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Oscar Munoz, United Airlines CEO, has heart transplant

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United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz received a heart transplant Wednesday and is recovering.
The airline expects him to return to his position at the end of the first quarter or start of the second quarter. United said the procedure was “the preferred treatment” for Munoz, who had a heart attack in October.
United named Brett Hart its acting chief executive in October. Munoz was initially named CEO in September.
Shares of the airline’s parent company, United Continental Holdings, fell about half a percent in extended trading Wednesday. The stock rose modestly in regular trading.
CNBC

United Airlines said on Wednesday that its president and chief executive, Oscar Munoz, had heart transplant surgery earlier in the day and was in recovery.
The airline said in a statement that the operation was “the preferred treatment” and was not the result of a setback in Mr. Munoz’s recovery from a heart attack in October.
United did not immediately share more medical details, but it said it expected Mr. Munoz to return to work at the end of the first quarter or the beginning of the second quarter. The airline said that it would provide an update on Mr. Munoz’s health on Thursday.
Mr. Munoz had the heart attack shortly after being appointed chief executive in September, although the company declined to confirm it for several days. At the time, United would say only that Mr. Munoz was in the hospital.
On Oct. 19, the airline said that Mr. Munoz would take a medical leave and that its general counsel, Brett J. Hart, would be acting chief. In November, United said it expected Mr. Munoz to return during the first quarter.
Mr. Munoz, a longtime railroad executive, was appointed after United dismissed its previous chief executive, Jeff Smisek, during an investigation into allegations that the airline had traded favors with the chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The New York Times

United Airlines flight 812 slides off taxiway

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A United Airlines flight slid off an icy taxiway at Spokane Airport in Washington state on Tuesday morning.
The plane, which was scheduled to depart for Denver, slid off the taxiway as it was preparing to leave the gate around 6 a.m. Tuesday morning, according to a statement from the airport. There were no injuries reported and no damage to the aircraft.
A spokesperson for United confirmed the airline was in the process of getting passengers off the plane and busing them back to the terminal. The airline will then inspect the plane for maintenance.
The airport is temporarily closed while it works to make sure “adequate braking conditions” are established.
A passenger on the plane told NBC affiliate KHQ in Spokane that everyone on the plane was safe and they were preparing to evacuate.
NBC News

SPOKANE, Wash. — A United Airlines flight bound for Denver slid off the runway and into a snowbank at Spokane International Airport on Tuesday morning, officials said.
Passengers were still aboard United Flight 812 and crews were working to get Boeing 737 back on the runway. KREM reported there were 130 people on board the flight.
No injuries were reported.
The airport was closed to make sure adequate braking conditions are established, the airport said on Twitter.
Icy conditions were making it difficult for crews to get the plane back on the runway and to evacuate passengers.
Molly Trotter with TV station KREM posted several pictures to Twitter of the disabled plane.
KWGN

United Airlines To Offer Zero Frill Economy Seat Fare

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United Airlines has long been known for its focus on business travelers, the kind of customer who won’t blink at using the company charge card to book a four-figure seat in first class.
But amid heightened competition at a number of its hubs, United now wants to woo a different kind of passenger: the penny pincher who aggressively shops for the cheapest tickets.
The Chicago-based company plans to introduce a “no-frill fare” next year to better compete with so-called ultra-low-cost carriers, according to a Dec. 4 research note from Credit Suisse airline analyst Julie Yates.
The plan marks a new strategy for United and suggests the company is feeling pressure to keep cost-conscious passengers from booking with competitors including Spirit Airlines and Frontier Airlines.
Such airlines are known for low upfront ticket prices and for “unbundling” the cost of other services from the initial fare. They charge fliers separately, for example, for carry-on bags and snacks while packing more passengers on each plane.
United’s “ultimate goal would be to segment the cabin offering a no-frills, unbundled fare to capture leisure travel and bundled fare options for higher-yielding frequent travelers that desire a better experience,” Yates wrote.
“We are looking at how we can, over time, offer different sets of fares to different sets of customers,” said Rahsaan Johnson, a spokesman for United, a unit of United Continental Holdings.
He declined to discuss pricing for the no-frill fare category, including whether United would offer lower ticket prices and layer on services afterward. Johnson also played down the newness of the concept, pointing out that travelers flying to domestic destinations who aren’t members of the carrier’s MileagePlus Premier program already pay a checked-bag fee.
Yates wrote that in terms of fare pricing, United is feeling “concentrated areas of pain” in markets where it competes with low-cost carriers and American Airlines, which has been upfront about its determination to prevent the low-cost companies from grabbing a bigger piece of its market share.
Challenging markets for United include Chicago, where it’s the biggest carrier operating out of O’Hare International Airport. United and American dominate the hub, but Spirit has grown rapidly there. Last year, for example, Spirit served more than 1.1 million passengers from O’Hare, a tenfold increase over 2006.
Even as it plans to chase leisure travelers minding every cost, United is rolling out new ways to keep business travelers in the fold. The company is promising its big corporate clients that it will be as reliable as American and Delta Air Lines in 2016 or it will offer credits for upgrades and fees.
CRAIN’S Chicago Business