Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan Bonus POD: Scott Kirby, United CEO
May 12, 2025
Scott Kirby, the CEO of United Airlines, shares insights into the current state of air travel safety. He discusses the recent air traffic control blackout at Newark Airport and emphasizes how pilots and air traffic controllers work together to ensure passenger safety. Kirby explains United's strategic flight reductions in response to FAA staffing issues and operational challenges, aiming to enhance reliability. He also highlights the importance of modernizing the air traffic control system to address safety and efficiency.
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Safety Maintained Despite Radar Outages
- When radar outages occur, pilots and systems use multiple backups to maintain safety.
- The system slows down, causing delays but ensuring air travel remains absolutely safe.
Reduce Flights to Improve Reliability
- Airlines have proactively reduced flights in schedules to align with airport capacity.
- This pruning improves on-time performance and reduces customer disruption.
Larger Planes Offset Flight Cuts
- Despite schedule reductions, airfares from Newark have not increased due to softened demand.
- Larger airplanes replace some flights, maintaining seat capacity while slowing operations.