Overview

Oscar Munoz served as CEO of United Airlines from 2015 to 2020 and Executive Chairman until 2021. He is primarily known for his disastrous handling of the April 9; 2017 incident in which passenger David Dao was violently dragged off an overbooked United Express Flight 3411 at O'Hare Airport in Chicago. Video of security officers forcibly removing the 69-year-old physician; leaving him bloodied and concussed with a broken nose; two knocked-out teeth; and a concussion; went viral globally. Munoz's initial response made the crisis exponentially worse; first calling Dao "disruptive and belligerent" in an internal email to employees; then issuing a non-apology that blamed Dao for the incident. United's stock dropped $1.4 billion in market value within days. Munoz eventually issued a full apology after massive public backlash and Congressional scrutiny; and United settled with Dao for an undisclosed amount. The incident became a symbol of how airlines treated passengers as adversaries rather than customers; and led to policy changes across the industry. Before the Dao incident; Munoz had received sympathy after suffering a heart attack shortly after becoming CEO in 2015 and receiving a heart transplant in January 2016. Despite the PR disaster; Munoz received $36.5 million in his final year of compensation.

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Controversies & Concerns

Related Investigations (1)

Sources & Documentation

2 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports