Why Dennis NEVER flies ‘the friendly skies’ of United Airlines

Many of you may be too young to remember the United Airlines slogan coined in the 1960s and resurrected a few years ago: "Fly The Friendly Skies" of United.

Yes that United. The same airline that randomly asked one of its paying customers to get the f--k off one of their planes and when he refused, they bloodied him and dragged him off. The other three passengers that were selected begrudgingly left without incident.

I don't like being bumped either but I'm not sure I'd fight with three armed security officers until they literally dragged my ass off the plane. United is the third largest airline in the world and is headquartered in Chicago, but operates a huge east coast hub right here in Newark Liberty International Airport.

The majority of New Jersey residents fly out of Newark and are very familiar with United Airlines since it took over Continental a couple of years ago. Now on the one hand, I think it is the right of any business to tell anyone to leave. That is an unpopular point of view in today's "I have the right to be here" environment. However if you're asking passengers on your airliner to leave and you'll compensate them, you just keep upping the ante until someone bites. You don't rough up and drag a man against his will off your plane.

The PR repercussions will be felt for a long time to come as views of the many videos taken on the plane continue to rise meteorically. The problem with the idea of boycotting United if you fly out of Newark is that your choices aren't what they used to be. Your options are limited. I almost never ever fly United because I fly out of Philadelphia International Airport and my choices are different since PHL is a hub for American Airlines.

Back in the day, you might have a wide variety of airlines to choose from, but with consolidation you're stuck with whatever your home airport happens to have as its major carrier. I will continue to not fly United by virtue of not having to fly out of Newark.

So just be careful New Jersey next time you decide to "fly the friendly skies" of United.

More from New Jersey 101.5: