Scott Kirby

Kirby holds bachelor’s degrees in computer science and operations research from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a master’s in operations research from George Washington University. He began his career at the Pentagon.⁠[1]

Kirby joined America West Airlines in 1995 and worked alongside Doug Parker for more than two decades, helping merge the Arizona-based discount carrier with US Airways and later American Airlines. He became president of US Airways in 2006 and of American in 2013.⁠[2]

On August 29, 2016, Kirby left American and became president of United Airlines with immediate effect, reporting to chief executive Oscar Munoz; Robert Isom succeeded him at American. Kirby said, “I am honored to be joining United at this important and exciting time.”⁠[3]

On December 5, 2019, United announced that Kirby would succeed Oscar Munoz as chief executive after the annual shareholders’ meeting on May 20, 2020, with Munoz becoming executive chairman for a one-year term. Kirby said, “I am honored to be named the next CEO of United and to succeed Oscar.”⁠[4]

On the October 21, 2026, earnings call, Kirby called the evidence mostly anecdotal but said some loyal customers of other airlines had switched to United “solely because of Starlink.” He expected low-Earth-orbit Wi-Fi to become an industry standard, with United still the only global airline offering StarlinkStarlinkStarlink is a satellite broadband service supporting video calls, streaming and communications in remote locations.Open the full entry at scale through 2027 and 2028.⁠[5]

He said, “It is hard to get brand loyal customers to switch airlines.”⁠[6]

Kirby sits on the IATA Board of Governors and chaired the Star Alliance Chief Executive Board from 2020 to 2024. He is married and has seven children.⁠[1]