Among the many interesting remarks made by United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby yesterday, I found his reference to customers as “sticky” both interesting and quite compelling.
United Airlines CEO: Customers Are “Sticky”
Kirby appeared with other airline CEOs at the annual J.P. Morgan Industrials Conference on March 11, 2025. During his talk, Kirby emphasized how “sticky” a segment of the flying public tends to be. I’ll include extended remarks so you have proper context:
You need to think about why customers choose an airline. And broadly speaking, I think there are two ways they choose. There’s a large set of customers who typically are infrequent, don’t travel a lot, they choose an airline based on schedule and price. That’s what we talk about in the industry a lot, schedule and price.
They’re much more commoditized customers. And there’s a large segment of the important to us. There are two we can’t ignore it. That’s what Basic Economy, in particular, has done for us. And we’ve gotten to a point where we win we’re going to win our fair share of brand of those price sensitive customers.
But the real game in airlines is to win brand loyal customers. What I mean by brand loyal, these are people that fly a lot. They’re typically not out price shopping on every flight. What do those customers care about? Well, first, they do care about schedule and price.
The price is generally on a large level the same on average, it’s the same at all the big airlines. So we kind of almost put that aside. They care about the schedule. So if you’re a brand loyal customer, you’re going to fly a lot, you live in Dallas, you may like or dislike things about American Airlines, but you’re going to be American Airlines brand loyal customer. If you live in Atlanta, you’re going to be Delta.
That typically is number one. But in all those competitive markets and most of the country is competitive, whether you’re in Chicago or New York or Los Angeles or Nashville or Grand Rapids, all of the other parts of the country that aren’t people that don’t live in those big hubs are up for grabs for brand loyal customers. What do those customers care about? Well, the schedule matters, but the schedule in most of those cases is equal between one or two airlines. So then their choice comes down to whose frequent flyer program do I like, whose club programs do I like, whose service do I like better, whose airplanes do I like better, I want to be on an airplane that has seatback entertainment, do I care about the Wi Fi.
All of those things go into the mix. And the important point about those those customers is that they are sticky. Once they decide to switch to an airline, they tend to stay there for decades or beyond. They get the credit card, they tend to stay. And the best example or a good example at least that I can use for brand loyal customers, two of the markets where we won well into double digit market share are Denver and Chicago.
And it’s not a knock on those airlines. United has done a lot of things to just win brand loyal share. But those also are two markets where we’ve had over 100% growth in credit cards from 2019 to last year. In five years, both well over 100% growth in credit card sign ups because as customers switch to us, they get the credit card, they’re sticky. The point of all that is those customers are sticky.
Those customers are typically choosing the best airline in any given market. If you live in Denver, you’re trying to choose the best airline. And if you’re second place, you don’t get a fair share, you get dramatically less traffic if you’re second place. And so trying to be the number one airline for customer choice in each of the big markets we fly has been our strategy for brand loyalty. And I have lots of micro data kind of market by market where we’ve done that.
(bolding mine)
Kirby Is Correct About “Sticky” Customers
I think Kirby is right that while there will alwayas be customers who have no loyalty beyond price or schedule, there are many who recognize, especially when not in a hub captiive city, that it price and schedule are about the same whether they conect in Dallas (American), Atlanta (Delta), or HOuston (United), and therefore they will choose a carier based on things like:
- loyalty program
- onboard product, including food and beverage menus
- service
- lounges
And those customers will be more likely to stick to a single carrier if they invest in a co-branded credit card. We all tend to be creatures of habit.
In my own case, it was only when United materially devalued its MileagePlus program by raising redemption rates, reducing upgrades by more smartly pricing premium cabin seats, and by making it harder to earn elite status in the first place, that I consciously began to check the competition.
I’m a “free agent” in 2025 and this does mark a fundamental shift in the way I purchase airfare. For years (as I flew nearly two million miles on United if you count award redemptions), I would not look beyond United. I just booked United. It always made sense, even when United was a bit more expensive or the schedule was not quite as good.
That value in the loyalty program, at least in my eyes, does not exist anymore. However, if United continues to improve its onboard product (with refreshed interiors, mood lighting, new seats, seatback screens, great service, fast free wi-fi, and better food and drinks) I do think more will choose United and stay with United regardless og the loyalty program.
CONCLUSION
Yesterday, when talking about Southwest Airlines, I pointed out that the fundamental problem of the carrier is that it is acting like a network carrier without the difference in offerings (international longhaul flights, premium cabins, lounges, extensive partnerships). This is also why budget carriers are struggling.
I do think Kriby’s analysis is right on – that while there will also be customers who only choose based on price, there are also millions of “sticky” customers who will stick to airlines that provide an elevated offering onboard or offer a strong loyalty program.
That’s an important reminder for United and others that further devaluing loyalty programs may be extremely counterproductive.
image: @scottkriby / Instagram
“Sticky Fingers” …sorry, I could not resist.
Sticky = Stupid = Suckers
It is a relief for CEO to do a speech which doesn’t read as though written by a PR dept., as was true of his letter of congratulations to Trump .
Nevertheless , when evaluating anything from a CEO , one ought to recall that he did Not achieve CEO for the customer . He did Not achieve Executive status for Us . The Executive Suite is always scheming to generate more profit .
And then devalues a benefit for its stickiest customers…Milluon Milers who are still spending to earn top tier status
Unfortunately these guys seem to equate loyal “sticky” customers as suckers.
But when all airlines operate in the same way what choice do we have other than to be suckers, even as a Free Agent? When you give up the loyalty benefits to save a few bucks on flights you are often stuck in sh#t seats, on sh#t flights on sh#t airlines.
It’s truly a no win situation for the customer, loyal or not.
If he had said “loyal” or any of the derivatives, it would have been fine, but “sticky” coming from a businessman has a negative connotation, at least in my experience. Don’t regret choosing Miles and More over UA when I started to fly *A years ago.
Hmm. You know what else is sticky? Fly traps. Lure them to the trap with a sweet scent and they’re stuck. So perhaps sticky was a poor word choice
Too much overlap. Some infrequent flyers are sticky. Some road warriors just want to get home and fly enough for elite status that they will pick another airline for a flight because of a better price or schedule.
What? Not Dzero???
You mean to tell me customers choose an airline for anything other than Dzero?
Crazy talk.
The customer isn’t sticky. The crusty seats, never vacuumed carpets,not mopped lavatory floors, unwiped toilet seats,not flushed water pipes and not sanitized cabin surfaces are.
I guess he used super glue removal tools to get rid of that sticky customer called Tom who has 23M miles on UA??
“What do those customers care about? Well, first, they do care about schedule and price.”
I’ve been a loyal UA 1K for as many years as I can remember. I think Kirby has a point but I just did something I thought I would never do, bought three business class tickets to Seoul on DL. They had a much better schedule and Delta One was $2,000 cheaper than Polaris. In the past I would buy PE on UA and hope one or more Plus Point upgrades would clear. I’ve learned my lesson. This would have been a nice chunk towards 1K next year but with value of that program dropping, I’m ok if I don’t make it. Just becomes easier to be a free agent, especially for overseas travel.
@David … +1 .
Exactly. I never considered myself very loyal, but rather that the loyalty program gave me incentives to pick UA, because the GPUs and then PPs – back when they could be successfully used to upgrade TATL with a little flexibility on dates and connections – made the relative cost of flying UA less than the competition. Without the ability to use those to upgrade, flying UA is usually the higher cost/lower value option, so I am more often flying other airlines (mainly the EU ones), with better soft product at a lower price. I don’t miss being 1K.
Customer stickiness absolutely is a thing. Just look at Qantas in Australia.
Agreed. You’re in Australia, right? Do you also stick to QF?
Same theory applies to hotel brands, rental cars, eateries, etc.
Of course.
“Sticky” doesn’t mean “stuck”. And I find “sticky” an accurate descriptor of the relationship one has with their predominant airline if they’re a reasonably frequent flyer.
When I moved to Atlanta after 30 years of flying American/USAir out of Philadelphia, I
I was hugely inclined to see if the experience of flying American would still suit me, rather than immediately flying Delta.
More connections were a given, but most of my regular destinations would require connections on Delta as well, so not a huge differentiator.
Flight frequency out of ATL with AA proved entirely adequate.
Anecdotally, for my status, it sounded like I enjoyed a substantially higher upgrade success rate on AA than I might ever hope for on Atlanta-based elite heavy Delta flights.
This, along with a hefty bank of Aadvantage miles, proved to be b the driver the kept with AA during my 12 years in Atlanta.
I’ve since been living in the Boston area these last 2 years. It was a “rinse, repeat” choice to continue flying with AA. “Sticky” indeed.
But, should my experience ever deteriorate significantly, I’m capable of changing carriers in a heartbeat. I spend a lot of time in airports and the air, like all of of us here. Quality of that experience (where it comes to the critical factors) is tantamount in selecting an sirline.
Fair points.
I have been one of those “sticky” customers for Southwest for over a decade…credit card and all even when it meant taking a connecting flights vs a direct flight in many instances. But like the author, changes made by the airline is changing that. I loved their boarding process and if it isn’t gone yet it will be soon. Now the free checked bags, and soon the added “comfort” seats at higher gates etc. They have now eliminated every benefit that they had for me other than possibly than ….and price alone does not get me to select a connecting flight over a direct flight. So…I will get a good “cash back” charge card, stop using my Southwest one, and cancel that one once I have used up my accumulated miles, and become a comparative shopper for best total care when bags etc are included.
We’re sticky because we have fewer choices. I live near Newark Liberty Airport and do a good deal of travel, both business and personal. My travel choices (non-stop v. multi-stop) are far worse is I do not choose United. That’s why I “stick” with them, Philadelphia, JFK and LaGaurdia are simply not good options.
I think Kirby would have been right a decade ago. I was sticky to AA for years in the 80s and 90s, and I was sticky to UA after moving to San Francisco, through the 2000s and 2010s, in part because of their dominant position at SFO.
But the chipping away at the frequent flyer program, both the devaluation of miles and the increased difficulty of earning status, plus the near-impossibility of getting class of service upgrades, has “un-stuck” me, and I’ve become a free agent. This year I’ve booked multiple trips on AA, Delta and Alaska, and only one on UA. Frankly, it is a great relief to have come unstuck and not feel married to a single carrier.
I think United is a decent airline these days, their service and reliability is much better than it was a decade or two ago, but they’ve overplayed their hand. United flights are often 25% more expensive than the competition, and for what? There is no more special value that makes it worth overpaying to fly them.
I echo many of the sentiments of others here. I used to be a ‘sticky’ customer of a competitor of UA, but, not anymore. They have devalued my horde of miles, taken away most of the perks, and made it very difficult to effectively use my miles for a free flight (no, I am not routing to two stops, out of the way, to pay an exorbitant amount of my frequent flyer miles when I can simply book a competitor for a direct flight for less money than it would take to BUY the amount of points for the same set of flights). Airlines no longer value their frequent flyers, so, why should we value the airlines?
I understand sticky…I can classify mysellf as that as I’ve lived in Chicago, Colorado Springs, Denver, San Diego and now Phoenix. I’ve been loyal for 33 years and 2.8M miles. And really love his comment on how things have grown since the credit card offers. Yep get those customers and treat them better than legacy fliers. Out of 33 years I’ve been a 1K for 28. And over the last 2 years credit card customers are treated at a much better, upgrades, United card that gives access to the club. I remember when it was the Red Carpet Club. Now its like a cheap version of Sandals. Noisy, unprofessional customers(I actually go there to work and get a drink and food before I fly). Now getting back to upgrades…as a 1K and with CPU I should be upgraded if space available 96 hours before my flight, nope never happens and it did 80% of the time 2-3 years ago. Now I use Plus Points and sometimes and the same rarely upgraded. Case in point just got back from Santiago Chile. On the outbound I used PlusPoints for either Business First or Premium Economy. I was number one on the list for Premium Economy and 3 for Business First and waitlised. 10 seats open in Premium Economy and I watched over the days dwindle down to 2 and still no upgrade. Not until I got the the gate and got it and here’s the rub there were 2 open seats one next to me and another. So I asked Untied to explain and crickets. Their policies are a fraud and you would think after 33 years I would be sticky enough for Kirby but apparently not. Just make as much money as you can and show no loyaty to your dedicated customers. I’m in sales and if I treated customers like this I wouldn’t have any sales. Shame on you United and Scott Kirby.