I never thought I’d say that, but … I think Scott Kirby is doing a phenomenal job as United Airlines CEO. Let me explain. Why I was skeptical when Kirby joined UnitedIn 2016 it was announced that American Airlines President Scott Kirby would join United Airlines, where he was appointed to the same position. This took the industry by surprise, as Kirby was essentially the right-hand man of American Airlines CEO Doug Parker during two large mergers dating back to the days of America West. The ramifications of Kirby’s move to United were pretty clear – Kirby was being prepared to become CEO of United while he saw no way to do so at American. In 2020, Kirby was actually named United’s CEO. Many of us were skeptical and feared that by 2008 Kirby United would transform into US Airways (which made Greyhound look like Emirates in comparison). Kirby was a notorious numbers person, and it was rumored that he never came across a cost-cutting initiative that he disliked. In addition, after some rather challenging years for the airline at United, he took over:
Although Kirby has been in his new role for a little over a year and amid a pandemic, seeing a different side of him has been fun, which makes me optimistic about United’s future. Why Kirby exceeded my expectationsIt’s obviously been an incredibly challenging year for the industry, so it’s not exactly the most enviable time to be named airline CEO. That being said, Kirby exceeded my expectations for the way United handled the pandemic in terms of service, communication and expectation management. In addition, United is actively looking to the future, competing with Delta rather than American. United has become a leader rather than a follower on many fronts, which it has not before. View of the passenger experience:
When it comes to communication:
Additionally, in the past, Delta has always been the innovator among major US airlines and the one who looks to the future. I find it interesting how United is now the far-sighted airline, be it in the form of ordering supersonic jets, electric air taxis or electric regional aircraft. We’ll see if any of these concepts bear fruit, but it’s a surprisingly positive outlook for United as Delta has historically been the “cool” airline with such innovations. Now let me say that I don’t think Kirby United will transform into Qatar Airways and invest endlessly in the passenger experience. We have certainly seen United, for example, cut down on some aspects of the Polaris experience (even before the pandemic). However, I think Kirby will take a thoughtful approach to balancing these things out. In other words, I think he realizes that people will pay more for a better product, but there is no ROI at some point. And I think that’s fair enough. Did Kirby have a change of heart or …?“The guy who wanted to top up bottled water in 2008 is suddenly looking to a premium experience and wants to put televisions on all planes?” It’s a valid question. The way I see it:
United still has a long way to goLet me get that straight – while I’m impressed with the direction United is headed, not much is going to change overnight. A while ago I asked myself whether United could become a premium airline. While the company’s executives say and do most of the right things, the airline still has a lot of work to do:
So yeah, as much as I’m impressed with the direction United is going, I think it’s only fair to weigh that up. The biggest problem United has to address right now is customer service. It’s something Delta has mastered, and that is no mean feat. Bottom lineWhen Scott Kirby joined United, I worried that United American would run down instead of racing Delta up. Suffice it to say that I was impressed. While there is still a lot to be done, it will be exciting to see the direction United are headed under Kirby’s leadership. He was an honest and realistic communicator during the pandemic, United was a leader among major airlines on many service enhancements, and United seems to have its sights set on the new Delta. How that will play out remains to be seen, but so far Kirby’s time at United has been fun. What do you think of the work Kirby has done at United so far?
Via https://globalconnekt.com/united-airlines-ceo-scott-kirby-im-impressed/
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorBest Travel Tips Archives
March 2022
Categories |