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Home » United Airlines » United Airlines CEO Addresses 777 Engine Failure
United Airlines

United Airlines CEO Addresses 777 Engine Failure

Matthew Klint Posted onFebruary 23, 2021November 14, 2023 18 Comments

a man standing in front of an airplane

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has unsurprisingly praised the flight crew of UA328, the 777 flight which encountered engine failure enroute to Honolulu last Saturday, but also outlined a chain of events he argues demonstrates a new spirit at United Airlines.

United CEO: Everyone Stepped Up After 777 Engine Failure

In a note (and video) to employees, shared with Live and Let’s Fly, Kirby thanked everyone involved for keeping passengers safe and making the best of the situation:

To everyone involved in the return of UA328, I want to thank you for your exceptional response under the most challenging circumstances. Our Flight Ops and Inflight crew performed calmly and professionally under intense pressure. At DEN, our teams were at-the-ready.

Our Tech Ops crew—securing the damaged aircraft while also retrieving debris. On the ground, Airport Ops—comforting and supporting customers. Behind the scenes, Denver leadership, partnering with the NOC to provide critical updates across the system.

From our Contact Center Agents making wellness checks to our team at HNL, standing by to welcome our customers after landing, we came together to navigate the best possible outcome.

He starts by praising the flight crew, who undeniably handled the incident professionally and with great skill. But he proceeds to count up all that went on on behind the scenes in order to comfort passengers and then get them safely to Honolulu. Kirby added:

Every choice we’ve made to build trust and make customers feel good about us is making a big impact.

I do wish Kirby would use the term “guest” instead of “customer.” Nevertheless, he’s right that it’s the little things, like comforting passengers upon arrival or welcoming them in Honolulu that actually distinguish one airline from another. I insist that schedule and pricing are important, but so is service.

CONCLUSION

In his video, Kirby shared that United’s response to the 777 incident suggests a new spirit of customer service is alive and well at United Airlines. We’ll address that issue tomorrow.

image: Hayden Smith/@speedbird5280 (with Kirby superimposed by me)

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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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18 Comments

  1. Mark Reply
    February 23, 2021 at 12:48 pm

    I think customer is perfectly fine

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      February 23, 2021 at 1:06 pm

      Just a pet peeve of mine. Probably not an issue for most.

      • Chris Reply
        February 23, 2021 at 8:32 pm

        With you 100%. Customer is transactional. Guest implies trust and care, which is what you want in an airline that becomes completely responsible for your health and safety.

        • SU Reply
          February 27, 2021 at 6:52 am

          I do wish Kirby would use the term “guest” instead of “customer.”

          Seriously? That’s a bizzare thing to pull out of this.

    • PolishKnight Reply
      February 23, 2021 at 1:10 pm

      Me too. Technically, the term “passenger” would be appropriate. Semantics means things and the term “guest” would imply “hospitality” which has been de-emphasized by industry trends towards minimum service levels in economy class although it has made the airlines profitable and kept the cost of travel down. (Let’s hope they never adopt the term “human cargo.”)

      I miss the term “steward” and the politically incorrect term “stewardess”. “Stewards” provide care and management of a person’s needs. While an “attendant” merely watches after them.

      Like wardens.

      Let’s hope that Spirit’s desire to be seen as more mainstream with better service and mileage programs along with the industry needing to get flyers back into the air is the beginning to a race to the top, rather than the 2 decade long race in the other direction.

    • Tory Reply
      February 23, 2021 at 8:33 pm

      I think I’d vote for ‘customer’ as well, since it subtly reinforces to employees that 1) as a customer they have a choice in airlines, and 2) their choosing to pay for a United ticket pays your salaries. There’s also the association of the word ‘customer’ with ‘service’. ‘Passengers’ sounds like herding cattle. ‘Guest’ sounds good too, but I think most people associate that with hotels. Are there any transportation industries that refer to their passengers as guests?

    • carletonm Reply
      February 24, 2021 at 11:52 pm

      ‘I do wish Kirby would use the term “guest” instead of “customer.”’

      Actually, I’d prefer to be called a “passenger.” Nothing wrong with that term. “Guest” sounds like you are at Disney.

      • Matthew Klint Reply
        February 24, 2021 at 11:53 pm

        Passenger is better than customer!

    • Maleko Reply
      February 25, 2021 at 12:14 pm

      I think “passenger” is best. Technically, that’s what they are.

  2. Quo Vadis? Reply
    February 23, 2021 at 1:10 pm

    I do wish Kirby would use the term “guest” instead of “customer.”

    How about “perishable revenue sources.” LOL

    • Greg Reply
      February 23, 2021 at 2:18 pm

      Me three. They (and I think some other airlines) have been using that word for a while and it just seems cold.

      Passenger would be good I agree, so would guests.

      • FloridaSailing Reply
        February 25, 2021 at 6:22 pm

        I have found “Self Loading Cargo” to be the most accurate description, especially in the main cabin of the “germ tube” !.

  3. Mike Reply
    February 23, 2021 at 1:18 pm

    Way back in 2019 when the world was normal, I was traveling to Singapore on a UA flight from SFO. About 4 hours out there was a medical on-board and we diverted to HNL. The medical event caused the various medical supplies to require restocking, which was done quickly, but unfortunately the crew timed out requiring everyone to overnight.

    I recall vividly how the UA HNL team jumped into action to accommodate a full planeload of passengers. They had hotel vouchers, meal tickets bags off loaded in record time. They had several staff members helping pass out vouchers, directing passengers and answering questions. All this one in what is the decrepit HNL Airport which is frankly a disgrace (IMO).

    I remember talking to the guy who helped me. I could tell he was not a normal customer facing team member. He was the ramp supervisor who came inside to help. By this time it was 6:30pm. I asked him how long he had been up. He said he came to work at 4:30am.

    Great teams don’t happen by accident. UA and DL in my experience seem to have it together in a difficult business.

  4. Jerry Reply
    February 23, 2021 at 1:43 pm

    Are you taking photoshop classes from Brett Snyder?

    • Matthew Klint Reply
      February 23, 2021 at 3:20 pm

      Was that a compliment or an insult? 😉

      • Jerry Reply
        February 24, 2021 at 1:37 pm

        A compliment, no doubt!

  5. William Reply
    February 23, 2021 at 8:57 pm

    So United didn’t kill anybody and they were nice to people they inconvenienced – and this is some great triumph of guest relations?

  6. TWA John Reply
    February 24, 2021 at 1:24 pm

    AA employees were so happy to have Brand X steal Scotty Away. He is PERFECT for them!

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