David Dao, who suffered a concussion and broken nose and lost two front teeth in the incident last Sunday, was forcibly removed from a flight to make way for a United crew member. If a passenger has to be bumped, that must happen prior to boarding.
Appearing to want to put the incident behind him, United Airlines chairman Robert Milton said in a note to employees: "We need to use this regrettable event as a defining moment and pivot off it to craft friendly policies".
United made headlines after footage of a passenger being forcibly dragged off a flight to make room for a crew member was shared widely on social media. "This is one of our initial steps in a review of our policies in order to deliver the best customer experience", CNN quoted United spokesperson Maggie Schmerin as saying.
"This [policy change] ensures situations like flight 3411 never happen again".
This policy came under fire nearly a week ago after a passenger was taken from his seat and dragged off a flight that was getting ready to leave Chicago O'Hare International Airport and travel to Louisville, Kentucky.
United released four different statements responding to the confrontation, including one - an email to staff - in which CEO Oscar Munoz described Dr Dao as "disruptive and belligerent".
All options on table with N. Korea: Pence
The missile test occurred following a parade that celebrated the 105th birthday of the late first Korean President Kim Il Sung. North Korea has fired numerous medium-range missiles, as Sunday's appeared to be, so one more made little difference.
The video has been viewed millions of times worldwide, and caused a global uproar and grabbed headlines in multiple countries.
Among people who had heard of the incident, 79 percent chose an American flight instead of United.
The United chief, who was awarded "Communicator of the Year" by PRWeek about a month ago, acknowledged Wednesday on ABC News's "Good Morning America" that his immediate response to the incident "fell short of truly expressing the shame" he felt after seeing the videos.
A lawsuit has not been filed, but Demetrio has indicated one is forthcoming.
A United a spokeswoman also said Wednesday that all the passengers on the flight would receive compensation equal to the cost of their tickets.
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