View Full Version : United CEO Apologizes for Flying Private While Customers Were Stranded
SWBKCB
1st Jul 2023, 07:53
United Airlines Holdings Inc. (https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/UAL:US) canceled 751 flights on Wednesday, more than any other airline, and its hub airport in Denver was among the hardest hit (https://flightaware.com/live/airport/KDEN).
So when it emerged that United’s Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby was able to bypass the congestion by taking a private jet to Denver from Teterboro Airport that day, the executive issued a swift apology.
“Taking a private jet was the wrong decision because it was insensitive to our customers who were waiting to get home,” Kirby said in an emailed statement late Friday. “I sincerely apologize to our customers and our team members who have been working around-the-clock for several days — often through severe weather — to take care of our customers.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-07-01/united-ceo-apologizes-for-flying-private-while-customers-were-stranded
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune.org-vbulletin/1283x1176/img_20230701_wa0000_1da94e1ae60079dc9e42529db3c402f8c400adb1 .jpg
pax britanica
1st Jul 2023, 12:30
Is there a semester on removing common sense part of MBA courses . Idiotic behaviour by this guy short of United going bankrupt if he couldnt get to Denver that day nothign could be so important as to outweigh the sheer stupidity of what he did-should someone like that eb trusted to be CEO of an airline. Similar degrees of poor judgement by many of his airline staff could have literally fatal results.
In the UK we have the CEo of a major water company (heard of them ?) sending her peers an email detailing how they shoud plan to stop a labour government renationalising water. Ending with 'please make sure you keep this confidential.'. Apart fromt the fact that she should lose her job immediately and face criminal prosecution for conspiracy to defraud, how could she be so stupid as to think that in the current climate nothign in that industry is going to stay confidential for 5 minutes.
One law for the ....
albatross
1st Jul 2023, 15:13
Now if he had loaded the jet with deserving folks trying to get to Denver….and announced beforehand that he was paying for the jet himself..maybe he could have gotten away with it.
Was there any pressing reason he HAD to get to Denver?
Does only he have the United “Secret Launch Codes” and eye recognition is needed to enter them…only at a computer terminal in a guarded room in a bunker deep beneath the Denver Airport?
In any case…not a bright move!
Ancient Observer
1st Jul 2023, 16:13
I did a 2 year, full time, (proper) MBA course. No common sense taught on it.
Bksmithca
1st Jul 2023, 17:53
pax britanica, Ancient Observer, I would say that high schools and universities stopped teaching common sense about 30 years ago.
bafanguy
1st Jul 2023, 21:44
So, “Taking a private jet was the wrong decision..." ?
Well, this arrogant clown had all the time in the world to consider his decision and its ramifications in the context of the status of the USA airline industry.
Yet he still came up with the wrong decision ? His apology is just meaningless.
His phony, insincere apology is insulting.
I thought these people got to the top because they're smart.
They aren't. They're arrogant.
"Let them eat cake" comes to mind.
West Coast
2nd Jul 2023, 03:05
The only thing he’s guilty of is bad optics and it’ll be forgotten soon enough.
WillowRun 6-3
2nd Jul 2023, 03:10
I wasn't traveling on United during the recent disruptions but I'll state a partly contrary view anyway.
Hopping over to Denver without the hassles experienced by throngs of travelers is something the CEO should have tried to avoid. People are quick to criticize especially when offered an easy target. Yet at the same time, it's pretty certain that a chief executive of an airline as large as United carries around in his awareness some quite large responsibilities. I'm willing to give some benefit of the doubt here . . .(quite obviously a simple lawyer role is nothing remotely comparable).
But there's another dimension to this story. As the United pilots MEC has been publicizing in the ongoing contract talks, the pilots union contends the company has not progressed to better and more up-to-date infrastructure (along with work-life balance issues and of course pay and benefits). The current WSJ story about United relates how the disruptions caused by weather presented the company's crew scheduling effort with unmanageable problems, and Mr Kirby is quoted as favoring new technology in this area of company infrastructure. Very reminiscent of Southwest's difficulties just a few months ago.
So it's really not as a member of the traveling public (or SLF to the cognescenti) that I'd be steamed at the chief executive. Though his responsibilities and burdens are large, so are the responsibilities fulfilled in both the left and right seats up front. So I would say that with contract talks bogged down, why did he not realize this hop to Denver not only sends a signal to the MEC akin to the proverbial red flag in the bullfighting ring, but it highlights the evident infrastructure or technology gap. What particulsr responsibilities were so pressing that they couldn't be fulfilled with, you know, the various computer and telecommunications platforms everyone is so accustomed to since the pandemic? The labor & employment lawyer here sees a need for an apology to the Board, if indeed the MEC talks are about to hit just a little more "chop."
Count me as one SLF/attorney happy to see a major airline CEO call out the FAA on staffing levels. Too bad any hope for that to help efforts to address that problem got swallowed up and effectively erased by hopping over the queue.
bafanguy
2nd Jul 2023, 14:16
The only thing he’s guilty of is bad optics and it’ll be forgotten soon enough.
WC,
That's certainly correct. But it doesn't change who these people are. Now and then they show us. We see the same or worse from the kakistocracy in DC.
BFSGrad
2nd Jul 2023, 15:47
Did his flying on a private jet cause United’s delays?
Would United’s delays have been alleviated if he had not flown on a private jet?
Kudos to Kirby for supporting the bizjet community at $5K/hr. Trickle down is a wonderful thing.
Big Pistons Forever
2nd Jul 2023, 19:56
I think this episode says a lot about his staff which directly reflects back on him. It appears nobody around him, and there are going to be lots, said “Hey boss taking the private jet while the airline schedule is melting down isn’t a good idea”.
Ultimately big companies don’t thrive because the boss is a genius, they thrive because he or she hires lots of smart people to work for them. Those people are where the actual work gets done, or not done.
Herb Kellner, the famous boss who turned Southwest into the only consistently profitable airline in the world got all the praise, but a deeper look shows how good he was at finding, hiring, and enabling outstanding subordinates.
As the old management shibboleth goes, First rate managers hire first rate assistants, second rate managers hire third rate assistants….
Busdriver01
3rd Jul 2023, 09:00
Am i the only one who isn't bothered or surprised at all if the CEO of an $18bn company uses a private jet? Regardless of what state his airline is in on the day?
procede
3rd Jul 2023, 12:30
Am i the only one who isn't bothered or surprised at all if the CEO of an $18bn company uses a private jet? Regardless of what state his airline is in on the day?
The problem with an airline CEO doing that is that it is basically saying the company you work for isn't good enough for you...
hans brinker
3rd Jul 2023, 19:03
The problem with an airline CEO doing that is that it is basically saying the company you work for isn't good enough for you...
so you are saying the CEO of McDonald’s can’t eat at Ruth’s Chris? CEO of target can’t shop at Whole Foods?
Big Pistons Forever
3rd Jul 2023, 19:18
so you are saying the CEO of McDonald’s can’t eat at Ruth’s Chris? CEO of target can’t shop at Whole Foods?
More like saying the CEO of Target is shopping at whole foods because Target's shelves are bare and there are no cashiers to take his money...
Am i the only one who isn't bothered or surprised at all if the CEO of an $18bn company uses a private jetNope, it's just an airborne taxi to get him where he needs to be.
SWBKCB
4th Jul 2023, 06:37
Nope, it's just an airborne taxi to get him where he needs to be.
So your customers are being let down, as CEO where do you need to be?
BFSGrad
4th Jul 2023, 14:23
The problem with an airline CEO doing that is that it is basically saying the company you work for isn't good enough for you...It would be an interesting survey to find out how many airline CEOs use the airlines exclusively for business and personal travel. The bizjet provides numerous advantages over an airliner with about the only disadvantage being cost.
Sailvi767
4th Jul 2023, 15:31
United’s operations control center is in Denver. If I were the CEO and the airline is melting down that is the place I would want to be. I have not been in UAL’s OCC but have spent time in another running an airline of similar size. The amount of information available in the OCC can’t be duplicated remotely. United was very close to needing to perform a complete shut down and reset. That’s a CEO call and requires every bit of info available.
SWBKCB
4th Jul 2023, 16:39
United’s operations control center is in Denver. If I were the CEO and the airline is melting down that is the place I would want to be. I have not been in UAL’s OCC but have spent time in another running an airline of similar size. The amount of information available in the OCC can’t be duplicated remotely. United was very close to needing to perform a complete shut down and reset. That’s a CEO call and requires every bit of info available.
If that was why he was in Denver, then it would have been good to include it in his apology. The alternative story is that he was going to his holiday home.
Sailvi767
4th Jul 2023, 17:01
He lives in Denver.
tdracer
4th Jul 2023, 17:56
United’s operations control center is in Denver. If I were the CEO and the airline is melting down that is the place I would want to be. I have not been in UAL’s OCC but have spent time in another running an airline of similar size. The amount of information available in the OCC can’t be duplicated remotely. United was very close to needing to perform a complete shut down and reset. That’s a CEO call and requires every bit of info available.
Exactly - this is much ado about nothing.
I don't know where the CEO flew into Denver from, but when he found out things were going into meltdown, he wanted to get there ASAP. Both to see what needed to be done to straighten things out, and how to insure it doesn't happen again. Hands on management (not micro-management) is always preferable (especially when the proverbial stuff is hitting the fan).
So he had two choices - wait hours for the next available United flight to Denver (which, due to the meltdown, could well be delayed or cancelled), probably bump a paying customer in the process. Or fly private and get the as soon as physically possible.
Optics might say the former, but doing his job means the latter.
pax britanica
4th Jul 2023, 18:24
Perhaps as an airline CEO he is averse to Zoom, Teams , mobile phones etc bbecause without them you would have to fly someplace.
Climb150
4th Jul 2023, 20:08
Are you saying that when the going gets tough at United, the CEO has to take charge personally?
Doesn't he have a whole bunch of very experienced upper management to handle the situation?
So Kirby is either a control freak or United has incompetent management. Which is it?
tdracer
4th Jul 2023, 20:29
Perhaps as an airline CEO he is averse to Zoom, Teams , mobile phones etc bbecause without them you would have to fly someplace.
Sort of like the generals who go nowhere near the front lines - who think they can manage real time fluid situations for a bunker 50 miles behind the front?
Sometimes there is no substitute for being there.
tdracer
4th Jul 2023, 20:33
Are you saying that when the going gets tough at United, the CEO has to take charge personally?
Doesn't he have a whole bunch of very experienced upper management to handle the situation?
So Kirby is either a control freak or United has incompetent management. Which is it?
That fact that things were going into meltdown means the upper management wasn't getting the job done. If nothing else, the CEO needs to see why things are not working so they can implement the sort of changes necessary so it doesn't happen again.
Why even have a CEO if he's going to go completely hand-off when things go south?
Would you want a president or Prime Minister who - when the country was in crisis - went on vacation and told his higher ups to just "handle it"?
Sailvi767
4th Jul 2023, 20:38
Are you saying that when the going gets tough at United, the CEO has to take charge personally?
Doesn't he have a whole bunch of very experienced upper management to handle the situation?
So Kirby is either a control freak or United has incompetent management. Which is it?
When you are talking about a shutdown of the airline the CEO damn well better be the one calling the shots. If not he should be fired.
I was amazed the first time I went into a major airlines OCC. Everything was displayed from the status of catering to flight attendant and pilot reserve availability at every crew base to everything in between including direct access to the FAA and ground stops. Individual gate availability and scheduling could be pulled up instantly. All your subordinates are within earshot to get updates and input.
Climb150
5th Jul 2023, 07:45
The CEO is not there for day to day management no matter how bad it gets. Here is what a CEO does,
The Chief Executive Officer provides leadership for all aspects of the company's operations with an emphasis on long-term goals, growth, profit, and return on investment.
Leadership is policy and direction the company is taking in the future. He has never been an OCC manager so what on earth could he possibly do that can't be done from wherever he was before?
SWBKCB
5th Jul 2023, 08:11
Leadership is policy and direction the company is taking in the future.
That's part of leadership. What about being visible, supporting your people, showing you give a ...?
Climb150
5th Jul 2023, 10:39
That's part of leadership. What about being visible, supporting your people, showing you give a ...?
That's done by implementing policies and programs that benefit employees and turning up to company picnics. It has nothing to do with day to day ops.
MBA: mediocre but arrogant
WillowRun 6-3
5th Jul 2023, 12:20
That's done by implementing policies and programs that benefit employees and turning up to company picnics. It has nothing to do with day to day ops.
Pretty close to certain, the MEC isn't especially concerned with picnics.
The thread has led this SLF/attorney to change my view, to some extent, of Kirby's situation and his response to it. With the line having suffered a significant operational setback from what started as summertime weather problems, Mr. Kirby landed in a no-win situation. On one hand, the CEO of so major a corporate entity must be aware of the lightning-fast "optics" problems that characterize the social media age. But on the other hand, pretty clearly the Ops Center people weren't waiting around for him to show up with a whistle on a lanyard and a clipboard. So the "optics" can be nonsense really, but in the arenas in which they play out, that is beside the point.
No matter what he said about flying home on a bizjet, those looking for criticism would pounce. Maybe that's why he took a shot at the FAA, as a preemptive try at diversion. If he went to Denver to show the company flag in Operations, what would that say about how the Ops Center was functioning up to that point? In any event, and I'm not trying to recast Mr. Kirby as a second iteration of the late Richard Ferris, the facts of this situation do seem to feed quite nicely into the MEC's bargaining position.
Maybe somewhat related . . . I recall hearing from a veteran American captain an anecdote about Robert Crandall, then CEO of the airline, visiting the flight deck. I asked the captain, did Mr.Crandall engage in conversation about the avionics, or the weather, or the aircraft's overall quality from the aviator's viewpoint? No, the captain told me ...... he wanted to know about skiing and snow conditions at some of their mutually favorite places.
So he was doing what he paid for.
CEO one - social media zero
United’s operations control center is in Denver..
UAL SOC is in Chicago some people are in Willis tower and some have or will be moving to Arlington Heights in Chicago. Training center is in Denver.
Climb150
5th Jul 2023, 16:46
So he was doing what he paid for.
CEO one - social media zero
Please explain your comment to me. How is he 1 and social media zero?
Lonewolf_50
5th Jul 2023, 17:24
BFSGrad makes a good point. :)
601 is correct, and the 'optics' bit from social media will go away in a week when the "ooh shiney!" mob get something else to kvetch about.
As to the comments about what they do and don't teach MBAs ... man, that ax can be ground for a long time for a lot of reasons.
Perhaps the CEO had business to do with the new simulator training centre being built in Denver, due for completion end of this year. Their training centre is said to be the worlds largest airline owned, why wouldn't he have reason to visit? Social media? Forget it, you can get an argument that black is really white, or vice versa.
WillowRun 6-3
6th Jul 2023, 00:36
UAL SOC is in Chicago some people are in Willis tower and some have or will be moving to Arlington Heights in Chicago. Training center is in Denver.
Well, this fact - compared to a previous post which stated the center's location is Denver - makes much of my criticism of the CEO quite incorrect. Isn't the first time some lawyer didn't know what he or she was talking about.
Incidentally, United in prior years - circa 1982-83 - had some sort of operations group located on the basement level of the Terminal 2 building at Chicago O'Hare. It was on the side of that building closest to the old "D" Concourse, which got demolished to make way for United's new Terminal 1 and its "B" and "C" Concourses. I happen to know this because the office of the airport advertising manager was located also in that basement, but on the side closest to the "rotunda" building. Never saw a CEO down there, however.