United Airlines Holdings Inc.
UAL,
Chief Executive Scott Kirby on Friday apologized for taking a flight on a private jet earlier in the week, while thousands of the airline’s passengers were left stranded amid a wave of flight cancellations. “Taking a private jet was the wrong decision because it was insensitive to our customers who were waiting to get home,” Kirby said in a statement after flying from Teterboro Airport in New Jersey to Denver on Wednesday, according to the Wall Street Journal and other news outlets. “I 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.” United told the Journal that the air carrier didn’t pay for Kirby’s flight, and that he took it after he couldn’t get a seat on a commercial flight. Shares of United finished Friday up 2.1%.
