Scott Kirby's Long Road Back to American Airlines

2:08 PM ETDeveloping

Business Desk

In Short: Scott Kirby, former president of American Airlines, is now eyeing a return to the carrier he left in 2016, after a decade of trying various methods to reunite the two airlines.

American Airlines Airplane — Photo: Yannkemper / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Scott Kirby, former president of American Airlines, is now eyeing a return to the carrier he left in 2016, after a decade of trying various methods to reunite the two airlines. According to reports, Kirby has long predicted that economic gravity would force American to retreat from Chicago O'Hare, a move he believes would make the merger more appealing. However, American has so far refused to engage, and Kirby might now have to try the 'old-fashioned' way of joining the company he once led.

Kirby's history with American Airlines actually began before he worked for the carrier, when he spent part of his early career at American Airlines Decision Technologies, a subsidiary of AMR. He later joined America West, rose through the executive ranks, and became president of US Airways before helping to engineer its merger with American in 2013. When the deal closed, Kirby became president of the combined American Airlines, overseeing much of the planning, pricing, marketing, and operation of what was then the world’s largest carrier.

American reported $446 million in second-quarter operating income, then absorbed $409 million in net interest expense. Despite the financial challenges, Kirby has insisted that a merger would add flights, jobs, and competition on the global stage. He recently made statements that he’d like to expand to up to 50 gates at the hub of the Americas, Miami International Airport, a move that could further strengthen his case for a merger.

More recently, he predicted that 'economic gravity' would force American to retreat from Chicago O'Hare, estimating that his former employer was losing roughly $1.1 billion annually there while envisioning United eventually operating 1,000 daily departures. However, American has not budged, and Kirby might now have to try the old-fashioned way of joining the company he once led.

What's still developing

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He’s tried every other method, but now he might have to try the old-fashioned way.
That run ended abruptly in August 2016 when American replaced him with Robert Isom, and United hired Kirby as president almost immediately, setting him on the path to becoming CEO in 2020.
A decade later, Kirby tried to bring the two carriers together again, this time from United’s corner, first floating a potential merger to President Trump and then approaching American directly.
Kirby insists Chicago would gain more destinations from a single dominant hub, but acknowledging that two carriers keep some fares lower makes the argument sound considerably better from United’s boardroom than from a Chicago traveler’s wallet.

Sources

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