The View | Opinion: There is life after a scandal for the atoning miscreant

Now that the dust has begun to settle, does it mean that United Airlines has been mortally wounded by the fiasco surrounding the forcible ejection of a fare-paying customer from one of its flights?

Many people took to the internet to declare that they will never, ever fly with United.

But history suggests that this determination to punish an errant company can be overcome. Companies have not only recovered, but even flourished in the aftermath of scandals.

This may even happen over at United, although the way this affair was initially handled gave the impression that the airline either did not care, or had no idea what it was doing.

However, the grown-ups appear to have muscled their way into the board room, and United is now starting to behave as companies need to behave, if they have any hope of getting back on their feet. Half-hearted apologies have been replaced by wholehearted apologies, compensation has been offered (I suspect more is to come) and the company’s big guns have been thrust in front of television cameras to promise that this will “never happen again.”

Usually heads need to roll in these circumstances but, at least for now, United is resisting moving in that direction; its CEO has merely volunteered not to automatically assume the role of chairman.