Tag Archives for scott kirby.
United spent the Biden years leaning hard into the corporate-left script — pronouns, DEI signaling, and even vaccine mandates — and now Scott Kirby is adopting the Trump-era posture with public defenses of tariffs and other priorities that track the new power center. The pivot is so obvious that the MAGA right is calling him a hypocrite, and the receipts they are circulating say more about modern corporate governance than about any one airline CEO.
Scott Kirby used this week’s Airlines Confidential podcast to lay out, in rare detail, how his thinking as a leader has changed over the past two decades — and how that shift now shapes United’s strategy. It’s the clearest explanation yet of the pivot from spreadsheet-driven tactics to a product-focused vision he once dismissed.
Scott Kirby didn’t just adjust United’s messaging between administrations — he rebuilt the airline’s public identity to match whichever political winds were blowing. Under Biden, United wrapped itself in pronouns and DEI; under Trump, Kirby is aligning with Stephen Miller and Trump.
United CEO Scott Kirby marked Veterans Day by declaring his airline “the best in the history of aviation.” But is that claim even close? From Pan Am’s glory days to Singapore Airlines’ long reign at the top, here’s who really deserves the title.
United CEO Scott Kirby insists only Delta and United can be “premium” airlines, dismissing American’s strategy. But United and Delta aren’t as elite as claimed—and American Airlines has a clear path to leapfrog them both.
United CEO Scott Kirby predicts Spirit Airlines won’t survive past this year, saying bluntly “Off the cliff they go” and declaring their business model already dead. Here’s why he’s right – and where he’s wrong.
We’ve aleady seen airlines pull back flying for the fall, in anticipation of lower demand. That’s focused largely on early morning, late night and redeye trips and off-peak days.
Kirby can’t stop the tariffs, but by offering the President political cover in the business community he might get something in exchange later on? Now Kirby says that Trump’s trade turmoil will make the U.S. stronger.
Some customers choose on schedule and price. They may not value the difference in product across airlines, or may not be aware of them. To Kirby, those are basic economy customers – show them the lowest price and give them the least. (This may be a mistake, I will explain below.) Others choose on product elements. Those are the customers to fight for.
At an investor conference this week, United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby was asked whether United might buy another airline? “JetBlue is the obvious candidate” and don’t ask me, go ask JetBlue!
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
