United Airlines supported affirmative action in California, adopted speech codes; committed to choosing board members on the basis of race; and encouraged the use of pronouns by employees. They’re making big bets on biofuels and electric planes. And they imposed vaccine mandates on employees during the pandemic, before the Biden administration attempted to do so. The airline’s narrative is crafted by President Obama’s press secretary, Josh Earnest.
Despite all of this, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby wrote a letter to once and future President Trump, as reported by Live and Let’s Fly. The upshot is, ‘I went to the Air Force Academy [so forget all that woke stuff], I like economic growth [if I do well, you do well], and air traffic control needs more money’.
Scott Kirby’s letter begins, “On behalf of United Airlines, I extend my congratulations to you on your historic victory.” And it concludes, “I look forward to working with you and your team.”
November 6, 2024
President Donald Trump & Vice President-elect JD Vance
Office of the Presidential Transition
1100 S Ocean Blvd. Palm Beach, FL 33480Dear President Trump and Vice President-elect Vance:
On behalf of United Airlines, I extend my congratulations to you on your historic victory. I wish you and your incoming Administration success in addressing our nation’s vital needs.
Over the course of the campaign, you have expressed optimism towards the next chapter of our American story. We could not agree more. United is a proud American company. As the largest airline in the world, we fly to all corners of the globe and represent the United States everywhere we fly. Our dynamic workforce of over 100,000 is made up of people from all 50 states and all walks of life. We provide lasting careers with industry leading wages and benefits for people and families across the economic spectrum. Our extensive network is not just good for United and our customers – our presence brings new economic growth and career opportunities to communities large and small, all across America.
United’s optimism for the future is reflected in our continued investments in the American economy and infrastructure. Since 2021, we have invested more than $32 billion back into our business, including the largest aircraft order in commercial aviation history. And more is on the way. We are creating the biggest, best and most innovative airline ever, and as such, a powerful engine of economic growth and job creation across the U.S. economy. I look forward to participating in this journey with you and your Administration.
As your focus turns to policies and personnel, I ask you to consider the role the federal government plays in realizing this vision for economic growth. For example, urgent improvements to the nation’s air traffic control infrastructure (including investments in people, facilities and technology) are central to enabling, instead of hindering, economic growth and customer service delivery. We at United stand ready to help you and your team achieve this success.
In closing, I was inspired by the promise of America’s greatness after spending time recently with the cadets at my alma mater, the United States Air Force Academy. For me, these brave young men and women serve as a living example that the United States is the greatest country in history. With that front of mind, I look forward to working with you and your team.
Sincerely,
Scott
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby
This is a good reminder that airlines are one of the most heavily regulated businesses in the country, despite ostensibly having been deregulated. All deregulation really meant is that the government stopped telling airlines where to fly and how much to charge, and that regulation of airlines became primarily the province of the federal government. Airline futures are very much influenced by the whims of the executive.
So Captain Renault said to Major Strasser in Casablanca, “I have no conviction, if that’s what you mean. I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy.”
During the pandemic, the Trump administration funneled tremendous subsidies to airlines. The Biden administration’s infrastructure bill poured resources into airports. And the bipartisan FAA Reauthorization increased subsidies for air service to small communities – a program that was supposed to be temporary with the passage of deregulation, sunsetting in 1988.
At the end of Casablanca, Bogart joins the fight against the Nazis, teaming up with Victor Laszlo, and Claude Rains’s Renault advises him to get out of town, “There’s a Free-French garrison over at Brotherville. I could be induced to arrange a passage.” Renault finally stakes out his position, joining Rick in the fight. And Bogart’s Rick ends the movie famously, “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”
In the airline industry, CEO Louis Renault sticks with blowing in the wind. That flight out of Casablanca to Lisbon with Laszlo and Ilsa Lund on board, by the way, was on Air France. It turns out that the French carrier moved its operation to Casablanca during the war when the Germans marched in. So this wasn’t always so.
“Our dynamic workforce of over 100,000 is made up of people from all 50 states and all walks of life.”
For some, that is only for as long as they keep their side hustle private.
Trump is an authoritarian, fascist, Nazi pig who belongs in prison… or worse. But, 75 million brain dead idiots voted for him – many ignorantly and in contrast to their own best interests – so he is (unfortunately) the duly elected President of the United States. Unlike the MAGAts who still refuse to accept the 2020 election results, I (begrudgingly) accept the 2024 results. Kirby is a smart guy and he knows that he needs to be on the good side of that temperamental, puerile, and porcine putz to get what he needs for his company, and thus his congratulatory letter makes good business sense.
Scum, lacking any moral compass.
Best leader of the best airline in the United states
he woke up and learned the reality.Don G
Looking to pick up a big remigration contract?
Might as well fly down there and give him a handy.
Sounds like a roomful of vacuum cleaners there’s so much suck-ass going on.
As also reported by Matthew at LALF is that he sent a nearly identical letter to Biden in 2020. It seems pretty benign as such. CEO’s got to CEO in the end…
I remember a patriotic post from Kirby on maybe Memorial Day. It was somewhat touching and I never considered him far left, despite some policies named here.
I see Neal the idiot parrots the empty emotional talking points of the libtards. When an idiot doesn’t have an argument, they name call. Go Trump! Clean up the illegals, make us energy independent again , and restore the integrity and strength of the USA ! MAGA all the way
Hey Neal
Can I get you a coloring book and a safe space and maybe some milk and cookies because you’re so triggered
@Neal Z, the majority of Americans think you are wrong. The LEFT is out of touch with the people. We’re right you’re a hater.
Scott Kirby sucks and blows wherever and whenever he thinks it will help him get ahead.
And yet one after another if his strategies have failed. He dreams in psychedelics in an industry powered by jet fuel
Consumer protections are about to become verboten. Get ready to be trickled-down upon everyone!
I don’t fly United and now I certainly won’t be trying to either. Not a left vs. right issue. It’s common decency. The Madison Square Garden spectacle alone was a historic low point for this country.
@ john — Integrity and Trump are polar opposites. The guy has zero integrity. I wouldn’t despise him if he was at least a decent human being, but he is the lowest of the scum of the earth.
Gary
This article is out of line. Your political commentary has no place in a travel blog.
CEO doing what he can to try to protect his company and employees.
As an executive, he has a staff to advise him, as well as a board to assist him.
Bending the knee is likely what everyone advised.
To do so cost nothing. All gain is his.
Better to keep the leopard at bay.
Brazzaville, French Equatorial Africa, now the Republic of the Congo. But I’d rather be woken up and care about others than a zombie following a fascist thug over a cliff.
Of course he left out that they have the best hubs in the country, with all but one hub in high GDP per capita blue states, with economies that outperform the rest of the country that voted for him.
Having hubs in all three of the metros with GDPs over a trillion dollars, the demographics of United’s customer base is significantly less aligned with the President-elect than most any of the county’s major carriers. Given that, the congratulatory letter is very important, as United could be the target of authoritarian policies, unlike some of United’s competitors that do more red state business.
What this means is there will be a lot more white people in charge at United. That is NOT a good thing.
The rats are clinging to the sails instead of jumping ship. Only cowards kiss Trump’s ass. Embrace the lion dictator, he will eat you later. The all did the same with Hitler, and this is a mirror image.
@Terry Kozma – out of line? First, you misunderstand “Your political commentary has no place in a travel blog.” This isn’t so much ‘a travel blog’ as it is ‘my blog’ full of my thoughts. And this is very much central to the topics I cover – the airline industry is heavily regulated, its leadership thus has a complicated relationship with those in power, and looking at how changes in political winds affect the industry would seem to matter a great deal.
What exactly that I’ve written is triggering to you here?
It’s a relatively recent phenomenon that CEOs are getting publicly involved in political issues. They didn’t do that historically because it’s bad for business longer term, even if there’s some short-term gain. Like active military leaders, they should stay out of politics.
Do you believe he would not have written a similar letter had Harris won? This is just smart business.
Leave politics aside, and let’s talk about Kirby. I totally agreed with @Raphael’s comment. It’s ok for people to admire and worship Kirby, and I respect that. Is he the best leader? I am not so sure. Just talk to the flight attendants and airport agents when you fly United and hear what they say. I was very young when Mr. Gordon Bethune was CEO of Continental. I did not even fly much when he was CEO, but employees always talk about him differently than Jeff or Kirby. He was the best.
I really don’t see how publishing a piece like this on a travel blog helps travelers have a better experience or get better value.
There are untold numbers of places online to read about politics.
Whatever your politics, this article offers no value to the agenda of what is supposed a travel blog.
I would feel the same way about commentary in the other direction.
This is simply business.
Trump has openly stated that he will use his Presidency to punish Americans that he labels “enemies from within”.
He hates Americans more than North Korean or Russian troops
We see the same thing between Disney and Desantis.
Desantis and Trump follow the same playbook.
Thus:
Option one. Suck up
Option 2: prepare for endless legal battles.
Cheaper to just pretend to suck up.
My company is doing the exact same thing.
If nothing else, Scott is a realist.
Expect a lot of sucking up to the dictator.
What choice does he have?
I mean really, all one can do is hope for the best over the next four years.
Secretly we are probably all wanting to spit in his face… or see him in a prison.
This isn’t political. This is though politics, corporate leaders sucking up to someone they might want a big favor from. He’d do the same thing with Harris.
One doesn’t need to be MAGA or a Trump fan to read the room – the Woke Moment is over in America. California (!!) tossed it’s weak on crime constitutional ammendment, tossed it’s Soros-backed prosecutors in LA and Oakland after recalling the SF one, and tossed the mayor of SF. Time for non-leftists Democrats to wake up and take back their party from the fringe. If they had done that before last Tuesday, they might have won – probably not, as that would be admitting they’re wrong and people remember what the last 10 years has been like, but the path to victory lies in Normieland, not Unicornia.
“Expect a lot of sucking up to the dictator.
“Dictator”? Absolute proof that the elevator doesn’t go all the way to the top.
I didn’t voted for a convicted felon, so for anyone that voted for him or didn’t vote at all, open their mouth and complain in the next 4 yrs. All I have to say is you deserve it with a big smile. Shit him being a President is actually good for me. I’ll enjoy my life to the fullness and don’t have to save every life.
“But, 75 million brain dead idiots voted for him – many ignorantly and in contrast to their own best interests – so he is (unfortunately) the duly elected President of the United States.” I talk to a lot of Trump supporters who don’t know I despise him (and Biden and Harris, too). You, like so many leftists I know, don’t understand his appeal and the contempt for the “woke.” That, in part, explains the pathetic performance of the left this week.
@ Neal Z
You’ve just alienated more than half the country. Many people don’t particularly care for either candidate and just vote for what they think is the lesser of the two evils. And I won’t buy into making MAGA a dirty word. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to make America great again, as a lot of people believe we have slipped.
“What this means is there will be a lot more white people in charge at United. That is NOT a good thing.” Replace “white” with another race and imagine the outrage. You are racist, simply enough. Let’s hope all businesses hire the best and brightest. Do that, and I care not what the racial breakdown reveals.
What so many have missed here is VT and NH voted Harris, but elected a Republican governor. NC voted Trump and for a Democrat governor. Trump did great in swing states, but the Republicans will win maybe one of the Senate races in those states. Idiotic, simplistic analysis doesn’t work here. Once again, I think the choice between Harris and Trump is like a choice between execution methods.
Neal – May I point out something? The majority of voters preferred a “fascist, Nazi pig” to your candidate. Hmm. What does that say about the opposing party & their candidate?
Also, I think it’s time for your afternoon Thorazine dose.
“john says:
“I see Neal the idiot parrots the empty emotional talking points of the libtards. When an idiot doesn’t have an argument, they name call. Go Trump! Clean up the illegals, make us energy independent again , and restore the integrity and strength of the USA ! MAGA all the way”
Hey John, your Dear Leader was the champion of name calling and disrespect, and you are nicely following in his path. By the way, the US is basically energy independent. We produce more oil than we use, but some of it is a type that can’t easily be refined here. So we sell it to others, and in turn buy the kind of oil we CAN use from others.
Biden is an authoritarian, fascist, Nazi pig who belongs in prison… or worse. But, 81 million brain dead idiots voted for him – many ignorantly and in contrast to their own best interests – so he is (unfortunately) the current duly elected President of the United States. Unlike the liberal Media who still refuse to accept the election results, I (happily) accept the 2024 results. Kirby is a scumbag and he knows that he needs to kiss the ass of the fantastic new administration to get what he needs for his company, even tough he’s just another liberal DEI shill, and thus his congratulatory letter makes good business sense.
@ Neal Z. Unfortunately for your tormented mind, the number of popular votes doesn’t really reflect how many embraced the Harris/Walz ticket. Think how many voted for Harris, evidently like you, because she isn’t Trump. They were the single issue voters. Additionally do you really understand what a fascist or Nazi was? Unless you are ignorant, I doubt you would use those terms so freely. Many of us suffered in silence for 12 years . . . let’s see if the liberal side of the Democrat party can last for 2.
Define “woke”
Im so excited that Elon and Trump are anti union. Time to dismantle every single union in the United States.
@Terry – you need to get a grip on reality, and quickly. Gary’s article is perfectly fine, and more likely, you need some thorazine.
Now go sit down in your chair, keep calm and quiet, and do your work.