United Is Fined $2.25 Million Over ‘Chairman’s Flight’ for Political Operative
Skift Take
For United, this went about as well as the airline could have hoped. Now the airline can refocus its attention on winning back customers.
United Airlines will not be charged in connection with a special flight the airline operated from Newark to Columbia, South Carolina to appease a senior New Jersey political appointee, but the carrier will pay a $2.25 million penalty as part of a deal with the government, New Jersey's U.S. Attorney announced Thursday.
U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman made the announcement after David Samson, formerly the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, pleaded guilty to charges he coerced United into flying to the South Carolina airport, near where he had a vacation home. According to Fishman's office, United executives initially told Samson the route would not be profitable, but the airline relented due to political pressure, timing flig
