While American Airlines and Southwest Airlines buckle under the weight of an operation stretched far too thin and an employee revolt over vaccines, United Airlines is celebrating unity and giving every employee a $1,000 bonus next month.
$1,000 Bonus For All Active Employees At United Airlines
The announcement came from CEO Scott Kirby during a webcast from Houston Bush Intercontinental Airport this morning. Citing the hard work and perseverance over the 18 months, Kirby noted that all active employees would be awarded the United 100 for 2020, United’s highest recognition for employees. Furthermore, all active employees will receive a $1,000 bonus in their paychecks next month, what Kirby noted was a small “thank you” for unparalleled dedication.
The event also marked the unveiling of a brand new aircraft in the United fleet. A new “United Together” livery was unveiled on the 737 MAX 8, which will soon take to the skies and boasts the “United Next” interior, featuring:
- a new signature interior with seat-back entertainment in every seat
- Bluetooth technology for easy connections between wireless headphones and the seat-back entertainment screens
- USB and electrical charge ports at every seat
- larger overhead bins to provide space for more carry-on bags
- industry’s “fastest available” in-flight WiFi
- LED lighting
United plans to update its entire narrowbody fleet with these new interiors by 2025. Kirby said:
“Our United Next vision will revolutionize the experience of flying United as we accelerate our business to meet a resurgence in air travel. By adding and upgrading this many aircraft so quickly with our new signature interiors, we’ll combine friendly, helpful service with the best experience in the sky, all across our premier global network.
Employee Morale Improving At United
I fly a lot on United, including over the last week. I have to say that morale is noticeably improving. Flight attendants are chipper, gate agents are smiling, and I’m actually seeing a renaissance at United Airlines, even as the pandemic drags on.
I’ve flown United “religiously” for 17 years…even in the early Munoz years the trust in management and particularly in C-Suite leadership was not to the level it is today.
As other airlines buckle under their own weight, United is positioning itself to spring back from the pandemic as the leading U.S. carrier…or at least give Delta a run for its money.
Maybe Kirby’s aspirational dreams are not so whimsical after all…
> Read More: How United Airlines Plans To Be World’s Number One Airline
image: United Airlines
*US Taxpayers Giving Every Employee a $1000 bonus.
I fixed it for you.
Each Employee at United is a tax payer rJb, so essentially they are getting their money back.
@Bob: “Each Employee at United is a tax payer” this statement would be correct if each employee WORKS the whole year 🙂 If they sit at home and get bailout money, then they are not really “tax payer” 🙂 This is just my personal opinion.
Yes your opinion but Maybe you are wrong because by now all the employees the are working
Well-said, T.
+1
Why not just be happy for the employees. Also, don’t they pay tax payers??
There are signs that he ‘gets it’. I pray it continues. The UAL gang deserves it after a couple of twits running the company before Oscar. Hopefully the improvement is continuous. Delta has been king of that hill for a along time.
We have the best leader ever, he take care of us since day 1 on his job Scott is a great person and Great leader ….I be doing this job for 23 years and I love my job every day more and more thanks United we be the best and we will take care our customer
United is now the now taking care of employees vs American (Parker) screwing employees and retirees!
I worked for United for 20 years (’98-’18)
though some very tuff years and some very bad CEOs. It was always a great place to work.
Flying to Europe again next week. The last three trips have been less than stellar. I have not noticed any improvement in the attitude of the ‘passenger’ attendants. Fingers crossed that the $1,000 magically changes their perspective.
I don’t think morale will improve much while the company is coercing thousands of its employees with extremely long careers to have medical decisions forced on them or be fired!
Why does this feel like United is giving the US tax payers the middle finger. After taking billions to stay afloat, they have the nerve to give their unionized employees a $1,000 bonus? Are you FKM? These executives should be jailed….
Wowwww. YOU try being an airline employee during the last year and a half and you may have a different opinion
This article shows a terrible lack ok knowledge about the truth of what is going on. It stated that the author work in the aviation industry? Perhaps for uniteds PR department. The truth is moral is low, employees are overworked, often on mandatory overtime due to staffing issues. The so called bonus is a bribe to get people to take a shot they didn’t want. Not every employee will get it as there was a deadline. For those who wish to disbelieve me, I work for united on the front lines. I live it and no thus article is 100% crap.
They literally announced this bonus yesterday. How is it a bribe to get the shot when >99% of employees already got the shot? Are you confusing it with the other incentive of a days pay if you got vaccinated?
Maybe after selling their soul to the Biden administration they can finally crack the top 50 Skytrax Awards.
3000+ employees took a religious or medical “Reasonable Accommodation” that was neither reasonable nor accommodating rather than be forced into a vaccine that they could not take. Although all of them worked hard for the previous 18 months to position this airline for the best possible recovery, they will not be included in this “bonus.” Their crime? Not wanting to be forced into an action which violates their body or their conscience.
Where are you reading 3,000 medical and religious exemptions ? I’ve read 2,000 with a deadline of 10/15.
They chose not to be active employees.
If it’s bonuses for employees hard work over the last year the employees that object to getting the vaccine that have been furloughed should be getting this bonus is well
Hush money with a side of NDA.
These comments are something else. What a bunch of nutbags.
As for United, I’d much rather see the bailout money go towards employee bonuses than be used for a stock buyback etc. Good decision.
I just completed two different elite challenge runs with both United and American. The flights and flight attendants were definitely better on United. I have not flown Delta for twenty years, I will see how it compares to the other two at Christmas.
As a UA employee who has joined countless town halls and seen the pro and anti-vaccine comments, I can tell you the VAST majority of employees support the mandate and support Scott. And no, names or employee ID not required to post questions/comments.
Just take your nonsense back to Facebook and OAN.
The vast majority, as obviously stupid as they all are, might be fine with the mandate now until they realize that this will be ongoing and never ending. Enjoy your lifetime subscription of twice yearly booster shots until the end of your life or the end of your career. Whichever comes first.
Foregoing medical care to own the libs.
Hardly. if you haven’t noticed, the libs have been owning themselves for 10+ years now
Enjoy having a statistically greater chance of ending up in the ER and dying!
I’m doing just fine, thanks!
Meanwhile, from today:
Physician to FDA, CDC: In 20 Years of Practicing Medicine, ‘I’ve Never Witnessed So Many Vaccine-Related Injuries’
Dr. Patricia Lee, a licensed physician in California, said her experience with patients harmed by the COVID vaccine “does not comport with claims made by federal health authorities regarding the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.”
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/dr-patricia-lee-fda-cdc-vaccine-related-injuries
Y’all enjoy now.
“In the letter, Lee described observing “entirely healthy individuals suffering serious, often fatal, injuries,” including transverse myelitis, resulting in quadriplegia, pneumocystis pneumonia, multi-system organ failure, cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, postpartum hemorrhagic shock and septic shock.”
The airlines say they are unifying the employees by giving them a 1,000. This is after they fired the non unvaccinated employees and placed a rule to keep other unvaccinated employees who had to leave but were told they could come back. Not unless they take the experimental gene therapy shot. Nevermind that scientists and doctors around the world are fighting this (Doctors4covidethics.org) or that other countries have dropped this mandate. You have to ask though why certain union groups are NOT fighting back this mandate???
Me parece bien que incentiven a sus empleados, pero mi experiencia ha sido malisima, el año pasado dejé abierto 2 ticket de Chile a Salt Lake City, que por razones de pandemia los tuve que postergar. Cuando quise reprogramar uno de los boletos, la diferencia a pagar era más de US$1200, y eso que era clase económica, al final compré otro boleto para 24.09.2021, pesima experiencia, hasta frío pasé. Ayer salí de Salt Lake City de regreso a Chile y aún estoy varada en Houston, porque al embarcar el avión me dicen que mi PCR de antígenos no sirve para ingresar a mi país, nunca quisieron escuchar (una señora morena en la gate C8 a las 16.00 hrs aprox.) que en Lima estaría de tránsito y tan simple que no me dejo viajar.
Mi mala fortuna es que aún tengo 2 ticket abiertos mio y de mi hija), de los cuales pediré reembolso. Pésima atención, por ser culpa de ellos, me enviaron a un hotel (el más económico creo de todo Houston) debo salir a las 11.00 am y mi vuelo es a las 20.30 hrs.
Sin duda la atención de Latam y Delta, lejos muy superiores a ustedes.
This article is smoke and mirrors. United is not giving employees bonuses as a token of gratitude. They are simultaneously furrowing and firing employees who stand up for their right to not be forced to get vaccinated, and they are trying to prevent what the brave SW employees did last weekend to fight for their rights. I will seek out flying with airlines that protect the rights of its employees and/or avoid air travel altogether.
Hi Cheryl, You’re correct in saying United Airlines is ruthless. Ask the 650 foreign flight attendants who were based in United ‘s Frankfurt, Tokyo and Hong Kong bases, United closed the bases and fired them all… no compensation no nothing. Many had worked for United for 30 years!! Try getting a new job as a flight attendant now! The worst, most ruthless action I have ever seen.
Would love to see Matthew get some interviews with those displaced FAs.
Hey Cheryl, please do! Last time I checked no has been physically dragged to a vaccination site, forcebly held down and given the vaccine. If someone feels that strongly about it they don’t have to get it. They may have to look for other means of employment but it is still their personal decision! There has never in the history of medicine been something that hasn’t had a side effect. Ever!
Personally, I applaud Scott Kirby. As a CEO and leader he has to consider the best way to navigate a world wide virus since the airline flies world wide. He has to figure how to best protect the interests of the company, the share holders, and his employees. He has to figure how to best position the company to expedite it’s recovery as the pandemic wains and or the world wide population figures out how to work around it. A very simple way to say thank you too ALL the employees all over the world is to give award them the annual award that they give to those who didn’t call in sick. It’s for all the tireless work that a lot of employees did regardless of union or not. It’s nice to see a CEO recognize the employees that run the day to day operations that a corporation relies upon.