Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, was spotted on a flight operated by his company’s rival, American Airlines, at San Francisco International Airport last Friday (8).
The sighting was made by flight attendant Kristine Tiley, who took a photo with Kirby, her former boss, and posted it on her social media. “Look who I had in first class today. What a nice guy. As nice as he was back then. He misses us and said hello to everyone,” Tiley wrote in the post.
The image left internet users completely confused, wondering why the CEO of one airline would fly with another company instead of his own. But according to The New York Post, Kirby may still be able to use lifetime flight benefits from American even after leaving his executive role at the company in 2016.
Kirby quickly took over as CEO of United and has recently been trying to merge his airline with American, even taking the idea to President Donald Trump during a meeting. However, Robert Isom, CEO of American, does not appear very willing to move forward with Kirby’s proposal.
“I was confident that this combination, which would have been about adding and not subtracting, creating a truly great airline that customers love, could obtain regulatory approval,” Kirby said in a statement.
“I had hoped to present that story to American, but they refused to engage and instead responded by publicly closing the door.”
Photos: Instagram @scottkirby / Facebook. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
