United Airlines, Explained
Photo Credit: United Airlines has been in operation for over nine decades and will fly to six continents at the end of 2019. Pictured is a United 737 taxiing at its Houston hub. United Airlines
Skift Take
United Airlines has been around a long time and has a huge globe-spanning presence. How did it get to where it is today? We try to wrap our heads around the company's somewhat complicated history.
With its history dating back to the 1920s, United Airlines has grown over the last 90-plus years into one of the world’s largest carriers. Through a combination of mergers, acquisitions, and organic expansion, United’s network today includes 356 destinations and seven continental U.S. hubs (Chicago, Houston, Newark, Washington Dulles, San Francisco, Denver, and Los Angeles). The Chicago-based airline will serve six continents by the end of 2019 on its own aircraft.
Oscar Munoz is United’s CEO, a position he assumed in 2015. The company lured Scott Kirby from rival American Airlines to become its president the following year. United’s chief financial officer is Gerry Laderman, and Greg Hart is the chief operations officer.
The airline announced in December 2019 a reshuffling of its leadership team. Scott Kirby was promoted to CEO in a long-expected move, with Oscar Munoz shifting to executive chairman of the airline group’s board. The changes will
