United Lost Almost a Billion Dollars Today

United Lost a billion dollars
Shutterstock
Shutterstock

Following a brutal video of a bloodied passenger being forcibly removed from a full flight, United Airlines has taken a dressing down on multiple front. The passenger, 69-year-old David Dao, was removed for the crime of not wanting to be removed from an overbooked flight. The airline has been dragged on social media and late night talk shows for the extreme reaction to Dao's refusal. The stock market responded accordingly Tuesday. 

Early Tuesday, United's market value dropped off a cliff to the tune of nearly $1 billion. By the afternoon, the stock began recovering after a third apology from United CEO Oscar Munoz, which was seen as more sincere than earlier efforts. (Tuesday's apology followed a non-apology that referred to the incident as "re-accommodating" a customer.)

When markets closed, the company's value was still down about $250 million from when markets opened Tuesday, despite the afternoon bounce back, reports CNN.

The drop was a clear message from investors as the company faces the potential for boycotts in the U.S. and China, one of United's biggest growth markets. Though a billion-dollar drop in a single day is eye-catching and graphs like the one above make it look extreme, the final toll was a drop of just over one percent.

Sign up here for our daily Thrillist email, and get your fix of the best in food/drink/fun.

Dustin Nelson is a News Writer with Thrillist. He holds a Guinness World Record but has never met the fingernail lady. Follow him @dlukenelson.