United Continental Holdings Inc CEO Oscar Munoz is seen in an undated handout picture courtesy of United Airlines.
Advertisement
Oscar Munoz plans to return to the helm of United Airlines at a few point during the first three months of 2016.
The announcement serves to end the uncertainty regarding who will take the helm for United Airlines, which is considered to be the second-largest carrier in the United States based on capacity.
“My time away will be a little longer than I would like, but based upon discussion with my doctors I will be back in the first quarter”, he said. Smisek and two lieutenants left United amid a federal probe into whether ex-Port Authority chief David Samson got the airline to operate a money-losing route to his weekend home in SC in exchange for political favors.
United on October 19 appointed Brett J. Hart, the company’s executive vice president and general counsel, as acting CEO, giving him a $100,000-per-month pay bump during his tenure, which now apparently will endure into the new year. He thanked Mr. Hart and the management team for their leadership in his absence and “for embracing United’s new direction”.
The letter was the first solid indication that Munoz plans to return as CEO and how soon.
Advertisement
During his short tenure, Munoz acknowledged that United had failed its passengers with chronic delays and computer outages and that it had poor relations with its workers. Your messages of encouragement have helped profoundly. I look forward to seeing you in 2016 to continue working together to build a great airline. He joined the United Continental board in 2010. It has been reported that United has earned $4.8 billion in its third quarter on revenue of $10.3 billion compared with profit of $924 million a year ago on revenue of $10.5 billion.
