United Airlines CEO refuses to resign, apologises again

New York: United Continental chief executive Oscar Munoz said on Wednesday he would not resign, and he again apologised for forcibly removing a customer from an overbooked flight.

Munoz was asked about calls for his resignation as leader of the embattled airline on the ABC show "Good Morning America" following widespread outrage at the company's actions in the incident Sunday.

"I was hired to make United better and we've been doing that and that's what I'll continue to do," Munoz said.

Munoz reiterated his regret at the incident, which mushroomed into a global public relations disaster after the video showing passenger David Dao, 69, his face bloodied, being dragged off the plane went viral.

"The first thing I think is important is to apologise to Dr Dao, his family, the passengers on the flight, the customers, our employees," Munoz said.

"That is not who our family at United is," Munoz said. "And you saw us at a bad moment and this could never -- will never happen again on a United Airlines flight. That's my premise and that's my promise."

Munoz expressed regret for his widely-criticised initial response to the debacle in which he appeared to put partial blame for the incident on the 69-year-old passenger, saying he "defied" authorities and "compounded" the incident.

Munoz  -- who last month was named "US Communicator of the Year" by PR Week -- pledged a "thorough review" of the airline's procedures and said the carrier would not send law enforcement officials onto planes to remove passengers.