United CEO Still Wants a Merger With American: ‘This Would Be Really Good for Consumers’


Skift Take

United CEO Scott Kirby said he still believes a merger with American would be beneficial but that the Fort Worth carrier’s management is the main obstacle.

United CEO Scott Kirby is still interested in merging with American, saying that he has heard interest in the tie-up from unions and customers.

“We would need the unions, we need the customers, the shareholders, the regulators, and the management team,” Kirby said to reporters at the IATA AGM in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday. “I think we can get four of those five, but we’ve got to have the fifth one, which is the management team, and we don't have that clearly, so we can't get it done without them.”

United made headlines when it became public that Kirby pitched the idea of an American mega mer