United Airlines announced Thursday that CEO Oscar Munoz will turn over day-to-day management of the airline next spring to President Scott Kirby, who will become company’s chief executive officer.
The change happens in May, when Munoz becomes executive chairman, succeeding Jane Garvey, 75, who is retiring from the board.The announcement helped boost United’s premarket share price by 1%. The move ends speculation Kirby could be hired to replace Doug Parker as CEO of American Airlines, where shares are down 26% in the last year. Kirby was Parker’s top lieutenant for a decade as Parker merged America West with U.S. Air and later merged U.S. Air with American, creating the nation’s largest airline. Kirby said in October he would not be leaving United.
A spokesperson for United told CNBC that rumors of the 52-year-old Kirby possibly leaving United did not play a role in the decision to elevate him to chief executive. Instead, the company said, the board and Munoz felt it was time to begin the process of a smooth transition to the next CEO.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,” Munoz said in Thursday’s announcement.
The move is one many in the airline industry and on Wall Street have anticipated for some time. Kirby, who was hired by Munoz in 2016 with a mandate to improve the airline’s execution, has been a driving force in improving United’s performance and profit growth during the last two years.
In a videotaped message sent to United employees announcing the leadership change, Kirby thanked Munoz for hiring him in 2016. “I will be a much better executive today, will be a much better CEO and a better person, for what I learned from you and following in the footsteps of an incredible leader,” Kirby said.Skift Take
The latest set of cancellations and delays caused by an arctic blast come as travelers have already faced disruptions due to the 737-9 grounding and severe weather that afflicted much of the U.S. on Tuesday.Airlines are canceling thousands of flights this long weekend as millions are under a severe storm watch due to an arctic blast expected to bring below zero temperatures, heavy snow and blustery winds.
As of Friday evening, the U.S. tallied 2,785 cancellations and 5,130 delays, according to FlightAware. That number is expected to climb throughout the weekend.
The arctic blast is expected to primarily affect the Midwest, along with the Rockies and Plains regions. The National Weather Service warned the weather would be “dangerously cold.”As a result, airports in Chicago, Denver and Detroit are experiencing hundreds of cancellations and delays. O’Hare, a hub for United Airlines and American Airlines, has canceled 414 flights, or around 40%, as of Friday evening. Midway International Airport, Chicago’s second-busiest airport, canceled 142 flights, tallying to around 58%, according to FlightAware.
Southwest — which has major bases in Chicago’s Midway and Denver — reported the most disruptions of the major U.S. carriers, with 401 cancellations and 1,052 delays.
The winter weather could be a big test for Southwest’s operations. The Dallas-based carrier has invested billions of dollars in de-icing equipment and technology after a winter storm in 2022 forced the carrier to cancel almost 17,000 flights between Christmas and New Year’s.
Southwest CEO Bob Jordan has also previously said such an incident would never happen again.
United canceled 282 flights as of Friday evening, but part of those cancellations are due to the Federal Aviation Administration grounding the Boeing 737 Max 9.
The wintry weather disruptions come as travelers have already faced numerous travel disruptions in the past week. United and Alaska Airlines have canceled hundreds of flights daily as a result of the 737-9 grounding, and severe storms ranging from heavy rain and snow to tornadoes hit much of the U.S. earlier in the week, causing more cancellations and delays.
Alaska said on Friday that it decided to cancel all flights operated on the 737-9 through Sunday as the FAA has paused inspections into the aircraft.