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United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby apologized Friday for hopping on a private plane to get out of the New York area earlier this week while thousands of United passengers were stranded because the airline canceled so many flights.
“Taking a private jet was the wrong decision because it was insensitive to our customers who were waiting to get home,” Kirby said in a statement issued by the airline. “I sincerely apologize to our customers and our team members who have been working around-the-clock for several days – often through severe weather – to take care of our customers.”
Kirby concluded by promising “to better demonstrate my respect for the dedication of our team members and the loyalty of our customers”.
Kirby caught the private flight from Teterboro, New Jersey, to Denver, Colorado, on Wednesday, when United canceled 750 flights – one-fourth of its schedule for the day. That figure does not include flights on United Express.
United has canceled nearly 3,000 flights this week, with the largest number at its Newark Liberty international airport hub in New Jersey, which was hit by thunderstorms for much of the week.
Kirby blamed disruptions in Newark last weekend on a shortage of Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controllers. He said in a note to employees “that the FAA frankly failed us” by reducing the rate at which planes could arrive and depart the airport, where United is the dominant carrier.
As United continued to struggle throughout this week, transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg, whose department includes the FAA, said on Twitter that airlines had recovered from the storms “with the exception of United”. He drove home the point by including a bar graph that compared United’s cancellation rate with the rest of the industry.
Unions representing the airline’s pilots and flight attendants have joined in the criticism, accusing United management of poor planning, a lack of crew schedulers, and operating too many flights.
Chicago-based United said it did not pay for the CEO’s flight on Wednesday. The airline declined to say whether Kirby frequently takes private planes.
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Comments
Completely.
The airlines from here that can get us direct to Barcelona are few: AA, Delta, Air Canada. And AC is showing split-service including Lufthansa on SOME flights. So... Fly all the way to Frankfurt in that case, and then fly BACK to Spain. Sure.
NOTHING is simple, straightforward and easy anymore. I just discovered my Irish passport renewal MUST be done online. I have to upload a picture. Do I know how to do that? They don't care. Maybe it will be simpler than I'm thinking.
Oh, ya; United is another one that could get us to Europe. No, thanks.
FWIIW, Spain and Portugal are hard to get to directly. Unfortunately you’ll be changing planes in some European city whose airport can’t find enough employees. Last year Heathrow had 18,000 job openings! Do avoid Air Canada. I think Paris (CDG) might be the worst major airport I’ve ever navigated, either as a destination or a transfer point. Amsterdam and Frankfurt are not at all that bad.
If I lived in Ireland, Northern Ireland or England, I could do this by mail, which I'm accustomed to. (Somehow, not Wales?) Blame all this crap on the g-d Marketing Dept., eh? Another thing I'm wondering about: i'll have to pay by credit card, online. But all the fees are listed in euros........ Maybe the conversion will just be automatic? Like at any shop I might walk into over there?
This had absolutely nothing to do with the power outages or water shortages resulting from a winter storm.
Besides, what can a U.S. senator possibly do to ameliorate the situation?