The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
The head of United Airlines Holdings Inc apologised to US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg after the carrier publicly faulted regulators for worsening flight delays.
Scott Kirby, United’s chief executive officer, said he reached out to clarify comments in a staff memo earlier this month. In it, a United executive said half of its delay minutes and the majority of cancellations over the prior four months were the result of actions by the Federal Aviation Administration to manage traffic and flight capacity.
That prompted a sharply worded rebuttal from the agency, which accused United of deceptively conflating
traffic-control actions with steps taken in response to poor weather.
Kirby didn’t back down from the broader claim that flight disruptions have been largely out of the airline’s control, but said the specifics of United’s argument were misconstrued.
“I apologised to Buttigieg because that is not what we intended,†the CEO said on a conference call to discuss quarterly earnings.