Current:Home > StocksUnited CEO admits to taking private jet amid U.S. flight woes -AssetPath
United CEO admits to taking private jet amid U.S. flight woes
View
Date:2025-04-17 16:50:25
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby issued an apology Friday for chartering a private jet at the height of the nationwide weather-related travel disruptions earlier this week which saw thousands of flights delayed and canceled.
Kirby on Wednesday took a private jet from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey to Denver, Colorado, a United spokesperson confirmed to CBS News.
According to the flight tracking website FlightAware, more than 7,400 U.S. flights were delayed on Wednesday, and another 1,200 U.S. flights were canceled.
Kirby, in a statement provided to CBS News Friday evening, said it "was the wrong decision" to charter the jet "because it was insensitive to our customers who were waiting to get home."
He went on to "sincerely apologize to our customers and our team members who have been working around-the-clock for several days -- often through severe weather -- to take care of our customers."
His apology comes just days after he criticized the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to cancel hundreds of flights this past weekend because of the severe weather.
In an email to employees Monday, Kirby said the FAA "failed" United by specifically ordering flight cancellations and delays at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey amid difficult weather conditions that it "has historically been able to manage."
The FAA, which oversees air traffic in the U.S., responded to Kirby's criticisms by telling CBS News in an email that it "will always collaborate with anyone seriously willing to join us to solve a problem."
Air travel was still strained going into the Fourth of July holiday weekend. As of Friday night, more than 400 U.S. flights had been canceled and 6,700 delayed, per FlightAware.
— Elizabeth Napolitano contributed to this report.
- In:
- New Jersey
- Flight Delays
- United Airlines
- Flight Cancellations
- Denver
veryGood! (8679)
Related
- Sarah J. Maas books explained: How to read 'ACOTAR,' 'Throne of Glass' in order.
- Kourtney Kardashian Mistaken for Sister Khloe During Drunken Vegas Wedding to Travis Barker
- Russian lawmakers approve ban on gender-affirming medical care
- Ariana Madix Called Out Tom Sandoval for Acting Weird Around Raquel Leviss Before Affair Scandal
- Whoopi Goldberg is delightfully vile as Miss Hannigan in ‘Annie’ stage return
- Nepal tourist helicopter crash near Mount Everest kills 6 people, most of them tourists from Mexico
- A teen's solo transatlantic flight calls attention to wasteful 'ghost flights'
- Love Is Blind’s Bartise Bowden Shares Adorable New Footage of His Baby Boy
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- Turkey agrees to Sweden's NATO bid
Ranking
- Google unveils a quantum chip. Could it help unlock the universe's deepest secrets?
- Jane Birkin, actor, singer and fashion icon, dies at 76
- Jason Wahler Shares Rare Glimpse Into His Friendship With Kristin Cavallari After Laguna Beach
- California is getting a very dry start to spring, with snowpack far below average
- Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
- Flooding kills at least 259 in South Africa
- Listening to Burial at the end of the world
- Europe has designs on making the 'fast fashion' industry more sustainable
Recommendation
Jamie Foxx reps say actor was hit in face by a glass at birthday dinner, needed stitches
Unprecedented ocean temperatures much higher than anything the models predicted, climate experts warn
Italian court sparks outrage in clearing man of sexual assault for quick grope of teen student
Kelli Giddish Is Returning to Law & Order: SVU After Season 24 Exit
Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
RHONJ: Teresa Giudice's Involvement in Melissa Gorga Cheating Rumor Revealed
Russian military recruitment official who appeared on Ukraine blacklist shot dead while jogging
Climate change threatens nearly one third of U.S. hazardous chemical facilities