United Airlines News

No, there's not some giant recovery taking place. Global airline are still in severe trouble. But United Airlines is betting it can make some money in China — if only the government lets it back in.

Scott Kirby takes over as United's CEO on May 20. Kirby is positioning himself as the rare leader in corporate America who tells the truth to employees and shareholders. Some people don't like him for it. But his comments are refreshing.

United President Scott Kirby has taken Covid-19 seriously since the virus first started spreading across the globe. Will that foresight help lessen the blow?

Airlines are reverting to old strategies, like so-called tag flights, to try to maintain service in an era of depressed demand. It is not a panacea, but it might help them conserve cash for a bit longer.

Any future messaging will need to deliver on the promises, otherwise airlines risk losing loyalty in the long term.

A $2 billion loss is a big number. But at least some people were traveling in the first part of the first quarter. What's going to happen in the second quarter?

Crisis or not, the U.S. government made it clear that airlines owe refunds to a lot of customers. Airlines don't want to see cash go out the door, so look for more carriers to take creative approaches to try to buy passengers off and keep them from asking for their money back.

United Airlines is in great peril, losing $100 million in revenue per day. But its CEO-in-waiting is already thinking about how the airline can emerge stronger from this crisis. Let's see if he can pull it off.

Richard Anderson, the former Delta Air Lines CEO, loved to talk about how Delta was a high-quality industrial company. Delta is a great airline, no doubt. But let's be honest: Airlines are not regular companies. We're now being reminded of that fact.

Loyalty programs are one of the biggest assets at an airline. As bad as things are, the programs probably still have value that airlines can leverage for cash.