The incident, which occurred on March 31, 2008, when the band was flying from
Halifax to
Omaha, Nebraska on
United Airlines, resulted in the damage of a guitar belonging to Dave Carroll. After months of unsuccessful wrangling for reparations, Carroll wrote "United Breaks Guitars" to chronicle the real-life experience of how his guitar was broken and the subsequent stonewalling reaction from the airline. The song became an immediate YouTube and ITMS hit upon its release in July 2009 and a public relations humiliation for United Airlines;
The Times reported that four days after the song's release, the company's share price "plunged by 10 per cent, costing shareholders $180 million". A second video, "United Breaks Guitars: Song 2" was released on YouTube on August 18, 2009. The song takes a closer look at Dave Carroll's dealings with Ms. Irlweg and targets the flawed policies that she was forced to uphold. The third song, "'United We Stand' on the Right Side of Right," was released on March 1, 2010, as a humorous coda to the incident. In the song, Carroll sings how he is largely satisfied with the resolution of the affair since it has given his career a spectacular boost. However, he also notes that many people have shared their similar complaints with businesses and they must not be underestimated again. Carroll now gives public speeches about his experiences and his thoughts about
customer service. Furthermore, he has also published a book,
United Breaks Guitars: The Power of One Voice in the Age of Social Media. In addition, in April 2017, he was interviewed on Canadian media such as
CBC and
CTV for a domestic perspective on the
United Express Flight 3411 incident where a passenger was forcibly removed from a plane due to
overbooking. Furthermore, Carroll also released a YouTube video detailing his thoughts on the incident and how his third protest song already states his general opinions about United and how they need to change. In this situation, Carroll considers a fourth "United Breaks Guitars" song unnecessary at this time, although he reserves the right to write one if the situation changes enough to warrant it. ==Personal life==