CAPA Live: United’s Kirby – government subsidies “a unique situation”

United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby believes business and international travel will come back with international traffic coming back even strongly than domestic by 2023.

The airline has permanently eliminated change fees and is serious about changing the customer culture.

United Airlines has committed to becoming 100% green by 2050 without using carbon offsets. The airline has partnered with Oxy1PointFive* to be the world's largest direct air capture and sequestration which sucks carbon directly out of the atmosphere and permanently stores it underground so it's permanently gone.

CEO Kirby says recent government subsidies are a unique situation which supports aviation as a critical part of the infrastructure, as opposed to just ongoing regular support of businesses that don't have a workable business model.

Mr Kirby believes "Business travel will come back because it's about relationships, it's not transactional".

Talking at the CAPA Live on 10-Mar-2021, United Airlines' CEO Scott Kirby spoke with KornFerry Partner Michael Bell. Some of the key highlights can be found below.