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Home » United Airlines » United Airlines CEO Explains Why Vaccine Mandate Is Mandatory For Employees
Law In TravelUnited Airlines

United Airlines CEO Explains Why Vaccine Mandate Is Mandatory For Employees

Matthew Klint Posted onAugust 11, 2021November 14, 2023 12 Comments

a man in a suit and tie

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is making the rounds on national media in an attempt to defend his company’s vaccine mandate for all employees. His key word: safety.

United Airlines CEO Says Vaccine Requirement Is All About Safety

Speaking to Lester Holt on NBC Nightly News, Kirby laid out his reasons for making the vaccine mandatory:

We are not offering a testing option and it’s because safety is our number one priority at United Airlines and we don’t compromise on safety. And it’s clear. The data, the evidence is unequivocal that getting vaccinated is what is safest for each individual and safest for their co-workers. And because of that, we are going to require everyone to be vaccinated if they are working at United Airlines.

Kirby then lays out the basis for why the vaccination is safe:

The tipping point for me was seeing the statistics that 97% of the people in the hospital are unvaccinated and over 99% of the deaths are amongst the unvaccinated. That implies you are 300 times more likely to die if you are unvaccinated than if you are vaccinated. And once you have that statistics in your mind, at least for me as a leader, there simply was no choice but to do the right thing for safety.

This is a cogent argument that checks out and forms a powerful rationale for why the vaccine is so important not just for United Airlines workers, but for everyone.

Focusing on safety, Holt asks Kirby if vaccines are so much safer, why not require passengers also to be vaccinated. Kirby punts on the questions, saying that is up to the government to decide:

I think a passenger requirement really fits in the world of the government and government responsibility and requirement.

Certainly, mandatory vaccines would be a government fiat and face intense legal scrutiny. However, Kirby too quickly dismisses the concept of requiring passengers to be vaccinated in order to transport them. With so many millions of holdouts in the USA, such a rule would be bade for business. But could United require proof of vaccination to travel? Legally, there is a strong case to be made the answer is yes.

Kirby places great faith in the vaccine:

Obviously, the delta variant is just one more piece of evidence that shows how important the vaccines are and how effective and safe the vaccines are. The silver lining of what has happened with the delta variant is that it is driving much higher vaccination rates across the country and at the end of the day, that’s the only thing that is really going to get us out of the crisis.

You can watch the interview below:

CONCLUSION

Scott Kirby defends United’s vaccine mandate primarily on safety grounds, though utilitarianism (seeking the greatest good for the greatest number) and paternalism (helping people do what is in their best interest) are at play. While very narrow exceptions will be available, come autumn United employees who refuse the vaccine will be terminated.

image: NBC News / fair use exception

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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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12 Comments

  1. Derek Reply
    August 11, 2021 at 11:19 am

    I absolutely think Kirby and United should require vaccines in order to fly

    This coming from someone who thinks the mask mandate should not even have been extended in the first place

  2. derek Reply
    August 11, 2021 at 11:42 am

    I am derek, not Derek. I agree with Derek in part. I need a haircut but want a vaccinated person to cut it.

    As far as masks, flimsy masks are better than no mask. Better masks are better.

    (off topic, the pandemic will result in the longest period of not being in the air, March 2020 to at least early 2022. Ugh)

  3. mowogo Reply
    August 11, 2021 at 12:06 pm

    The reason for not implementing a mandate for passengers on their own is quite simple, IAH. Given vaccination rates that is potentially a huge market that United would have to be prepared to see a major drop in, especially when all travel is leisure travel right now

  4. chasgoose Reply
    August 11, 2021 at 12:09 pm

    Let’s be real. Kirby doesn’t want to mandate passengers be vaccinated because he doesn’t want to deal with the bad PR, dealing with DeSantis types who care more about their 2024 election prospects than public health, or the cost of a lawsuit (even if United would clearly win). Legally, there is plenty of backup to support a private company like United (especially an airline, which has tons of leeway to make demands of passengers) to mandate vaccines for passengers.

    A government mandate would require an act of the federal government. While the FAA likely has the authority to mandate vaccines for air travel, I don’t think a national mandate has ever been attempted. It would be tied up in litigation so long that the issue would probably (well, hopefully) be moot before it was resolved.

  5. Santastico Reply
    August 11, 2021 at 1:11 pm

    “ The tipping point for me was seeing the statistics that 97% of the people in the hospital are unvaccinated and over 99% of the deaths are amongst the unvaccinated. That implies you are 300 times more likely to die if you are unvaccinated than if you are vaccinated.”

    Kirby is trying too hard. Based on the above, let Darwinism take care of it. What he said above shows why the mandate for vaccinated people to wear masks makes no sense. Vaccinated people should be allowed to live their lives and the rest should deal with the consequences of not getting the vaccine.

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      August 11, 2021 at 1:12 pm

      I find it so sad that vaccines have become a controversy.

      • Christian Reply
        August 11, 2021 at 3:21 pm

        It’s maddening that he has to actually explain why employees must be vaccinated.

      • Let them eat cake (or die) Reply
        August 11, 2021 at 4:15 pm

        Vaccines wouldn’t have become an issue if Republicans had supported it and not turned it into a political issue.

        • Kyle Stewart Reply
          August 11, 2021 at 11:04 pm

          Who turned it into a political issue again? https://youtu.be/VKGikIR1a-U

    • UA-NYC Reply
      August 11, 2021 at 4:52 pm

      I fully agree w/the Darwinism approach, but in the short term, all the anti-vaxxers are effing it up for the rest of us responsible types.

      But hey, they can go ahead and enjoy their 300x more likelihood of ending up in the ER and/or dying to protect their freedums.

      • Santastico Reply
        August 11, 2021 at 6:02 pm

        I disagree. In the short term this stupid CDC and Government are effing it up for the rest of us responsible types. Have you seen that they only focus on the number of Civid cases but never on the number of deaths? Why, because showing that not many people are dying when compared to last events doesn’t help their cause. Here is the headline of the local paper here in MN: “Minnesota COVID-19 deaths haven’t increased yet amid delta wave.” Thus, asking us, vaccinated people, to wear masks, be 6ft apart, ask my kids that are fully vaccinated to wear masks back to school, is just the Government effing it up. Make it optional for the vaccinated that have been brainwashed and let Darwin take care of the rest.

        Also, everyone loves to blame politics and race/ethnicity for why people are effing it up. Usually, Republicans are the ones to blame, right? Do some research and look for a recent study done by the Mayo Clinic, one of the most respected medical institutions of this country. Here are some interesting facts:
        Looking at all states (Republican and Democrat) for every person 65+m and older, every state has over 85% of that population vaccinated. Thus, the problem is not really on being Republican or Democrat but being younger and stubborn. Kentucky is run by a Democrat and only 59% of their population between 18 and 64 are vaccinated. Louisiana (Democrat) only 48% are vaccinated. Nevada, 64%. Also, if you look at population 18 and under, the rate of vaccination is abysmal across the board. Thus, people have to stop blaming parties, politicians, etc… and just let Darwin rule.

  6. Peter Williams Reply
    August 11, 2021 at 8:37 pm

    Peter Williams here – I find it ridiculous that this is mandated across the whole company. Sure if you wanna do it at Houston that’s fine, but why do it when you have hubs in Los Angeles and San Francisco and Chicago and every person there is radical left Democrat and already has it?

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