United CEO to step down next year, will become board chair

Oscar Munoz, who helped to steady United Airlines after a troubled 2010 merger, but not without the occasional public relations crisis, will step down next year as the airline’s chief executive.

In May, J. Scott Kirby, the airline’s president and a veteran of the industry, will succeed Munoz, who will move on to the position of executive chairman of the airline’s board for a one-year term.

Analysts said they were not surprised by the leadership change. Munoz, a first- generation college student from an immigrant family, had been expected to assume the role of chairman several years ago, but the promotion was scuttled in 2017 after the airline stumbled in responding to public outrage when security officers dragged a passenger off one of its planes in Chicago.

“While the timing of this transition was always a key topic, this has been largely expected by investors ever since Oscar Munoz hired Scott Kirby in 2016,” Andrew Didora, an airline analyst with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, wrote in a research note. Didora added that he did not anticipate a change to the airline’s strategy.

Kirby was president of American Airlines after its 2013 merger with US Airways, where he had held the same title. By comparison, Munoz was a relative newcomer to the industry when he joined United in 2015 from CSX, the freight railroad where he had been president and chief operating officer. He previously was a director on United’s board and before that on the board of Continental Airlines.

When Munoz took the helm at United, the airline was struggling to overcome problems associated with its 2010 merger with Continental and a federal corruption investigation involving the company’s dealings with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Despite his lack of direct industry experience, Munoz helped turn United around.

But Munoz’s tenure was not without its controversies. In April 2017, a passenger, Dr. David Dao, was dragged off a United flight at O’Hare International Airport when he objected to giving up his seat for an airline employee. The airline was harshly criticized for how it handled the crisis.

United has done well financially in recent years. The company reported third- quarter earnings in October that topped analyst expectations.

MIKE COHEN — THE NEW YORK TIMES When Oscar Munoz became United’s chief, the airline was dealing with issues stemming from its Continental merger.