No doubt, this video is shocking and appalling. I have seen an interesting explanation for why this is necessary on Vox, written by Matt Yglesias (a fine writer who I cannot recommend highly enough).
However, I have some thoughts on the practice of overbooking in general that differ somewhat from Yglesias' explanation for why this was "necessary."
Necessity aside, I think that there was a simple market solution to this: offer people more money to give up their seats. If nobody is willing to get off the plane for $100, offer $200. If that doesn't work, offer $300, and so on and so forth. Sooner or later, the price will get to the point where somebody is willing to accept the offer. Problem solved.
If offering so much money for a passenger to give up a seat on a flight renders the practice of overbooking unprofitable, GOOD! STOP OVERBOOKING!
I recognize that running a profitable airline is difficult, but so is running a profitable lawncare service or law firm. Difficulties in a business model do not confer on a business the right to unilaterally rescind contracts with, or assault, its customers.
If the free market is as magical as people say, perhaps that magic needs to work for all people, not just wealthy incumbent economic actors. In other words, don't preach the virtue of the free market when it's convenient only to disregard the vice of the market when such vice invariably rears its ugly head. Sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander, etc.
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