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Scott Kirby

Chief Executive Officer & Director, United Airlines Holdings

Search every verified Scott Kirby interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby has been discussing the company's financial performance amid rising fuel costs. He said that while fuel prices increased by $8 billion year over year, United passed along about 72 percent of that increase and remained "solidly profitable," citing the airline's brand loyalty and efforts to "decommoditize" air travel. He also noted the company's largest international expansion in its history, announcing ten new nonstop destinations for 2027, including Okinawa, Japan, and Ibiza, Spain, and said United is equipping its fleet with Starlink internet service to allow streaming on every flight. Kirby also addressed comments he made about a wealth tax, clarifying that he was not advocating for specific policy but answering a question about a non-consensus opinion. He described his view as one based on "fairness," saying that passive investment income is sometimes never taxed under current laws, and he proposed that a wealth tax paired with lower income taxes could be a fairer system. He stated he is not running for office and said he would like to see national service for everyone, expressing concern about deficits and passing problems to the next generation.

Recent appearances

  • United ‘Still Solidly Profitable’ as Fuels Costs Rise, CEO Kirby Says

    October 21, 2026 · 📺 Bloomberg Television

    United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby discusses the company’s ability to pass along higher fuel costs and seeing continued strength in customer demand. Kirby also shares his thoughts on a wealth tax and other US social and policy points on “Bloomberg Surveillance.” -------- More on Bloomberg Television and Markets Like this video? Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss any videos from Bloomberg Markets & Finance: https://tinyurl.com/ysu5b8a9 Visit http://www.bloomberg.com for business news & analysis, up-to-the-minute market data, features, profiles and more. Connect with B…

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  • Leadership in the C-Suite: United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby

    October 21, 2026 · 📺 LMU College of Business Administration

    As CEO of United Airlines, Scott Kirby leads one of the world's largest and most visible enterprises, where long-term strategy, operational excellence, culture, and customer expectations converge every day. In this candid conversation with Dean Dayle Smith, Kirby reflects on the decisions that shaped his leadership philosophy, the value of investing in the customer experience, and what it takes to keep large organizations resilient amid constant change. From AI and analytics to talent, trust, and growth, this discussion explores the opportunities and challenges shaping today's business landsca…

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  • United CEO Kirby Defends Support of a US Wealth Tax

    October 21, 2026 · 📺 Bloomberg Television

    United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby addressed his thoughts on a wealth tax in the United States, saying his view of a fair system would be some way of taxing wealth growth coupled with lower income taxes. He spoke on “Bloomberg Surveillance.” -------- More on Bloomberg Television and Markets Like this video? Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss any videos from Bloomberg Markets & Finance: https://tinyurl.com/ysu5b8a9 Visit http://www.bloomberg.com for business news & analysis, up-to-the-minute market data, features, profiles and more. Connect with Bloomberg Television o…

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  • Bloomberg Surveillance 10/21/2026

    October 21, 2026 · 📺 Bloomberg Television

    Jonathan Ferro, Lisa Abramowicz and Annmarie Hordern speak daily with leaders and decision makers from Wall Street to Washington and beyond. No other program better positions investors and executives for the trading day than "Bloomberg Surveillance." Chapters: 00:00 SpaceX Surge, Big Tech Earnings and Tesla Merger Talk 04:23 Earnings Growth Is Making Stocks More Attractive — Aaron Kennon, Clear Harbor Asset Management 17:01 Data Center Backlash Could Grow Into 2028 — Brian Gardner, Stifel 31:07 SpaceX-Tesla Combination Is ‘Extremely Tangible’ — Pierre Ferragu, New Street Research 40:52 Many N…

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  • United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby: Stress from higher oil prices is increasing

    October 21, 2026 · 📺 CNBC Television

    CNBC’s Phil LeBeau and United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby join 'Squawk Box' to discuss the company's quarterly earnings results, impact of higher jet fuel costs, state of travel demand, his thoughts on wealth tax, and more.

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  • You @ United - United CEO Scott Kirby - Office Hours: Business Edition - Haslam College of Business

    September 30, 2026 · 📺 Office Hours: Business Edition

    Monica Langley is at United's flight training center in Denver to talk business with CEO Scott Kirby. They discuss United's history museum, beside the memorial to the employees lost on 9/11, then get into Kirby's competitive streak, merger talk, and his case that Chicago should be the biggest hub in the world. Kirby explains why his main job is making employees proud, why he wouldn't buy a foreign flag airline, what United borrows from Apple, and why he wants people to think United is cool. Chapters 0:00 Intro and Welcome from Denver 0:31 A Century of United History and the 9/11 Memorial 1:2…

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  • United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby on Making Bets & Building a US Flag Carrier | The CEO Signal

    September 10, 2026 · 📺 Semafor

    United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby wants to build what he calls the “undisputed flag carrier of the United States.” He argues that airlines are not commodities and that greater scale could benefit customers, but acknowledges a fundamental obstacle to consolidation: “We can’t get it done without a willing partner, and we don’t have one.” In this episode of The CEO Signal, Kirby discusses the decade-long push to transform United and how he thinks about the bets required to do it. A former card counter who says senior executives should play high-stakes poker with their own money, Kirby warns agains…

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  • United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby on fuel hedging at the start of the Iran war

    August 26, 2026 · 📺 Quest Means Business

    "It seemed hard for me to think that the Straits of Hormuz were going to be reliably and sustainably open. So far we've been right, but we've been planning all along for fuel to be higher for longer." United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby on fuel hedging at the start of the Iran war.

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  • United Airlines CEO on Expansion Plans, Airfares, Demand

    August 25, 2026 · 📺 Bloomberg Television

    United Airlines Chief Executive Officer Scott Kirby discusses the largest international expansion in the company’s history, the strength he sees in both customer demand and the US economy, and plans to offset increased oil prices. The carrier will now fly to 10 more destinations in Europe and Asia. Kirby speaks to Bloomberg's Lisa Abramowicz from United's hub at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. -------- More on Bloomberg Television and Markets Like this video? Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss any videos from Bloomberg Markets & Finance: https://tin…

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  • United Airlines announces largest international expansion in company's history

    August 25, 2026 · 📺 CBS Mornings

    United Airlines is expanding to 10 new international destinations, including Okinawa, Japan, and Ibiza, Spain. Scott Kirby, the airline's CEO, joins "CBS Mornings" with more. Each weekday morning, "CBS Mornings" co-hosts Gayle King and Nate Burleson bring you the latest breaking news, smart conversation and in-depth feature reporting. "CBS Mornings" airs weekdays at 7 a.m. on CBS and stream it at 8 a.m. ET on the CBS News app. Subscribe to "CBS Mornings" on YouTube:    / cbsmornings   Watch CBS News 24/7: https://cbsnews.com/live/ Download the CBS News app: https://cbsnews.com/mobile/ Follo…

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  • United Airlines Holdings Q2 2026 Earnings Call | Revenue Jumps 16% to $17.67B on Travel Demand

    July 17, 2026 · 📺 i101

    United Airlines Holdings Q2 2026 Earnings Conference Call. Twitter - https://x.com/i101yt If you find our work useful, please ...

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  • $UAL United Airlines Q2 2026 Earnings Conference Call

    July 16, 2026 · 📺 EARNMOAR

    07/16/2026 Q&A: 20:11 United Airlines Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides air transportation services in the United States, Canada, Atlantic, the Pacific, and Latin America. It transports people and cargo through its mainline and regional fleets. The company also offers ground handling, flight academy, frequent flyer award non-travel redemptions, and maintenance services for third parties. In addition, it provides freight and mail transportation services to commercial businesses, freight forwarders, logistics firms, and national postal services, as well as loyalty programs. The…

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Verified interview transcripts

Notable quotes

“I think AI is and will be really powerful, but I have a different view than the consensus view of AI. What most people are using it for today and what most people think they're going to use it for, I think is wrong. Today a lot of people are using it for summarizing stuff. If you're using AI to get a summary of a document, you are guaranteeing yourself that you're going to be mediocre because it's the average of what”

“Incremental change is good, but nobody gets excited about incremental change. And I want to excite people. And to excite people, you got to do something big. Something that feels bold. I think reading is really important. Don't get your information from AI. That may have a good starting point. You have to read and understand to be successful and come up with the vision and ideas that other people don't have and then ”

“I wasn't actually advocating for specific policy. I got asked a question of what's a nonconsensus opinion that you have? And a nonconsensus opinion... And so I gave one. And I... I'm not a politician. I'm never gonna run for politics, and I'm... It's not a policy advocacy. But I just think it's about... Pertaining on on a wealth tax, and there's probably other ways to do it. But the basic concept is one of fairness. ”

“We passed about 72% of the increase in fuel price, but I think it's pretty remarkable demonstration of the change... Industry changes, the resilience, and also decommoditizing air travel at United Airlines that while we're not earning as much in the second half as we did last year and as much as we were expecting to this year because of the run up in fuel, we're still solidly profitable. And it portends better times ”

“First, I was not advocating for a specific policy. I got asked the question of, what is a noncontentious opinion you have? A non-consensus opinion. I gave one. I am not a politician, will never run for politics, and it is not a policy advocacy, but I think that pertains on a wealth tax. A lot of people listening to this call today earn their income and earning taxes are 40% but if you are wealthy enough, you can have”

“Thanks for having me this morning. Good to come to you from our terminal in Houston. It is pretty remarkable and I am excited to be here to talk with you today when we have the price going up. Prices have been going up. They are bouncing off of a covered low. They are lower in real terms than pre-COVID. 72% increase in fuel price, but it is a pretty remarkable demonstration of the industry change, resilience, and de-”

Other executives at United Airlines Holdings

  • Josh Earnest, Executive VP of Communications & Advertising

The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →