United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is not worried about the omicron variant and even views it as a potential turning point in moving from a pandemic to endemic. While he made no long-term promises, Kirby also said United has no plans to require employees to receive a COVID-19 booster shot.
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby Does Not Appear Worried About Omicron Variant
Speaking to employees outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington DC in a video message shared with Live and Let’s Fly, Kirby explained that omicron may impact the resumption of certain international service, but will not be a drag on United’s 2022 outlook:
“My guess is that omicron is going to represent three steps forward, one step back in terms of demand in our recovery. Delta was probably two steps forward, and one step back. We’ll take a little bit of a dip in demand for the next couple of months We may slow some of our international return to service early next year because demand doesn’t come back yet. But by the time we get to next summer, nothing has changed about our forecast. By the time we get to 12 months from now, nothing has changed about our forecast.”
Kirby also explained the idea that omicron appears to follow the expected evolution of other viruses, which become more contagious but are less severe. There is hope that a more contagious, less severe virus will help nations reach herd immunity, the same way the Spanish Flu a century earlier eventually ended.
United’s Debt Payments May Be Delayed
One downside to the omicron variant is that it may delay short-term demand. While this variant will not cause United to change focus, reduced demand will reduce revenue, necessitating a slowdown in debt servicing.
“And what this emphasizes for really is that things that we were focused on before remain important. Financially, we’ve got to pay down our debt. You know the disappointing thing about something like omicron is that it keeps us treading water financially. We’re kind of at this break even cash flow level, and we really can’t start paying down that debt. We took on $20 billion of extra debt as we went through the crisis. We need to pay that down to pay for the 500 something airplanes that are going to be delivered in the next few years. But we’ll get back to doing that a few months from now.”
Even so, United finds itself in a better debt position than its competitor American Airlines and there are no longterm liquidity or servicing concerns.
No Mandatory Boosters (Right Now)
Even as Kirby admitted that the vaccine many not be as effective as originally hoped for, he frequently underscored the importance of being jabbed.
“I know it wasn’t a unanimous view on our vaccine requirement here at United but this really emphasizes the fact that COVID is not over. It’s going to continue to be with us and we’re all going to be safer if we get vaccinated.
“We don’t have any announcements to make. I would encourage everyone to go get their boosters. I have gotten my booster. I’m not at this time planning to do anything to require it. We’ll see what happens with the different variants over time. But I can assure you that all of you are safer if you do it.”
Kirby hedges his bet by inserting the “at this time” caveat, but will not require employees to receive a booster shot. Over 99% of United employees who did not seek a religious or medical exemption have been vaccinated. Those granted exemptions total around 3% of the workforce. Exempted employees in customer-facing positions have been placed on temporary unpaid leave.
CONCLUSION
Despite the onset of omicron, Kirby remains upbeat about United’s forecast over the next year. Debt servicing and the resumption of new routes may be temporarily delayed, but per Kirby, the future is bright. At the time, employees will not be required to get a COVID-19 booster shot.
image: Scott Kirby / Instagram (in front of the White House, not U.S. Capitol…he was busy in DC)
At this time my a**. Every single vaccine mandate has been blocked by the courts so far, except for communist DeBlasio’s announcement yesterday for NYC. why would Kirby play with the threat of even more litigation right now? He’s might be a good businessman but he’s a fool when it comes to vaccine mandates. I know there at least a few United employees who regret taking the forced vax under threat of losing their job. Please stop all mention and references to coercion on this blog. We are done with the lies and bs.
I should add please stop all mention and reference to coercion UNLESS you are going to call it out for what it actually is. That has not occurred yet, hence my omission.
Do you know what is going on with the United Club situation in Denver? I just saw that there is going to be a new tiny 1.5k square foot club on concourse B East opening early 2022. I was under the impression that the new lounge being built in terminal A was a United Club, but is that something else? What is the lounge situation excepted to be when all construction is done in Denver?
I doubt that is true, Matthew would have reported on it. Where are you seeing that?
Also, I doubt they would open a lounge that small, doesn’t make any sense to me.
I’ll cover it soon. Both will be built. Plus both east and west in B.
But, and an important but, what if the vaccine is rendered continually less effective in the face of a likely waning pathogen, will Kirby decide in his infinite wisdom to mandate a yearly or bi-yearly booster? Or, perhaps he knows that mandating a booster would create a major staffing issue, as uptake and popularity are, rightly, far less so. A continually needed medical treatment against a disease is a therapy, not a vaccination, but I digress. He mandated vaccines thinking it would aid demand on his planes, and now will similarly do the opposite to make sure his planes have people working on them. The lack of analysis behind the veil of his, and other’s decision making, is sad at the least, and propagandist at worst (Not directed at this big, just the media in general).
New Zealand Prime Minister: “There’s Not Going to be an End Point to this Vaccination Program”
https://summit.news/2021/12/07/new-zealand-prime-minister-theres-not-going-to-be-an-end-point-to-this-vaccination-program/
Senior Cardiologist Warns Study Linking COVID Vaccines To Massive Increase In Heart Attacks Is Being Totally Ignored
https://summit.news/2021/12/01/video-senior-cardiologist-warns-study-linking-covid-vaccines-to-massive-increase-in-heart-attacks-is-being-totally-ignored/
Healthcare Chief Says Omicron “May Signal the End of COVID-19”
https://summit.news/2021/12/07/healthcare-chief-says-omicron-may-signal-the-end-of-covid-19/
Keep in mind the millions of dollars that ALL of the airlines took from the Feds. If you don’t think it was a partial bribe to airlines to push the narrative, so sad for you. This flu still had a %99 percent survival rate, for the majority of the population. The drug (called a vaccine) being given out still is targeted toward the Alpha Variant, that is why is did not stop Delta. Luckily the Omicron seems to be following the path of most viruses and is a weaker one, once agin more survivable.
“Oh I have said to much, can I have my pudding?” president Faucci
They Were High-Performing Athletes … Until COVID Vaccines Destroyed Their Health
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/high-performing-athletes-covid-vaccine-injuries/
User Acura is spamming this post with links to the Summit News website. It might help others to know that Summit is considered to be a “questionable source”, see
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/summit-news/
questionable based on the fact that y’all are sheep and are brainwashed and willingly gobble up mainstream and gov propaganda
and perhaps you could attack the actual CONTENT of the articles, which are available on countless other sites, instead of the actual site itself. Go ahead, I’ll wait. The truth cannot be stopped no matter how hard you try.
Seeing you are such a pussy though about what sources you read, here’s the New Zealand PM saying it herself:
https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1468291374114119687
This article has all of the tweets linked about the study and cardiologist comments.
https://americanfaith.com/senior-cardiologist-warns-study-linking-covid-vaccines-to-massive-increase-in-heart-attacks-is-being-totally-ignored/
Regarding the South African comments:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-03/omicron-up-close-south-africa-s-experts-tell-their-stories
“Richard Friedland, chief executive officer of Netcare Ltd., which operates the largest private health-care network in South Africa:
“So I actually think there is a silver lining here and this may signal the end of Covid-19, with it attenuating itself to such an extent that it’s highly contagious, but doesn’t cause severe disease. That’s what happened with Spanish flu.””
so as you can see, the source doesn’t really matter, the CONTENT does. anything else, FOOL?
Lesson learned stmv: don’t come for me. I always have sources to back up my facts. I am not in the business of being wrong. Bye, loser.
Can someone take away the keyboard of Acura? Geez dude, chill.
you must have missed some of the other blog posts where I commented 50+ times.. take the stick out of your ass. Saving the world isn’t fun for any of us, but I know it’s most fun for y’all asleep in ignorance.
Seeing you are such a pussy though about what sources you read, here’s the New Zealand PM saying it herself:
https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/1468291374114119687
552 Fully Vaccinated Oregon Residents Died Of COVID-19, Half Received Pfizer Vaccine
https://www.ibtimes.com/552-fully-vaccinated-oregon-residents-died-covid-19-half-received-pfizer-vaccine-3352533
8 Top Pfizer, Moderna Shareholders $10 Billion Richer After Media Hypes Omicron Fears
https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/pfizer-moderna-shareholders-billions-richer-omicron/
I hope he’s right. But he’s facing some strong headwinds at home, from an administration that is bent on taking each opportunity to heap on more restrictions and mandates. You need look no further than how this latest variant was handled, total overkill. UA will get a big boost if/when Asia starts to open again.
He is right! Delta is 2 steps forward and 1 step backwards.
American and Spirit are 1 step forward and 5 steps backwards.
No other airlines except United has “effectively terminated” thousands of people/families due to their “reasonable accommodation” from religious or medically approved RAPs which is UNPAID leave for an UNDETERMINED amount of time, loss of healthcare benefits and flying privileges. He has driven people out of their homes and healthcare. This “CEO” is not a leader – he is an opportunist.
no one lost their job in the work area where I am employeed they just test weekly and are issued n95 masks daily while every one has to wear some form of mask
Are these for folks who sought religious or medical exemptions or sought no exemption at all.
can’t tell you their exemption status but out of 130 mechanics maybe 12 are on the mask program . testing on their first day back ( we have 3 rdo groups per shift 3 shifts ) they are given 1/2 hr at start of shift.
Interesting data point. Thanks for sharing.
They test twice a week, even while on vacation. There have been a couple who have passed out and been injured from the N95 masks, but not many so it’s all good.
As one of the 3% of Kirby’s employees living without a paycheck or health insurance, tossed away because of my religious beliefs and my doctor’s advice not to get the shot, I certainly hope he mandates booster shots. It would be hypocritical for him to discard me like a used tissue over his belief that the only answer to the airline’s viability was a fully vaxxed workforce and then suddenly decide that a workforce with waning/non-existent immunity was perfectly okay. Support Airline Employees for Health Freedom AE4HF.
the lawsuits that United and many/most other companies will face in the future are going to be so staggering and massive. I hope you’re in touch with a good constitutional law attorney. If not, recommend Mike Yoder in Washington DC. https://www.yoderesq.com/
https://www.instagram.com/yoder_esq/
Right there with you, 100%!!
Matthew, Thank you for allowing these comments above! These people are speaking the sad, dirty, swept under the carpet TRUTH. There are between 2000 and 3000 of us whose lives have been devastated by this unconstitutional mandate, and the “accommodation“ was basically losing our jobs for choosing our medical health or religious convictions over jabbing experimental chemical injections into our bodies. We are heartbroken! Unvaccinated passengers are safe, but we are not? If the vaccines are so effective, how are we unsafe to the vaccinated? You are at least reporting accurately, and allowing the other side to be heard, without condescendingly editing with the standard, broad-brush, mindless Fauchi regime bias. Very refreshing and very appreciated!
The mask mandates have to go. I have driven over 25000 miles this year. Flying sucks right now. Follow the science has turned into follow the fascists. People are going haywire on airplanes. They are heaping anxiety onto an already unpleasant process.
Matthew, what is this under the comments:
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