Pepsi is most likely thanking their lucky advertising stars that United Airlines has taken the heat off them (for now). The disturbing scene circulating everywhere captures a United Airlines’ passenger being wrestled by a security officer out of his seat and dragged down the plane’s aisle by his arms off the plane. The shockingly disturbing scene has raised a lot of questions about overbooking flights and the lengths airlines will go to sell out seats. Airlines normally sell more tickets than seats on the plane and when there are not enough ‘no-shows’, airlines try to offer rewards to passengers willing to reschedule (travel vouchers, gift cards, or cash). This risky process is essential for airlines to maximize profit. But now with this latest incident and United Airlines possibly suffering permanent brand damage, is it worth the risk? “If the initial reaction on social media and at office watercoolers is any indication, United has already lost a significant group of customers. Right now United would be best served to approach its communication strategy into two customer retention buckets; one for customers that are still remaining loyal to the brand, and one for customers that claim they are never coming back to the brand”, suggested a source. It is a really intense and uncomfortable incident and United Airlines is trying to repair what could potentially be irreversible, but as we’ve witnessed in the last couple weeks, there is always a new media scandal brewing.