United Airlines News

Are old-school U.S. airlines too focused on short-term profits and competing against low-cost carriers to deliver a quality product to their loyal passengers?

Business travelers love saving two or three hours of flying time. They'll surely love United's new nonstop. But for everyone else, 18 hours is a long time to spend on an airplane. Even a 787.

United is making a sound business decision by rewarding its best customers. But in recent years, we've seen the chasm grow between the flying haves and have-nots. This will only further that trend.

We like Scott Kirby because of his honesty. He's right. Travelers may say they want comfort, but most value price over everything else.

Some of the airlines covered here come as a surprise, but it makes sense that United no longer wants to play nice with Qatar Airways and Emirates Airline. The good news? The changes won't affect many travelers.

Overbooking has gotten a lot of attention in the past three weeks, but, most of the time, it's not a big deal. Airlines know passengers won't show up, so they sell a few more tickets than they have seats. What's the harm in that? Airlines might want to reduce the number of extra seats they sell, but they don't need to retire the practice.

This has been a rough two and a half weeks for United, which was clearly caught off guard by the fallout from this now-famous April 9 incident. It will be some time before the airline regains its footing, but perhaps this report is a step in the right direction.

Like them or not, basic economy fares are here to stay. And United is expanding them throughout its domestic markets.

It's easy to blame this on the incident last week in Chicago. And perhaps the two things are related. But it's not a big surprise Munoz will not become board chair next year. He had a heart transplant last year, and he has been reducing his role over time.

Is there a more honest airline executive than United's Scott Kirby? Probably not. But that's a good thing. United's 2015 decision to leave New York JFK was a head-scratcher, and it's nice to see new management calling it a mistake.