United Airlines News

United's apology tour just extended to its former frequent flyers.

Munoz is just a few months back from a health setback that would sideline most mortals. Still, the expectations on him to deliver immediately are strong. So far he's saying all the right things and he's managed to rally internal support in a way his predecessor never did.

From outward appearances, the prospects looked bleak several weeks ago for the hedge fund-led proxy fight to succeed at United but the dissidents had the ear of other big shareholders and the United board. It now appears as though the dissidents, including airline and online travel veterans, accomplished a whole lot.

Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines continue to lead the pack when it comes to on-time arrivals. But Virgin America, which will likely be acquired by Alaska Airlines, stood above its competitors overall.

The dissident shareholders at United are facing an uphill battle in their proxy fight as CEO Oscar Munoz has garnered a great deal of support from United's unions/employees. The hedge funds claim, though, that they support Munoz and only want to equip him to do a better job by putting in place a more experienced board.

New fares in the pipeline only spell difficulty for tomorrow's consumers.

We won't speculate about the prospects of the proxy fight at United in which the dissidents have enlisted the support of former Continental CEO Gordon Bethune and online travel veterans. The timing, though, would have been more beneficial had the board battle been started under United's Jeff Smisek regime.

The other shoe has finally dropped and American and United will soon deprive the most-budget-conscious travelers of upgrades and other perks.

American Airlines Group CEO sounds as though he has turned into a labor activist. OK, not really, but he knows you can't have a successful company unless its corporate culture is healthy and its employees have a real stake in its well-being.

United's lack of leadership on its board, as well as a shallow executive bench, was an issue before former CEO Jeff Smisek was forced out in October. Outside of Munoz' appointment to the CEO position, that picture hasn't changed since then.