The new CEO of United Airlines faces a daunting list of problems he must fix, including late flights and technology that too often suffers embarrassing outages.
But if Oscar Munoz listens to people who fly his airline—and some who have stopped—he'll start his tenure by addressing a longtime problem for the world’s second-biggest airline: poor customer service.
Early signs point to a honeymoon for Munoz, the railroad executive tapped to replace Jeff Smisek as CEO. United’s labor unions and Wall Street analysts were mostly upbeat about Munoz’s arrival—or maybe more accurately, Smisek’s departure.
Munoz knows the airline from his combined 11 years as a director first of Continental Airlines and then at United Continental Holdings Inc. Now he must guide United on a day-to-day basis. “I know from my time on the board we’ve made significant progress, but there’s still a lot to be done,” he said.
Among the biggest challenges:
Improve Customer Service
Frequent fliers often say that United’s employees are less likely to help than counterparts at other big airlines.
“Half of their flight attendants are genuinely kind, but the other half are resentful—like, ‘Why are you flying on this airline?’” said Andrew Acker, who frequently flies on United for a software company in Newport Beach, California.
Brian Kelly, CEO of travel site ThePointsGuy.com, said United’s hub airport in Newark, New Jersey, “is ground zero for customer-service failures.”
Chicago-based United finished last in customer service among six traditional North American airlines in a recent survey by JD Power. It trailed Alaska, Delta, American, Air Canada, and US Airways. Among the 12 largest U.S. airlines, United had the second-worst complaint rate in the first half of 2015, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Munoz acknowledged to analysts Tuesday that United must convince customers that it is committed to better customer service. “That is going to take a lot of time and effort,” he added.
Reduce Delays and Canceled Flights
In the first six months of this year, United’s on-time performance trailed its three largest peers—Delta, American, and Southwest. In early 2015, it canceled large numbers of flights on its United Express regional brand, which is operated by other carriers.
