Originally Posted by
joepilot50
It's often the question, but I don't think he would have changed AA's direction much if he was selected over Isom. Not saying Kirby is bad as he has shown to be a capable leader, but he isn't the visonary his rep makes him out to be. He just recognizes the strengths of UAL and AA and he is good at exploiting them. He wouldn't have made AA into this international powerhouse as it isn't AA's strength as much as AA pilots would want that.
Kirby knows AA weaknesses and knows how to use it against them. He is the definition of insider knowledge lol.
Don't get me wrong, AA doesn't need any help going for 8th but a high up executive like Kirby with everything they knew about AA going to a strong competitor doesn't help.