United CEO Says No One Will Be Fired

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FILE - In this Thursday, June 2, 2016, file photo, United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz speaks in New York during a presentation of the carrier's new Polaris service, a new business class product that will become available on trans-Atlantic flights. Munoz has made his first major management changes, appointing two new people to top leadership positions. The airline said Thursday, Aug. 18, 2016, that Andrew Levy will serve as the new chief financial officer of United Continental Holdings Inc. and Julia Haywood as the new chief commercial officer. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
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United Continental CEO Oscar Muñoz said Tuesday that no one will be fired for the airline’s recent debacle involving a passenger being dragged off an overbooked flight.

“The buck stops here. And I’m sure there was lots of conjecture about me personally,” the apologetic CEO said on the company’s earnings call Tuesday. “Again, it was a system failure across various areas, so no, there was never a consideration for firing an employee.”

The company has been embroiled in controversy ever since a video surfaced of Dr. David Dao being dragged off an overbooked flight in Chicago. The fiasco has hurt shares of United Continental, which dropped about 4 percent on Tuesday, despite the company reporting better-than-expected earnings late Monday. Muñoz once again apologized for the confrontation, saying, “The incident on Flight 3411 has been a humbling learning experience for all of us here at United and for me in particular. In addition to apologizing to Dr. Dao, as well as all of the passengers aboard, I also want to apologize to all our customers. You can and should expect more from us and as CEO, I take full responsibility for making this right,” he added during Tuesday’s conference call.

Muñoz reiterated that United will make policy changes, including not using law enforcement to take passengers off a flight unless there is a security issue and requiring that crews be booked at least an hour before takeoff.

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