, staff resorts to some computer picks.

If you draw the short straw in this case, how can you work it for minimum damage?

Escalating to a stand-off should be low on your list.

After the story broke, a few public cynics chimed in. They said that most of us would take a quick roughing up for the massive future payout from the coming lawsuit.

Dao’s ship had come in.

Maybe. Easy to say when it’s not your nose or your land.

A shrewd operator may instead see an opportunity to negotiate, without getting his hands dirty.

You motion as if to volunteer, and then you calmly whisper in the flight attendant’s ear that they'll have to do a little better than the current offer. 

You have them invested in the outcome now, and more willing to bargain. At the same time, you position yourself as the “reasonable” party, trying to help solve their problem.

In fact, thousands of fliers get bumped every day, and work it in their favor.

That rubber meets the road mentality is where I see the impact of working with CAEPLA. 

There is, of course, a dignity in standing firm for your property rights. But when power comes knocking, it’s best to have an exit strategy.

Preferably one that doesn’t involve the police and your mangled face plastered all over social media.

 The Playing Field Is Packed With Landmines, So Bring A Sweeper

Don’t take this as an anti-airline rant. It’s not.

It’s that the airlines (and pipelines) have options that you don’t.

As a landowner, you want to believe that you own your land. But the government can transfer it to energy transport companies. 

Like the flier who finds the police coming to drag him off the plane. 

It’s a rigged system of loopholes. You’d better know how to pass the loops and find the holes. Or align yourself with someone who can.

If anything, it’s about a measured approach to protect your family and your property.

The original United story said a young couple was picked before David Dao. They left calmly, and (hopefully), maxed out their vouchers for the future.