He added, however, that the man dragged off the plane had ignored requests by crew members to leave and became "disruptive and belligerent", making it necessary to call airport police.
"We followed the right procedures", Hobart said.
United issued a statement, that did nothing to clear up the situation. One couple was selected and left the plane before the man was confronted.
Overbooking is not illegal, and most airlines do it in anticipation of no-shows, according to the US Department of Transportation.
After the passenger was removed, the four airline employees boarded the plane. He refused, and minutes later, three policemen walked onto the plane to escort the man off. The airline called for police back-up. Less than a month after getting major flak for barring two young teenage girls from boarding a flight because they were "inappropriately dressed" in leggings, the airline is making headlines for all the wrong reasons, again.
United Continental Holdings Inc.
Oscar Munoz, United CEO, said: "This is an upsetting event to all of us here at United. I apologize for having to reaccommodate these customers", Munoz said. Photos and videos of the bloodied passenger being dragged off the plane by security quickly circulated on social media, and the company is now facing a major PR disaster.
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Bridges' husband, Tyler Bridges, said the passenger seen being hauled from his seat was a doctor who had to be in Louisville in the morning to see patients.
A United spokesperson confirmed in an email Sunday night that a passenger had been taken off a flight in Chicago. He said the airline asked for volunteers to give up their seats, and then moved to involuntary bumping, offering up to $1,000 in compensation. "Unfortunately, that was delaying the departure of our aircraft so in rare instances like this the next step would be to involve law enforcement".
The man was forced out of his seat by officials and dragged him down the aisle. Bridges said when the flight did depart a United employee apologized to passengers. The company told United States media that it had asked for volunteers to leave the overbooked plane.
The flight ended up being delayed by about two hours.
United needed four passengers to give up their seats but was unable to get enough volunteers to take $800 to get off the plane, Audra Bridges, a passenger who posted one video of the incident, told the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Videos taken by multiple passengers show the man's face struck by a seat armrest during an entanglement, with officers dragging him by his feet down the isle. It shows the guards grabbing then dragging the passenger down the aisle.
Once the passengers were allowed to board the flight and they were seated, Bridges explained that they were told four people needed to give up their seats to stand-by United employees that needed to be in Louisville on Monday for a flight.
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