The domestic airlines would like you to know that they are very sorry.

Delta is sorry about the time it kicked a family off a flight and threatened to arrest them. American is sorry about the time its employee seemed to almost accidentally hit a baby while grabbing a stroller. And United is probably sorriest of all, about the time it put a passenger on a plane to San Francisco rather than Paris, about the time an infant passed out on a plane that sat on a hot tarmac and, of course, for that time a passenger sustained a concussion, a broken nose and lost two teeth when being ejected from a flight to accommodate an employee.

Air carriers have become more apologetic in the wake of the viral video spawned by that last episode, but those quick regrets have not led to broad systemic change in policy toward customers. Even as customer complaints against them soar, the airlines often respond with a quick refund or voucher, an apology that grabs headlines in a local news outlet, and business as usual. Some compensation policies for bumping passengers are more generous, but the main impact on consumers has been a seemingly never-ending stream of apologies that are a catalog of customer relations gone awry.

Why call attention to these incidents? Justin T. Green, a lawyer at the New York City law firm Kreindler & Kreindler who specializes in aviation law, said apologizing reduced the chance of consumers’ pursuing legal action because it leaves them feeling as though they have been honored. “An apology will go a long way to avoid a lawsuit and is a very effective and economical way to improve customer relations,” he said.

The apologies picked up steam in April, after Dr. David Dao was dragged, bloodied, from the United flight “The Dr. Dao instance was a public relations crisis for United, but worse, the airline didn’t rush to say ‘I’m sorry,’ which led to even more customer outrage and even caused the airline’s stock price to drop,” said Joshua March, the founder of Conversocial, a software system that allows companies to engage with customers over social media.