There is no question that United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby erred in taking a private jet to his home in Colorado while his airline melted down and thousands of passengers and crew members were stranded. But calls for his resignation strike me as equally tone deaf and counterproductive. Kirby is human…he messed up here…but he remains the best man for the job and precisely the leader that United Airlines needs at this time.
In Defense Of United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby – There Is No Defense For His Private Jet Jaunt, But He’s Still The Leader United Needs
Yesterday, I wrote about Kirby being “caught” flying private from New Jersey to Colorado during a week in which thousands of United flights were being delayed or cancelled. Did Kirby really think that would go unnoticed?
The optics were simply horrible and he should have known better. I want to compare Kirby to Jon Gooda, who is the Managing Director of Customer in Denver (DEN) for United Airlines
As Denver faced massive delays earlier in the week, Gooda could have been at home asleep in his bed. Instead, he was distributing cots at DEN, trying to make the situation a little more humane for the hundreds of passengers stuck there overnight.
Jon, you are amazing. I’m hearing about the cots you are personally distributing to distressed passengers as it now approaches 2:30am MT at @DENAirport. Well done. @united https://t.co/7jPT1GO5Iw
— Matthew Klint – Live And Let’s Fly (@LiveandLetsFly) June 27, 2023
Imagine if instead of jetting home, Kirby had walked through the terminals at Newark and helped distribute cots or water bottles or snacks to distressed passengers. Imagine if he had gone to crew break rooms where flight attendants were sleeping on the floor and simply voiced his care that he working around the clock to get operations back on track. Could he not have worked from Newark just as well as from headquarters in Chicago or from his home in Colorado?
Sure, some will criticize him no matter what he does (the pilot’s union comes to mind…), but that would have been a Herb Kelleher (the affable former CEO of Southwest Airlines) moment that would have tilted press coverage positive and actually displayed a leadership instinct that would rally others to his cause, even if he exaggerates over the root cause of this week’s operational issues.
But that analysts is incomplete. There is much more to the story than Kirby’s foolish private jet trip.
I wholly dismiss the defenses some have suggested like “he did not want to displace a revenue passenger” or nonsense like that. Or the idea that “of course” you would expect CEO earning eight figures to fly private. Well, Kirby is no ordinary fat cat CEO. He’s the CEO of what he calls the world’s “biggest” and “best” airline.
That said, Kirby’s momentary lapse of judgment does not negate the transformative work at United his tenure has been marked by:
- Kirby correctly predicted the severity of the pandemic, but also that travel would rebound faster than expected
- During the pandemic, unlike at American and Delta, United did not hastily retire aircraft, which has placed United at a competitive advantage as travel has boomed over the last year
- Kirby has invested resources in creating an industry-leading mobile app and software like “Connection Saver” or meal service preorders that has resulted in a meaningful benefits for passengers
- Kirby correctly determined that if United wanted a revenue premium, it would need to offer a premium product onboard and introduced United Next, an ambitious plan to modernize the entire narrbowbody fleet (with amenities like seatback screens, fast wi-fi, and mood lighting)
- United has continued to expand internationally and placed a massive aircraft order, with plans to grow year after year both domestically and internationally (unlike his predecessors, Kirby is not fleeing from competition, but facing it head-on)
- United is looking toward the future with electric and supersonic aircraft and meaningfully addressing climate change not merely through gimmicks like carbon offsets or sustainable aviation fuel, but through investment in carbon capture technology which strikes me as the best way to address the more adverse effects of climate change.
Beyond those specific points, Kirby is willing to get behind a camera and “tell it like it is” to employees. That style of leadership during the pandemic won him a lot of support. His latest lapse in judgment will certainly undermine that support, but it does not negate how he has transformed United from an airline that was struggling to keep up to an airline that is marked by innovation and hungry for growth.
Again, I’m not writing this to brown nose Kirby. I think the MileagePlus program has become far less valuable under his watch, which is a critical mistake, and it boggles my mind that he continues to invest so little in onboard catering compared to his main domestic competitors including Alaska, American, Delta, and JetBlue.
And yet I insist that Kirby is exactly the right man for the job at the time. Labor is upset that he has been unable to strike a deal with pilots and flight attendants yet, but it would have been no different under former CEOs Oscar Munoz or Jeff Smisek: the song and dance of a contract battle is always protracted and the CEO is always accused of being out of touch.
CONCLUSION
I don’t defend Kirby’s use of a private jet to fly to Denver this week nor do I blindly defend his tenure at United. But I think he remains exactly the visionary United needs at this point in this chapter of the company’s growth. This news cycle will pass and Kirby will emerge bruised (as he should), but calls for his resignation strike me as wholly self-serving and counterproductive. This will be a teaching moment for Kirby, but he is the one United needs at the helm during this critical period.
image: @scottkirby / Instagram
To be honest, since I don’t fly UA much nowadays, I ultimately don’t give a shit.
But all US airlines had their share of meltdowns since the post-covid rebound, and none of their CEOs got fired or resigned. This one shouldn’t be a firing/resigning, as embarrassing as it was.
But it’s fun to pick on Kirby because he’s the most delusional out of all the CEOs.
When you make millions each year as a CEO of one of the most important airlines of the world, I am sorry, you accepted a role and a position that should be above “teaching moments.”
He is not 24. Nor was elevated out of nowhere with no experience. This is a multi decade airline executive that is expected and paid to know better. And it makes me question entirely his ability and sense to run an airline of this magnitude. He should resign. Let that instead be a “teaching moment” for the board to reflect hard on its next choice.
Who would replace him? Brett Hart? Jon Roitman? Toby Enqvist? Greg Hart? Linda Jojo? A CEO cannot just be thrown out…he must be replaced by someone better or an even worse situation is created. I see a lot of talent at United, but not one who is better-suited than Kirby to step up.
I totally disagree that this mistake should cost him his job.
If worst case, he couldn’t close the deal with ALPA (and something like a strike happens) should he resign? I wanna know where you’re at on this
I’m not privyed to behind the scenes negotiations, but Kirby states pilots have been offered the same terms as the Delta contract. If United pilots wants even more, I say shame on them. Pilots deserve a new contract. Pilots have not seen a meaningful raise in years. But no matter how obscene Kirby’s own salary, pilots are asking too much.
He also said the FAA was to blame for this weeks meltdown. Which leads you to wonder if he often hides the truth with bandages of soft illusion.
I am lately feeling that a significant part of the issue that rests on airlines today are that executive teams are primarily long time airline insiders. It’s time to bring outsiders into the fold. I actually liked Munoz. I think he was far more impactful as a CEO because he was an outsider.
They can find someone to replace him and make these same big picture decisions. Heck, they had Munoz who wasn’t a nuts and bolts guy. It’s not rocket science.
That was essential in the post-Dao era, but now United needs a “nuts and bolts” type of guy who will set the airline up for success through growth…the status quo will not work.
Ok, then why not lure Dan Janki out of Delta, total nuts and bolts guy who understands balance and seems like a genuine individual. He clearly gets it and at the least was not an industry insider prior to Delta. I bet he would jump at the chance to get his hands on the challenge at UA.
The “status quo won’t work”, so you bring in a legacy guy known for pinching pennies and the “status quo”? That makes zero sense. Find a former amazon exec, or cfa exec to bring in. They understand customer service. Stop hiring these moronic spreadsheet jockeys with no applicational experience. That seems to have worked wonderfully in other areas. Sigh.
Jon Roitman is good people, he would have been handing out cots, water bottles and the like.
Heck most (except $mi$ek) of Larry Kellner’s team would all make better replacements than Cheapskate I will take private Kirby.
Gordon Bethune would be a good choice or maybe AA’s former CEO before Dougwiser Parker, Tom Horton who massively improved AA before Parker destroyed it would be a good UA CEO.
What’s Greg Brenneman up to these days? He was as good as Gordon, but younger. And when he visited the airport, he parked in employee parking and rode the bus with the workers.
Jon Roitman no longer works for United Airlines. He has been out for a while.
Unless frank lorenzo is dead, bethune is not coming back
This episode showed that Kirby is as dumb as a rock. I could do a better job because I’m not as dumb as a rock. So yes, there are better options. The board should show him the door immediately.
And even if you were to forget about his vacation, that the airline is so dependent on the basket case that is EWR shows a complete lack of planning and imagination. And then there are the excuses and finger pointing. That’s all on Kirby. The board should expect much more.
Members of my family have been employed with UA with me being the longest at 15 years. In my time there this man was the second most insensitive CEO for this company by far…his display of insensitivity towards passengers showed his true colors…just imagine how it is like working for him…
Who was the worst? Tilton?
I think I have to side with Stuart on this one.
It would read much better like this: “Kirby is human…he messes up all the time.” As @Stuart said, he is not 24yo anymore. He should know better. The Board of United, if serious, should place his ass on a silver plate tray and kick him off. Time for him to enjoy his house in Colorado. For good.
Kirby is a horrible CEO and just one bit less awful than Jeff Smisek. He seems to know how to suck up to the US government, but United is poorly run and flying them ranges from meh to torture.
100% agreed with you. However, many of your colleagues uses inflammatory headlines (United CEO escapes in private plane by by OMAAT) and provoke this type of reactions. Thanks for being as objective as possible as always.
Kirby failed to read the room and understand what was happening to his company during the week. When really bad shit happens Ceo appearances mean the world to the employees. Him jetting away shows exactly how much care his employees should have which is zero.
BTW It’s really funny to see that while I’m probably the most likely to make fun of Kirby here in just about anything, I have the most nuanced take about whether he should be fired, lol. I guess I’d feel differently if I was an actual UA customer
We don’t know his personal situation. it’s entirely possible that there was a really good need for him to immediately be home. Anyone with the means of him would have done the same thing under the right circumstances, including most other airline CEOs.
I admire Matthew for choosing to fly economy longhaul in order to maximize time with family when many other bloggers would not do the same. I hope there’s also some benefit of doubt here as well with everyone calling for Kirby’s resignation that there could have been an emergency at home.
It’s fine to dismiss the notion that he didn’t want to bump a revenue passenger, but isn’t there a potential circumstance in which he needs to be home? then he has to go down the option tree of how to make that happen and flying private is probably below a middle seat on NK or F9.
LOL!!! The really good need for him to immediately be home is called Vacation!! He went to his vacation home.
Were private jets using the same runway as commercial flight at Newark that day? If so, isn’t there the chance that his private plane took the slot for a potential United flight (or any commercial flight), thus providing further delays?
He’s a terrible leader that should be fired despite this. However, it’s doubtful they used EWR runways. More likely I’m guessing he flew out of Teterboro. That’s were much of the private traffic originates.
Initial reports suggest he flew from Newark (EWR) to Chicago O’Hare (ORD), but it appears now he flew from Teterboro (TEB) to Denver Centennial (APA).
That would make the most sense if he flew private. I haven’t really cared enough to dig into it.
@ Matthew — Sorry. He should be fired ASAP. You do not lead by abandoning your post and thinking of yourself first.
@ Mark — I’m sure thousands of United customers had an urgent reasons to get home, too. Kirby should have joined them in one of the crap hotels United uses, with a $20 meal voucher that buys you next to nothing at EWR.
“he remains the best man for the job and precisely the leader that United Airlines needs at this time”
If this is the best they have to offer…
I’m not saying he should be fired, but he definitely forego any type of financial bonus (cash, stock, or otherwise) for the year, at the least.
@ Matthew — I’m quite sure there are plenty of competent executives who could take Kirby’s place and do a much better job.
Who, though?
@ Matthew — I heard Doug Parker is available. 🙂
ROTFL
its the usa, how bout a non binary, trangender, homosexual overweight black lesbian with green hair and black thick rimmed glasses
If they can do a better job then why not?
The guy is 55 and has a net worth of an estimated $40-$50 million. Why ANYONE his age and assets still works makes zero sense to me. Why deal with this type nonsense on a daily basis?
He can enjoy every day of his life doing anything he wants for the rest of it. I fly for pleasure monthly at a minimum and I always see these guys who are 65-70 or older schlubs in suits working on their laptops on the planes. I’ll never understand why they are still working. Obviously not everyone was smart with their money, and some “enjoy” working, but it’s still sad to me seeing it.
Tomorrow isn’t guaranteed for any of us and someone in Kirby’s situation should throw up a big FU to his detractors and go enjoy his life. His kids will be fine with whatever is left for them, and they will be better people for making their own fortunes.
I look at Kirby and see that for him money is not enough. Leisure or comfort is not the goal. There is a certain type of person per-programmed to want to change the world…sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad. Why do people keep working when they don’t have to (financially)? Because it is about the chase – it is about the challenge.
“There is a certain type of person per-programmed to want to change the world…sometimes for the good, sometimes for the bad.” Well, we know where Kirby fits here. He is about ego and power. Telling his friends he is a CEO is all that matters for him. And he looks like the type of guy that money will never be enough. He will always want more.
I agree with you, and I think society is worse for it. There are other people out there that can do good work, but folks continue working unnecessary for what is essentially their own vanity. Why are there 80-year-old politicians? I don’t care if Kirby resigns or not, but his life endeavor is his own vanity at this point. If he runs a good airline and improves people’s lives then that’s great. But I think boomers refusing to step down is a bit of a societal ill.
I know I’m pretty unique among young(er) people (and my very nuanced worldview is too), but I love Diane Feinstein, Nancy Pelosi, Steny Hoyer, Mitch McConnell, Bernie Sanders, and Chuck Grassley. Biden and Ginsburg too. I hate the idea of term limits (for POTUS too) and love that our leaders are so old.
If you love old leaders then you’re living in a great time. I respect a lot of those people as well, but I admire democracies like Finland, New Zealand, and Iceland where they seem to value ambitious youth. Sen. Feinstein had devoted her life to causes I care about, but her time has come.
As a member of senior leadership, Kirby sets the example that others follow.
Now, hard feelings between him and all PAX & UA employees stuck in the meltdown.
Next time he approaches the rank & file to go the extra mile, guess what their response will be!!
The consequences of his action are not immediate, but lay deep in any future disruptions.
9/10 of the people here calling for his firing are doing so because they hate him for the vaccine mandate. As someone who had trouble getting into/out of New York last week I really don’t give 2 s***s that he flew private to get out. I had to fly
to another city and take a train to get in and was prepared to the same get out if needed. What he did or didn’t do doesn’t impact my life at all
You downplay the optics of the situation and his unique position as leader, but I think if we are honest with ourselves we would all take private if we could…especially in this circumstance.
Yeah, but when you’re the CEO of the airline having an operational meltdown at that particular airport…what you need to do should take priority over what you want to do.
What a dumb comment! Nobody remembers vaccines, Covid, etc… All that is in the past. Kirby is a narcissist and his ego goes above his head. He is simply incompetent and does not have what it takes to be a CEO. You do not take vacation when your house is on fire. Period!!!
Seriously Matt, if you are going to whine about “climate change”, then stop being a hypocrite and traveling by plane for leisure. Climate change is nothing but a money/power grab and the alarmism has completely jumped the shark. I’m sick of people telling me, or forcing me, to live my life a certain way when they are bigger hypocrites than I will ever be. Even with my work travel, due to my relatively minimalist lifestyle, I’m still in the bottom half of carbon footprints. Nor is it as dire as the pols try to make it. Hell, the ipcc has been calling for the icecaps to be gone since 2000……..
Dude, you totally missed my point.
I’m not willing to change my habits one inch. That’s the reality for most people if they are honest with themselves, even the hypocrites whining about climate change while flying private.
And climate change will have benefits and drawbacks…it’s not all bad. But more violent weather patterns and rising sea levels are not something to be celebrated….
Using human ingenuity to address it through technology like carbon capture or capturing water and desalinating it strikes me as the ONLY way to meaningfully address this issue going forward in a way that will create wealth and a better world.
Kirby’s not BSing “net carbon neutrality” with offsets and other gimmicks. If you actually look at carbon capture technology, it is it the sort of thing that left and right should embrace as a potential technological solution that will help to mitigate the more negative changes to the climate while not forcing us to cut back.
Those are media talking points, not actual science. Sea level has risen about 6 inches (high estimate) in 150 years. Also, warming typically leads to calmer weather.
https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/27/weather/tropical-cyclone-frequency-21st-century-climate/index.html#:~:text=The%20study%2C%20published%20in%20the,warmed%20during%20the%2020th%20century.
I’m sick of everything “bad” being blamed on “climate change” by propaganda artists. Take the wildfires for example.
I guess this is where I have my issue. People want to whine, and then not make changes themselves. Then try to ban my way of life because “it’s bad for the environment”. I’m tired of the do as I say, not as a do. Especially with respect to the greebwashing to convince the illiterate that they are “making a difference”
That same article also says:
“Scientists say that as the planet rapidly warms, extreme weather events will become more disastrous and possibly harder to predict. Chand told CNN that research into tropical cyclones is so important because they can lead to such devastation.
“The climate is changing, and humans are the major cause and contributors toward that change,” Chand said. “So understanding all extremes in the context of climate change is very important, and tropical cyclones are one of those extremes that has very severe implications on society.””
Yeah, the fear mongering that the data doesn’t, and hasn’t supported. Just like the ice caps were going to be gone by 2000, then 2008, then 2020……. Reminds me of another goalpost moving adventure. Nevermind the reality or data, let’s go with the totally accurate “models”.
Clearly you have no experience in data modeling.
So you’re basically arguing against an article you posted that was supposed to prove a point you were trying to make against Matthew?
Clearly you have no idea in using an article to support your point.
Make it make sense.
Not saying he should necessarily resign or be ousted, but he 200% deserves to lose whatever ‘performance’ bonus he’s lined up to receive this year.
Truly, what a waste of words to spend them defending the Marie Antoinette of United. I adore your blog, your reporting, your excellent writing style, but no. This was profound disrespect. And to defend Scott Kirby is profound disrespect to every United employee and customer. I vehemently disagree with your defense of Scott Kirby.
I’ll take that criticism from you – but I ask you, as I have others, who would replace him? Sometimes the enemies you know are better than the enemies you do not know.
Add to his ongoing contract issues with ALPA, and letting people go with the vaccine mandate (when no other US airlines did), one could really say that Kirby has a loathing disdain for his employees.
Unfortunately, for truly smart dude, his public facing comments and actions are almost always self destructive. He needs to wake up and better manage this side of himself.
I would’ve liked to see Larry Kellner come back to United. Despite his controverversies with Boeing after leaving Continental, he was a great airline CEO and Continental was a great airline during Kellner’s time there. it was under his tenure that Continental started putting IFEs in narrowbodies and ramped up the number of new routes. Continental and United under Smisek do not represent Continental under Kellner.
Matt, you’re a lawyer and understand weighing alternative views when making decisions. So let me give you another take from this 1K flyer: Kirby’s position could be more tenable if he wasn’t such a blockhead prior. To wit, him bragging about how UA was “the best airline in the world”, but yet can’t finish the pilot contract.
Then last Sunday, he trashes the FAA and beckons the WSJ EB to throw Mayor Pete under the bus. Seriously, I read an account of a passenger on hold for five hours, just to be told by UA agent it’s “weather and the FAA” that caused her two-day delay.
And wasn’t it Kirby mocking WN for their holiday meltdown? FAA “staff shortage”…right. How about operational efficiency in the face of weather so IROPs don’t propagate throughout the network for the next week?
His apology for getting caught doesn’t cut the muster. Dude needs to get down to IAH (or whatever hub is currently melting down today) lead and talk to his employees and customers, boots on the ground. It’s his only way to atone at this point, in my opinion.
Kirby has manipulated the immediate focus with the private flight. The buzz is all about his abandonment and not the important issue of mismanagement which is far more serious, and the cause of this failure. If the goal was to genuinely sneak away (which I doubt) he could have accomplished that. But no, the goal was to change the focus which seems to be working. Manipulative jerk.
It’s false to think Scott thought about anyone while whisking to Denver. He knew what he was doing and thought nothing of it. Pathetic how some people try to cut Scott slack. All the best to the Pilots and Flight Attendant Unions.
Accountability starts at the Top.
I think Kirby should have been gone before now and this is just the icing on the cake. Kirby has hosed his airline, the government, and the flying public. If United’s board retains him that simply shows that there simply are no replacement candidates in the world, they’re just manifestly incompetent themselves, or both. Kirby absolutely deserves to be fired but not simply for this one massive screwup.
You do drink the United Cool-Aid.
I think the Kool Aid drinkers are the one who are saying it was perfectly fine for him to fly a private jet because he would have displaced a “revenue” passenger if flying commercial. Or see no bad optics in him flying private. My view is not that simple.
Kirby is completely incompetent. He used the BS pandemic is an excuse to rip off passengers with terrible service and atrocious food, while begging for and taking billions in tax payer money at the same time. He then devalued and diluted the Mileage Plus program even further. Then he took years after the vaccine was released to partially bring back even decent service and food. He should have been fired for any one of those issues.
Yet they still have abdominal food service in premium classes, and in the lounges, plus the latest extreme devaluation of MileagePlus… he really knows how to keep premium customers happy! United has lost a significant amount of my business lately. By the time United Next rolls out it will be too late unless they make meaningful improvements to the soft product all around…
I had my doubts about Kirby from his bean-counter reputation coming from AA, but United has been the best-run airline in the US since the pandemic. It was the most vulnerable to being decimated by COVID due to its large presence in America’s most populous cities and on long haul routes, but it has emerged the most nimble of the big 3. Kirby’s tenure has been marked by investments to secure the airline’s success in the long term.
I think the man’s own ego as well as the failure to negotiate a labor contract may be the greatest threat to both himself and the airline. From over-hyping the airlines’ successes to failing to reach a deal with employees, this behavior is undermining the real progress United has made since the days of Smisek and Tilton. The private jet was just dumb and he greatly impeded his ability to actually work on solving the problem, since no one will take the CEO who decided to get on a private jet to avoid his own airline’s operational issues seriously.
And he owes his employees an apology for being a douche bag and running home on a private jet instead of rolling up his sleeves and helping out at the airport.
Agreed and he has apologized.
Matthew why are you such an apologist for United?
They are the worst run of the big 3.
And it all starts with their leader.
United should pay you for your free PR.
Since you live in So Cal you would be much happier being a part of Sky Team!
I’m not apologizing for Kirby’s behavior this week but it is being blown up absurdly.
This is a lovely “let them eat cake” moment. Guess Marie also had those who defended her.
I don’t see this as being blown up. He’s the ceo of an airline where thousands of pax and crew were being screwed over and he flies out on a private jet? Such leadership!
“I’m not apologizing for Kirby’s behavior this week but it is being blown up absurdly.”
Disagree with you here, not necessarily on the merits, but because you’re ignoring the elephant in the room, which is that P = R in the public arena that airline CEOs live in. While your arguments regarding Kirby’s improvements to UA over time are valid, the thing everyone’s going to remember now is that he chose to cut and run in his company’s time of need, p*ssing away years of accomplishments in the process. Yes, one mistake, but the worst possible time to make one, and now he’s lost the room (I’d also point out, the optics of cutting and running look even worse considering the victory lap he took over WN during their meltdown). Is it fair, maybe not, but in the P = R world, he’s not going to survive this incident.
I do think you’re affording too much credit to Kirby on a number of fronts, – many of the achievements you list were in motion well before his tenure began. The technology investments, as an example, began years ago and had nothing to do with Kirby – he wasn’t even at United when breakthrough evolutions occurred.
I’ve never seen or heard UA employees in recent times as upset as they are now. Staffing cutbacks, contract friction, a poor soft product. We’ve all seen the growth impact of moments when people are behind the CEO and when they aren’t.
Operational performance is factually worse under Kirby than it was under Oscar – again due to cost cutting and staffing model changes.
I don’t think this one incident requires dismissal, but I do think it marks the start of a period where he’ll need to deliver on other mission critical goals or be taken out. I also think the board will already be vetting alternatives – they’d be foolish not to.
All I see is how Kirby gutted the United Mileage Plus program even further. That you can’t know how many miles are required to buy a flight. He may have raised the yield required to become a frequent flyer but has ruined the loyalty program. Hopefully this meltdown brings a few people to question why they fly United.
Modern planes and lounges is something you can find on other airlines flying to/from the US. And as a 1MM I’ve chose to do so.
United airlines does not allow for human error within their employee groups. The majority of United employees are seen as nothing more than an easily replaceable number. Kirby needs to go.
I work at United and was in the middle of the mess last week. I agree with Matt here. Absolutely terrible mistake and blind to the optics of what was happening. But he started exercising his vision under Munoz. Oscar is a great guy. I’ve met him a few times. But he’s a “grip and grin”guy. He let those that worked for him run the airline. He had his moment too. He and Kirby still talk. I’d love to know what the conversation was after what he did. Kirby did address ways forward immediately the next day, which includes reducing numbers of flights from EWR. Compared to the competition he has a plan on how to correct things immediately. Look how long SWA went before even admitting there was an issue much less what to do about it. He is correct in pointing out the delays which snowball are issues with the FAA. That’s the root cause. Unable to maintain a schedule due to restriction. Hopefully, EWR will come under PHIL control where they are more controllers to handle the load. Multiple delays that led to cancellations over whelmed the schedulers. Fortunately, this is the first time something of this magnitude has happened at UAL. I hope that actually seeing the failure points things can be bolstered so this doesn’t happen again. Replacing him would be terrible right now. Next is just getting started. A new CEO would change the managers and UAL would be something in between what it is changing to and what it is right now. That would be a complete mess for years. What’s sad is in today’s environment it’s become a one strike you’re out mentality. I hope Mr Kirby has learned he needs to have someone looking out for the optics he presents in everything he says and does. The magnifying lens burns hot.
I think his comments to the FAA were spot on: you may not have caused it but it is now yours to fix. He needs to walk that walk too! As a long time 1k I am appalled by the way the airline is treating me, not providing most of the promised 1k benefits (which they freely admit they won’t do) and not even responding via customer care 1k to me (or when they do, making gratuitously rude statements). I believe they must now have 2 tiers of 1k: those who complain when they do not receive their paid for benefits (whom they ignore- like me- still waiting 2+ weeks and counting for my reply from customer care) and those who they’re providing the promised 1k benefits to (perhaps only the large corporate clients?). I would love it if you looked into this. I would love it if Kirby practiced what he preaches: you may not have created the appalling customer service problems, but they are now yours so own them and fix them. Reply to your clients, apologize, provide the paid for (and they are dearly paid for) benefits, and do better! In case you are interested in actually doing that: wendy@blisstravels.com
This sure didn’t age well.
Still “team Kirby”?
Maybe a few dozen more “accidents” will convince?
Then again he can’t be blamed for everything. I mean he’s only the CEO and is only getting paid $10M a year. Plus ANY airline can have like a dozen incidents in 3 months, one of which leading to fatalities. If you fired every CEO who presided over THAT then WHO would take the job?!
And yes, that was all sarcasm. This guy is a disaster and UAL somehow *continues to get even worse* under his tenure, a feat I’d have thought impossible.
Sorry, I do stand by my assessment. These latest instances of mechanical issues are unfortunate, but now comes the chance for United to put an even greater emphasis on a culture of safety.