United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby says masks incidents and disturbances in general on his airline are way down and gives all credit to flight attendants. Is the answer that simple or is something else going on?
United Airlines CEO Credits Flight Attendants For Lack Of Mask Incidents Onboard
While making his media rounds to discuss United’s new vaccine. mandate, Kirby appeared on the PBS News Hour. He was asked by William Brangham:
“[W]e have all seen these examples of airport and airline staff being harassed and assaulted at times. From a management perspective, do you feel that you’re doing enough to protect your people from this chaotic, dangerous behavior out there?”
Kirby’s answer surprised me:
Well, I have seen a lot of the news reports.
But I would say, at United Airlines, our mask incidents are down 50 percent compared to the start of the year. Our in-flight incidents are lower than they were in the pre-COVID era. And that’s because we have worked closely with our flight attendants. We have an amazing group.
The union has been supportive. Really worked on the training and given them the tools and the standard operating procedures to help de-escalate situations and avoid having things escalate.
So, at United Airlines, like, we don’t have zero issues, but we don’t have anything unusual happening at United. It’s really a testament to the professionalism of our flight attendants. We’re in a different situation, I think, than what you see a lot of the reporting at some other airlines.
Key takeaways:
- Mask incidents are down 50% at United from January
- Overall in-flight incidents are occurring at a lower rate than the pre-pandemic era
That last point is particularly surprising, considering figures like this from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration:
Kirby credits flight attendants, but is the implication therefore that flight attendants are partially to blame for a string of incidents apparently happening on other airlines?
United’s so-called de-escalation process requires a pair of warnings before a passenger’s refusal to wear a mask may result in a ban. In my own travels on United, some flight attendants are much more vigilant than others in enforcing mask usage onboard.
> Read More: United Mask Policy May Be Passive Aggressive, But It Isn’t Toothless
Passengers who fail to comply will be left alone following the two warnings. There will be no threat of diversions or arrests upon arrival. Instead, flight attendants will file an incident report and then United may or may not move to ban that passenger for an unspecified limit of time.
It also merits mentioning that United offers alcohol for purchase on all fights over one hour. American and Southwest, which have reported more incidents of poor behavior onboard, do not offer alcohol for sale, citing flight attendant safety.
So what’s the “secret sauce” on United? Perhaps it is a lack of aggressiveness. The ironic result? Less of a need to be aggressive. Or maybe it’s just the clientele.
CONCLUSION
Kirby credits the relative lack of incidents on United to his carriers’ flight attendants and the de-escalation procedures in place. I do find it quite interesting that incidents at United are below pre-pandemic level. If you listen to Sara Nelson, head of the union representing United flight attendants, you would not be faulted for thinking the sky is literally falling…
That Sara Nelson is nothing but a show boat. That being said, kudos to United for acting both in an efficient, effective and professional manner! We certainly are the best clientele up in the air ;)!
I hear you on Ms Nelson.
Ms. Nelson is a politician. Nuff said. When’s the last time she flew a months schedule on the line??
I don’t agree with United’s policy of avoiding confrontation with idiots that refuse to wear a mask. If people can’t follow a mask mandate, then what other rules will they choose to ignore? These deplorables should be restrained for the duration of the flight and then immediately arrested. Ideally, the idiots would be hauled off the plane and simply shot right on the tarmac.
Mr. Beria, thought you had died years ago!!
Russian history!
Matt, you’re crazy.
Death penalty?!
You need help.
Sounds like United doesn’t have mask requirements, just guidelines that masks should be worn. Not having rules certainly lowers the chance of having a problem due to violating rules. I suppose he just could have said “We don’t feel like enforcing rules and because of that we have less confrontations”.
The thing is, there is widespread compliance. I’ve flown UA a LOT during the pandemic and people keep their masks on for the most part…the soft approach seems to work better on UA.
There’s some justice to your point. Ultimately, do you have enough flying experience on other domestic carriers lately to make a valid comparison? Not picking on you, just wondering if you can accurately gauge things. Also, if I were flying and had some reason to be especially concerned due to immune system issues or whatnot, having the person next to me being warned but still unmasked wouldn’t soothe me much on a full flight.
I am United 1K, with 104 paid flights this year.
On my last UA flight, #2260, July 12, 2021, a man in a First Class lie-flat, seated across from my wife and me, was allowed to fly from SFO to IAH without a mask.
A gate agent and three FAs talked to this man before departure but they let him fly. During the flight I asked the Purser, in front of two other FAs, why they did not enforce the federal mask mandate for this man. The Purser talked to the man, who ignored the Purser.
After we landed at IAH I decided the rest of my flights this year will be with Alaska, American and Delta. Since July 12 I have paid for 54 flights, with zero of my dollars going to United.
The easiest way to report fewer mask incidents is to stop enforcing the federal mask mandate.
Was he ‘greeted’ by police or other security when he deplaned? If you got off before he did you might not have seen that.
So here is the onboard view, I fly with people who walk up and down the aisles berating people. Not my job, I am there to inform NOT enforce. That is how it has always been. The only time we are supposed to intervene is violence, assault or harassment of Crew or Passengers. I am a 53 year old white male. If I say anything I am a racist. (which I was called by two young men last year with BLM facemasks) I have been told to F**k off by a millennial. I am not going to fight stupid. There is no point.
If United isn’t enforcing the mask mandate, I can see families with young kids who can’t keep a mask on choosing to fly United instead of other airlines that are enforcing this mandate.
It’s entirely plausible that the lower rate of notable mask non-compliance is due to a more passive approach. If the FAs do not bother to enforce after multiple warnings, there’s certainly not going to be the drama that normally would ensue as seen on other carriers.
As a passenger, I’d be a bit more concerned if the person sitting next to me chooses to continue to not wear a mask. It’s not hard to wear a mask, but certain portion of the population would rather be kicked off a plane, or potentially infect others due to being asymptomatic, than to wear a mask.
If UA actually does ban pax for their non-compliance afterwards, I don’t suspect an antimasker is going to go on social media to highlight their non-compliance, or maybe they would as a badge of honor.
Not sure if this is due to their fiasco with Dr. Dao and the fear of another PR black eye.
The path of least resistance it seems to avoid the blow up on other carriers.
UNITED is the only of the majors and Southwest that doesn’t have a Southeast hub
It’s Houston and the rest are high vaccination, high compliance hubs
That and a more passive approach help. I also wonder if they haven’t gone as bottom of the barrel with fares as AA did
Let me correct Southwest has no Southeast hub but is heavy in the lower vaccination areas route and pax wise
My bet is AA, Spirit, and Southwest are the bulk of the issues
AA: CLT, DFW, PHX – all sub 50% vax states
UA: IAH
DL: ATL (much bigger than IAH flow wise), SLC
It’s like the NFL, officials can call holding on every play. The same thing. The procedure is to hand out a card after the second warning. If the rules were followed to a T, United would run out of cards.
I know for a fact nothing really happens to these Jabronis but only in the most egregious of cases. That’s the case so why should crew enforce rules for which there are no consequences??
Also you are inflight and someone refused to wear the mask. Ok, what shall one do. Report have someone meet the plane they don’t even get a slap on the wrist and get to make their connection. Yawn. Waste of freaking time really.
Hope the administration lets this lapse on the 13th….
We have to learn how to live with this.
My best guess is that Sara Nelson who leads a union-but does not control the world(!)-kicked Matthew Klint’s rear end in a school yard fight back in the day, and has rattled around in Matthew’s head ever since. Sad.
You know you’ve lost an argument when you resort to personal attacks…
What do you think happens to people who catch Covid (and die from it?)
Sounds like… a death sentence.
Get your shots, wear a mask.
Act like a caring, responsible grown up.
UA charges higher prices, so UA clientele skew more affluent, educated, and vaccinated. The airline treats them like adults, so they don’t have to pregame at the airport, leading to fewer issues
Unless your destination is a US hub, I’ve found their prices to be almost identical to those of AA and DL. Southwest has higher prices on certain routes which they justify because of their bags fly “free” policy.
Not my argument. Why is Sara Nelson a recurring topic in this blog? Ms. Nelson is likely trying to do her best by the flight attendants that she represents—just like Capt. Joe DePete (the leader of the pilot’s union) or Robert Martinez Jr. (who is the head of the machinist’s union) do to represent their members. Yet it’s only Ms. Nelson who gets the attention. Hmmm.
As to United mandating masks, perhaps if everyone is required to wear them, there is no “out” for those who don’t want to for whatever reason and that leads to less conflict.
@Batchcaloupe: oh dear. the 13th has come and gone. No reinstatement. Sigh.
I don’t respect people who lie to suit their political agenda. Is she lying or is Kirby?
The mandate is set to “expire” on SEPTEMBER 13th. We shall see.
I have to give kudos to United for thinking outside the box on this issue. The government requires mask while onboard but there is no reason to divert a flight or throw a passengers off the aircraft for noncompliance. The airline already has the customers name and seat assignment filling out a report and letting everyone else onboard get on with their lives is the way to go and it is non-confrontational.
United is really trying hard to change it image after years of bad publicity, I’m impressed with how they’ve managed thus far to stay out of the spotlight during the pandemic for all the wrong reasons.
I have said this for years.l on all the bloggers sites who all, this site included, fawn over the FAs. Yes absolutely, for a large share of incidents, it’s FAs escalating the situation instead of using their training….. at least on AA. I have seen and experienced it. Of the big three AA has, by far, the most Karens of FAs who feel their job is to make the flights as unpleasant as possible and see who can do as little as possible.
There are some great FAs, and a few are on AAs payroll, but they are few and far between. Too much unfettered power and a union who incentivizes laziness.
An interesting thing is that United has alcohol available for purchase on flights.
Perhaps AA not offering alcohol for sale leads to passengers drinking heavily before they board a flight since they will not be able to purchase a drink while on board.
Perhaps some AA passengers board already under the influence thus leading them to become hostile and confrontational when asked to mask up.
Belting down a few drinks immediately before boarding possibly contributes more to unacceptable behavior than being able to sip a drink during the flight.
Ua knows that the crew is not mentally consistent in their previous get tough stance so now the whatever plan is imposed. The fault has always been the hiring of a young, no life experience group of ppl who are trained by the same so as to save a buck for the company. This is cyclical at Ual. Mgmt can sugarcoat only so much until the next regime appears with the magic bullet answer. Ual could have information on their website as well as on their self service kiosks at ticket purchase for pax to read. THAT is if pax CAN read.
I think it’s the clientele. I notice a big difference between UA and AA or WN.
De-escalation in the air probably makes sense, but the article implies the only consequence for anti-maskers is a ban on future UA flights. Why not also report them to the FAA which can fine passengers up to $35K, and I think has fined some people around $10K for non-violent mask refusal?
I never have mask incidents anymore because I can no longer muster the interest or the energy to care about masks beyond reading the required announcements. Wear it. Don’t wear it. I don’t care. Let the federal govt enforce their own rules. I’m busy serving enchiladas and cookie pie.
Enchiladas!!?? Cookie Pie!!??
I want to fly your airline!!
I think it would be great that non-maskers just simply receive a fine in the mail. They’re paying the societal cost for their behavior.
As far as the comment on Sarah Nelson, you DO under that The Association of Flight Attendants represent more airlines than just United? Sarah Nelson also does speak on the flight attendant job and the industry in general. There are serious issues happening in the industry currently.
I do understand. But it still merits mentioning that she and Kirby have described totally different environments onboard. Both cannot be right.
It’s Sara, no H.
@matthewklint: “it still merits mentioning that she and Kirby have described totally different environments onboard”
Hmmm. Got a hunch that you meant to say something else. Perhaps different perceptions of the onboard experience? Trying to help ya here….
If you want to call out Sara Nelson because you think she’s a partisan liar, where have you been for the last 5 years?
@Batchcaloupe: you are 100% correct that 9/13 is the current date that the mask mandate expires. W/Covid numbers out of control, I also agree that nobody knows what will happen between now and then
Oh, I’ve been calling her out for many years here. But welcome to Live and Let’s Fly. And yes, the mask mandate will be extended.
I didn’t mean literal environments, I was speaking figuratively, but indeed I meant difference perceptions of the onboard experience.
I have not had a bad experience on my 9 UA flights this year. Ony my 3 SW flights the FA announcements sound like a welcome to cell block A.
Flew UA transcon a couple weeks ago. A man in Premium Plus had his mask around the bottom of his chin for the entire duration of the flight. Not even a warning from the flight crew.
Will strongly consider whether or not I want to tolerate that on future flights and will adjust my spend with UA accordingly. They have been performing relatively well under the circumstances, but if they are going to let a minority of snowflakes have their way at the expense of those following the rules, I’m not interested in doing business with them.