Oscar Munoz, Executive Chairman of United Airlines

In this episode of Talks at GS, Oscar Munoz discusses lessons from leading United through the pandemic, the impact on international air travel, and the future of the flying experience.

On the future of international air travel: “Our job has always been connecting people and ‘uniting the world’ is our mission statement and our shared purpose and what you see at the fundamental levels of business is people want to travel. They want to interact with relationships all over the world. People want to do that. It will come back slowly. Having said all that, it has to come back slowly… You have to have someone to travel to. You have to have a client on the other side willing to accept you. And that's going to take time.”

On the pandemic’s impact on digital acceleration: “Communication is key. Our app tells you, ‘Hey, listen, your plane is kind of full.’ If you're uncomfortable with that, here's the next flight, we'll switch you for free. And then that led to no change fees. And so, there's so much customer-oriented friendliness that is going to be introduced: better communication, a better ability to communicate, and certainly a more caring attitude. And so, in times of disruption, you should be the disruptor as well.”

Transcript