INSTRUCTOR CHALLENGE ON ETHICS -

A major airline (XYZ Airways) was embroiled in a controversy when a flight had too many passengers and one of the passengers had to be removed, and refused. Police were called and the passenger who refused to exit the plane, was roughed up by police getting him off the plane. It turns out that the flight was a "partner flight" and did not involve any employees of XYZ even though the passengers and news media presumed it was handled by XYZ employees. A massive public relations scandal ensued and the CEO of XYZ had to decide how to handle the situation. Options included, but were not limited to:

Assign blame to the partner airline and revise polices with that partner airline.

Blame employees for bad judgment.

Blame police for the incident.

Settle with the passenger for a monetary amount and keep settlement confidential.

Take full responsibility for the situation and defend employees and commit to prevent a similar incident.

What would you advise him to do? And why? You may answer by combining alternatives or come up with your own ethical action amongst multiple right answers.