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Home » United Airlines » President of United Airlines DEFENDS Family Separation…On Airplanes
United Airlines

President of United Airlines DEFENDS Family Separation…On Airplanes

Matthew Klint Posted onAugust 28, 2018November 14, 2023 21 Comments

a row of seats in an airplane

United Airlines hates family separation…unless their customers won’t pay to sit together.

Last June, United Airlines, along with other airlines, came out strongly against the White House decision to separate minor children from parents who are captured while crossing the border illegally. In fact, United CEO Oscar Munoz even laid down the gauntlet against the federal government:

[W]e have contacted federal officials to inform them that they should not transport immigrant children on United aircraft who have been separated from their parents.

> Read More: United Airlines Condemns Trump Immigration Policy, Echoing American Airlines

Family Separation Onboard

But when it comes to onboard seating, United is far less worried about family separation. Brian Sumers of Skift recently sat down with United Airlines’ President Scott Kirby. The issue of United’s decision to charge for “regular seats” in economy class on the basis of their location in the cabin came up.

You’ll soon start charging extra fees for what you consider more desirable coach seats. They won’t have extra legroom or any other amenities. Why?

Kirby: Well, we’ve got Economy Plus today, which has more leg room. There’s also rows that don’t have more leg room but they’re at the front of the airplane. Other airlines do this too. And so, we’re now going to let people select those seats as well for a fee.

That makes business sense. But is it fair? These policies make it tough for families to sit next to each other without paying extra fees.

Kirby: Look, when you go to a concert, do you think you should pay the same price to sit in the nosebleed seats or to sit up front?

I don’t know why airlines are unique. Every other business that has something like that charges more for a better product. It’s a better product. You know it’s a better seat. I don’t know why airlines would be unique by offering lower prices for a lesser product. That’s what we do.

Every analogy falls apart at some point. My analogy to family separation of immigrants is imperfect and so is Kirby’s concert analogy. The point of a concert is that you are watching something in the front. On an airplane, there is no performance from the flight deck or front galley. Plus, the seats are identical so I fail to understand how this represents charging for a “better product”. What do you think of Kirby’s defense of charging more for these seats?

CONCLUSION

My commentary is meant to be tongue and cheek, although the I hope the satire isn’t lost. United’s new move makes sense from a logical perspective and is actually fair. But life isn’t fair and this move will create new headaches for gate agents and FAs dealing with irate passengers. It doesn’t matter if the passenger is 100% fault for not ensuring that seats were properly assigned: United’s front-line staff will have to deal with the mess.

On another note, the entire interview with Kirby is worth a read. Furthermore, I must admit that Kirby is growing on me. I regret the degradation of the domestic first class product under his watch, but Kirby’s route planning and overall performance has impressed me. I’m particularly impressed that he focused on operations and accelerated the Polaris seat and lounge rollout. Let’s give him credit where credit is due.

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About Author

Matthew Klint

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 135 countries. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in major media outlets around the world and uses his Live and Let's Fly blog to share the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel.

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21 Comments

  1. kenny Reply
    August 28, 2018 at 1:07 pm

    “Other airlines do this too. ”

    That’s why they do it.
    Give the marketers credit, though, they’ve convinced (some) people that these seats are better, and convinced people to pay for them.

    • SAS Reply
      September 9, 2018 at 6:24 pm

      Such a flawed load of crap and justification by the CEO for trying to make himself feel better in his attempt at screwing over families like me that can barely afford the high ticket prices already. I don’t travel with my family of four because I love it. I absolutely dread it. My children are always uncomfortable. I’m always uncomfortable. No amount of money is going to improve my experience on these flights! I hate air travel and who stinking process.
      FYI…The costs are already crazy high, so now we get fleeced more for having the “luxury” of our family getting to sit together after paying $2000 just to visit grandparents for a few days because my husband has to jet back to work to pay off the travel bill? Awesome. I avoid flying like the plague and now I am further justified by my decision to never do it again. Staycationing it at home. My family can come to me.

  2. Bob Reply
    August 28, 2018 at 1:16 pm

    Wait, are you trying to say that you don’t think seats towards the front of a plane are more desirable (i.e. better) than seats towards the back? Because whenever I fly, I try to sit as far forward of economy, economy plus, first, whatever section I’m in and I absolutely think that even a seat in row 22 is better than a seat in row 38, and I”m pretty sure most customers do to.

    Middle seats should be relegated to lower fare buckets, or all basic economy tickets should be allocated to middle seats. If you want an aisle or a window, pay up.

  3. MikeL Reply
    August 28, 2018 at 1:41 pm

    Kirby…ugh

    There are really two directions a company can go to make money, grow and make shareholders happy…

    1. Offer a good solid product and over time, customers will be happy and new customers will come…
    2. Milk your customers for every dime possible and make the shareholders happy in the short term…

    Companies are all about #2… plus officers like Kirby get big bonuses… However, customers and even lower employees lose.

    • Christian Reply
      August 28, 2018 at 3:21 pm

      +1

  4. Troy Reply
    August 28, 2018 at 2:32 pm

    Sorry, Matthew, but I disagree.

    Scott Kirby defends this (not being able to seat families together), but it’s pretty clear that UAL and other carriers can’t seem to stop sexual assaults onboard. Excuses, excuses… I guess lawyers and the courts will sort it out (in a reactive way). After all, that’s what UAL is all about.. being reactive. UAL could be proactive – but why would they want to do this; it is almost like being proactive about anything is against all UAL company policies and mission statements.

    Frankly, I’m getting tired of it. UAL has been spinning all the publicity been investing $1 million here and there in their hub areas (IAH, SFO, etc) and improving coach meal ($$) offerings, but they but they can’t do anything about serving Costco/Sam’s plastic “peel off top” containers of cheese in domestic first class for breakfast when DAL and AAL are serving hot “traditional” breakfasts?

    It’s about time that UAL remember that while, yes, the stockholders are important, so are the customers – including those who pay, either in hard cash as well as with miles, to seat in the premium cabins. If UAL is not careful, sooner or later, those of us who pay extra to be seated in the domestic premium cabins will, as we say here in Texas, “cut ‘n run.”

    Thanks for hearing me out on this one…

  5. Brian Reply
    August 28, 2018 at 3:30 pm

    I really think Kirby should be replaced. If you want to be considered a “world-class airline,” at least consider improving economy, not just premium products.

    • Troy Reply
      August 28, 2018 at 3:53 pm

      I agree (simplier and more concise than my thoughts!!)

  6. D.A. Reply
    August 28, 2018 at 3:38 pm

    Easy for him to say. I bet his entire family entourage gets both uber- priority boarding and first class seats all together. Or…maybe he is not human and he has never had a little kids. Kirby would make a great Ebenezer Scrooge. He only thinks about the almighty cash to his pocket.

  7. Alan Brint Reply
    August 28, 2018 at 5:09 pm

    Personally, I hate the idea that families should be separated on a plane. If I’m a low income father who wants to fly somewhere, I want to sit with my family. But, I also can’t afford to. This is a business. United has every right to do this, and I personally think there is nothing wrong with their method to separate families not able or willing to pay. I obviously hope that gate agents will be sympathetic, and if I’m a customer I’ll do what I can to help those families, but I will understand if thats just not possible.

  8. Arthur Reply
    August 28, 2018 at 5:27 pm

    So Kirby sees the problem to be that the US is not charging families enough at the border to stay together? Or that if you are entering a United aircraft and your family doesn’t have tickets to sit together, it should just disregard the rules and poach some seats? What was his point again?

    Actually, I am no fan of having to purchase seating. But I understand airlines will sell low-cost tickets without seat selection because many people want that.

  9. Donato Reply
    August 28, 2018 at 5:58 pm

    I write as a frequent flyer and as a parent.
    I strongly believe that any airline has a right to create a revenue stream any way they desire. I also believe that I can choose what carrier to fly based on my preferences.
    Once there is a policy of charging for certain seats that policy is the rule and I do not expect to see families get a free ride over my hard earned money.

  10. Bapmaster Reply
    August 28, 2018 at 5:59 pm

    Wake up people, only Southwest cares about you.

    • Arthur Reply
      August 29, 2018 at 10:26 am

      I’ve thought the key to SW (besides limited routes and one type of plane) is that they treat the employees better, not the customers. Unless it has changed, SW only allows families with children 5 and under to board with group B. Even then, depending upon how many passengers are already on board connecting, you may not get all the seats together you need, but might get some nearby. I think many people with groups on SW pay for priority check-in when they want to sit together. And it seems to me that SW is often no longer the cheapest flight, at least on the routes I usually am looking at. But with an airline with no assigned seats, everybody is in the same boat.

  11. Can't Say Reply
    August 28, 2018 at 8:50 pm

    As a long term (and embarassed) employee of United, from the Continental side of this dysfunctional family, I think many point are missed in this article, but highlighted in the comments. I hate that I work for a bottom feeder, and am regularly ashamed of how my customers are treated, but expecting to buy discount tickets online on one of the many travel sites, last minute, and then expecting a family of four or more to find seats together is the most naive sort of US entitlement thinking. Should all of the solo or paired travelers who paid for their tickets, chose their seats, and made their plans, be inconvenienced, because you want to fly for the lowest price, with the highest quality service? When I choose to travel with my partner (and I pay full price on other carriers rather than fly on my own company metal) I pay for my tickets, choose my seats, and inevitably sit next to my partner. If I wanted to fly discounted, I might get stuck with widely separate middle seats, but at a lower fare. While I hate finding myself defending Munoz, Kirby et al, I would wish to remind you, there ain’t no such thing as a free lunch… TANSTAAFL has been how SWA consistently provides superior service, In the m3an timre, airlines pretending otherwise, spending millions on “friendly skies” campaigns while cutting costs, continue to languish… if we would all spend our money the way we spend energy complaining, these issues would self-correct

  12. Rupert Reply
    August 28, 2018 at 10:28 pm

    Your headline and article connect two things that might get attention, but are not really connected: Kirby is defending the right to charge for better seats and it’s a fact that passengers are willing to do so. Ryan Air has turned this into an art and charges a little more every few rows from front to back, just look at their seat maps.
    Whether that has any impact on family separation is questionable: families can still book seats together in the back or can book seats together for a fee up front, for less than in Eco+, just like everybody else.

  13. J Munene Reply
    August 28, 2018 at 11:38 pm

    Hypocrites justifying themselves as business men.

  14. Jacob Reply
    August 29, 2018 at 9:57 am

    What the hell are you trying to say. The headline looks like some article about another united incident gone wrong. The first paragraph looks like an article about US Federal policy. After that we go to some extended elaborate description with seemingly no point. Then after we go to seat pricing. How does this tie into separating families on United aircraft. I just get an article that looks like someone wants to s*** on United. Either learn how to write or offer some actual points and evidence.

  15. Angie Reply
    February 18, 2019 at 10:44 pm

    So, if you paid extra for your seat, you would be ok with someone’s 4yr old sitting next to you, crying because their ears are popping and needing help with their snacks because they can’t afford to spend $100 extra on their tickets??? I’m pretty sure I’d prefer a parent sitting next to them to tend to their needs and comfort them.

  16. Robert Reply
    May 10, 2019 at 10:16 pm

    My wife and daughter were booked simultaneously, yet United felt compelled to place them opposite each other to try and squeeze an extra $200 out of them to sit together. United, I look forward to your next strike or bankruptcy hearing. Better yet, your next maintenance audit. United tops the list as the worst air carrier in America. Good luck.

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