United Won’t Pay Munoz a Full Bonus: U.S. Airline CEO Pay 2018
Photo Credit: United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz made about $10.5 million in total compensation last year but was denied a chunk of his bonus because the board determined the airline hasn't made enough progress with customer satisfaction. United Airlines / United Airlines
Skift Take
U.S. airline CEOs make a lot of money. But they have tough jobs, and their businesses are making money. Maybe they deserve it.
After United Airlines' disastrous 2017 — when security officers in Chicago forcibly removed a customer from an overbooked plane — the company's board revamped how senior executives earned performance bonuses, adding a segment for customer satisfaction.
By most accounts United has improved. But not enough, the board found.
"While progress has been made, the Company had not yet achieved the desired levels of customer satisfaction," it said in its recent proxy filing.
CEO Oscar Munoz still did fine in 2018, as United hit targets for pretax income and "strategic" initiatives, and came close to operational goals for on-time performance, lost baggage rates, and flight completion rates.
Munoz earned total compensation last year of $10.5 million, almost $1 million more than in 2017, when he did not take his bonus because of the Chicago airport incident.
Most U.S. airline CEOs earned more total compensation in 2018 than the previous year, and for good reason. Business was bo
