United is taking a stand against a behavior most fliers detest.
United Airlines flyers who hate to overhear another passenger’s device blaring content now have another tool in their arsenal to combat it: United’s own terms and conditions.
The airline quietly updated its contract of carriage recently, adding “Passengers who fail to use headphones while listening to audio or video content” to the list of reasons they might deny boarding to a passenger who has otherwise met all of their requirements for travel.
In addition to removing passengers from individual flights, United also reserves the right to ban passengers from traveling with United on future flights if the circumstances warrant.
Many other U.S. airlines, including American Airlines and Alaska Airlines, have a “quiet cabin” policy, where they request that passengers use headphones or earbuds when listening to audio content from their devices. United stands alone, however, in writing it into their contract of carriage—the other carriers do not specifically mention failing to use headphones for audio as a reason for denying boarding to a passenger.
Other airlines still have recourse if a passenger is a nuisance on board. Other clauses in the airlines’ contracts of carriage allow them to deny the passenger boarding, such as prohibitions on failing to comply with crewmember instructions or interfering with crewmember duties. It’s unclear why United chose to add headphone-eschewing passengers directly to their contract of carriage.
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United also added a short passage to an existing clause that allows removal of passengers for conduct which is “unlawful, indecent, lewd, or sexual in nature.” It expanded the section to include the “viewing of offensive content” as justification for denying boarding or removing a passenger who has already boarded.
Airlines have offered their own onboard entertainment for decades, but the audio is silenced unless passengers wear headphones. The proliferation of personal entertainment devices has made using them without headphones something of a flashpoint among air travelers—many fliers rate device noise among their biggest gripes about fellow passengers.
Heather Poole, a flight attendant for a major U.S. airline and the author of a memoir about her time in the sky posted on Facebook in response to United’s policy change: “I don’t know what’s going on at United with having to ban passengers who refuse to wear headphones but all I do is simply tell passengers to wear them and they usually comply,” she said.
When a passenger purchases an airline ticket, they form a contract with the airline from which they purchased it. Airline contracts of carriage specify the terms of that arrangement. Not only do they outline the circumstances under which a passenger can be removed from a flight, but they also specify when passenger tickets can or cannot be used, and how airlines will provide accommodations in the event of delays, cancellations, or lost baggage.
For United, putting the specific clause in their contract of carriage would allow their employees to identify passengers who wouldn’t comply before they board the aircraft. For example, a passenger in a gate area who refused to use headphones for their device could be turned away at the door instead of waiting for them to board. Removing passengers from a flight after they have boarded can be a lengthy, more difficult process, often requiring law enforcement involvement. Some airlines also require everyone onboard to deplane if they plan to have law enforcement officers remove a passenger, to prevent bystander conflicts or video recording.
United says it will give passengers a free pair of earbuds on board if they forget theirs, but they may not have a pair that fits their device.