Smash Notes
Why Did United Buy Planes During COVID? · Cheeky Pint

Cheeky Pint

The airline CEO putting Starlink on every plane

Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, joins John and Ben Thompson to break down the airline business and United’s contrarian bets shaping commercial aviation. Scott details United’s massive COVID fleet expansion while competitors shrank, why customer surveys are useless for predicting the future, and rolling out SpaceX’s Starlink across the entire fleet…

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Notes

  1. Why Did United Buy Planes During COVID? at 0:32

    Scott Kirby says United bought planes during COVID because the experts were wrong and every other long-haul airline was shrinking. Full answer

  2. Why Does United Own Its Reservation System? at 10:50

    Scott Kirby says United owns its reservation system because the airline locked into a legacy mainframe it already owned, and the later owners did not want to… Full answer

  3. When Will United Show Weather Delay Odds? at 15:23

    Scott Kirby wants United to show a weather-impact percentage on the passenger screen by Christmas, in time for the weather trouble that comes with Christmas… Full answer

  4. Why Is Air Traffic Control the Bottleneck for Airlines? at 21:57

    Scott Kirby says air traffic control, not airport capacity, is what limits the airline. He puts air traffic control at 90% of the problem. Full answer

  5. Why Does United Say Fast Wi-Fi Beats Free Wi-Fi? at 35:41

    Scott Kirby says fast internet is the real value of Starlink on United Airlines, and free is not the value proposition. Full answer

  6. Why Does Wall Street Hate United Aircraft Bets? at 39:24

    Scott Kirby says Wall Street almost always hates the big things United does, and aircraft investment is one of them. Full answer

  7. Why Won't Boeing and Airbus Build New Planes? at 47:33

    Scott Kirby says Boeing and Airbus will not replace the 757 because the two manufacturers hold a global duopoly and have quietly agreed, though not in any… Full answer

  8. Why Do Low-cost Airlines Keep Failing? at 56:12

    Scott Kirby says low-cost airlines in the United States keep failing because they left the cheap airports that made the model work and then could not charge… Full answer

  9. Why Does United Limit Where It Flies? at 1:01:33

    Scott Kirby keeps United Airlines disciplined by limiting where it flies. United only flies to its hubs. Full answer

  10. Why Should an Airline Cancel Routes That Lose Money? at 1:06:52

    Scott Kirby says an airline should cancel any route that loses money, including a route people defend as strategic. The route network is the foundation. Full answer

  11. Why Do Credit Card Miles Look Like Pure Airline Profit? at 1:07:55

    Scott Kirby says credit card miles look like pure airline profit because people see only the revenue. Full answer

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