United is promising to make major customer service changes
The statement comes on the heels of a press conference, held by Dr. Dao and his lawyer, Tom Demetrio, during which Demetrio indicated that his client is preparing to take legal action against the Chicago-based airline.
Further, Dao's lawyer claimed the doctor lost two teeth in the incident and will require reconstructive surgery to repair the damage done to his nose.
As a response, United's latest statement promises significant changes at the airline along with a sweeping review of the policies governing customer relations, employee training, and the handling of oversold flights.
In addition, United has committed to refrain from involving law enforcement in the removal passengers from flights unless "it is a matter of safety and security."
Since the incident, which took place Sunday evening in Chicago, United Airlines has been the target of considerable public anger which was not helped by a pair of poorly worded statements from CEO Oscar Munoz. In fact, Munoz did not issue a true apology to Dao until late Tuesday.
Here is United's latest statement in its entirety:
"We continue to express our sincerest apology to Dr. Dao. We cannot stress enough that we remain steadfast in our commitment to make this right.
This horrible situation has provided a harsh learning experience from which we will take immediate, concrete action. We have committed to our customers and our employees that we are going to fix what's broken so this never happens again.
First, we are committing that United will not ask law enforcement officers to remove passengers from our flights unless it is a matter of safety and security. Second, we've started a thorough review of policies that govern crew movement, incentivizing volunteers in these situations, how we handle oversold situations and an examination of how we partner with airport authorities and local law enforcement. Third, we will fully review and improve our training programs to ensure our employees are prepared and empowered to put our customers first. Our values - not just systems - will guide everything we do. We'll communicate the results of our review and the actions we will take by April 30.
United CEO Oscar Munoz and the company called Dr. Dao on numerous occasions to express our heartfelt and deepest apologies."