Scott McCartney: "Mr. Kirby took decisive actions at United, cutting more aggressively than competitors, pushing to take on more debt and raise cash, willing to anger customers by denying refunds. When I interviewed him for this week’s Middle Seat, I suggested he had been aggressively conservative. He thought that fit.

The story shows both Mr. Kirby’s thinking–something that will affect frequent travelers–and also his views on the future of travel post-pandemic and permanent changes at airlines. There are warnings here for frequent fliers: Things aren’t all going back to normal once this is over. United, for example, will be keeping its aircraft 10 or 15 years more than it used to. Get used to older planes as airlines pay down debt. You can probably count on less service, too."