Originally Posted by
flightlessbirds
Kirby is blaming the pilots rather than accept the consequences of his decision to not buy a SNB fleet. That unlocks the scope everyone says he wants. Sure he wants it, but only if someone else is paying for it.
I thought for sure that he would follow Delta’s lead with the A220 coming out of the pandemic. It would have offered a great product for small to medium markets, given UAX up to 70 more 175’s, and facilitated the elimination of the single class 50 seaters. The brand would be greatly improved. He went a different route. Instead of a SNB, he ordered hundreds of max/neo’s, got no additional 175’s, and the single class 50 seaters are still going to be mostly phased out. I’m glad that the United pilots dug in their heels on scope. It forced Kirby’s hand and it turns out that he picked higher paying aircraft over a SNB. I guess time will tell which company picked the right path.