- United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz announced that he is stepping down and transitioning to chairman in May 2020 and will be succeeded by president Scott Kirby
Today United CEO Oscar Munoz announced that he is stepping down and transitioning to chairman in May 2020. United president Scott Kirby is succeeding Munoz. Prior to joining United, Kirby was president of American Airlines since it merged with US Airways in 2013.
Munoz will be officially stepping down from the CEO position in May 2020. Kirby was hired by United as president in 2016 with a goal of improving the operations of the airline. And Kirby’s hiring has been credited as being one of the major reasons why United saw performance improvements.
“With United in a stronger position than ever, now is the right time to begin the process of passing the baton to a new leader,” said Munoz in a statement. “One of my goals as CEO was to put in place a successful leadership transition for United Airlines.”
One of the most tumultuous situations United dealt with over the last year was the grounding of the Boeing 737 Max fleet of airplanes. Currently, United has 14 of those planes grounded. And the company was planning to receive 16 more this year. Those additional Boeing 737 deliveries were stopped until the airline manufacturer builds a fix.
Munoz became CEO of United in 2015 after succeeding Jeff Smisek. Smisek resigned from United in September 2015 after accusations that the airline attempted to influence officials at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Smisek was not charged for any wrongdoing, but former Port Authority Chairman David Samson was convicted of a felony for delaying an airport project in order to persuade United Airlines to fly to an airport near a home in South Carolina that he owned.
United also gained a negative reputation for a scandal in 2017 when Dr. David Dao was physically dragged off a plane by police due to an oversold flight. Munoz has been pushing to grow capacity at the company while improving financial, operational, and customer service issues.
When Munoz becomes executive chairman in May, he will be succeeding Jane Garvey — who is retiring. And before Kirby was announced as CEO, there were rumors that American Airlines would hire him to succeed its CEO Doug Parker.
“With United in a stronger position than ever, now is the right time to begin the process of turning over the baton to a new leader,” said Munoz.
United has seen its net profit grow from $2.1 billion in 2017 to $2.5 billion last year. And this year, United earned $2.3 billion through the third quarter and it raised the full-year earnings guidance in October.
