Oscar Munoz, who is the CEO of United Airlines, plans to leave his post next spring. In May 2019, Munoz will become an executive chairman and will replace Jane Garvey who is retiring from the board. It is important to mention that United’s premarket share price increased by 1%. United Airlines is the 3rd largest airline in the world. Such decisions may affect the stock markets in the long run.
Scott Kirby, who is a current president of United Airlines, will become the next chief executive officer starting from next spring. The world-famous company announced this decision on Thursday.
The move end speculations that Kirby would become the next CEO of American Airlines. It is worth mentioning that shares of American Airlines fell by 26% in 2018. Kirby worked with Parker for a decade when America West merged with U.S. Air. This company later merged with American Airlines. As a result, American became the largest airline not only in the U.S. but around the globe.
According to the company, the board, as well as Munoz, felt it was time to initiate the process of a smooth transition to the next CEO.
Moreover, this move is one of the decisions anticipated by the airline industry and Wall Street.
Scott Kirby and the aviation industry
Munoz, along with Kirby, helped to improve the situation. For example, the president of United Airlines made the decision to changes the strategy regarding the smaller cities.
United added flights from secondary cities such as Rochester, Minnesota, to major hubs. This move had a positive impact as traffic through hubs started to grow, which helped to boost the profit.
The net profit rose from $2.1 billion in 2017 to $2.5 billion in 2018. Moreover, this year’s net profit already reached $2.3 billion after the third quarter. Also, the company raised its full-year earnings guidance in October.
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