If the CEO of Burger King was seen sitting down with a juicy burger at McDonald's, tongues would wag. And that's just what's happening after United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby was spotted flying first class on an American Airlines flight.
The New York Post said there was "confusion and speculation" when eagle-eyed observers spotted Kirby in first class on American Airlines.
But it's not necessarily a judgement about his own airline, or a message about an upcoming merger, others noted. Because he had previously worked at American Airlines, Kirby still enjoys lifetime travel benefits with the company after being let go in 2016.
Still, this comes as Kirby has been pushing for a merger between United and American, even pitching the idea to President Donald Trump. And in the wake of Spirit Airlines going belly up, many are waiting for the proverbial other shoe to drop in the airline industry.
And there's a personal situation in the mix, according to the New York Post, which wrote that "in his final year, American Airlines let Kirby go, paving the way for his rival, Robert Isom, to move up to CEO of the company, with the two men becoming heated adversaries in the industry.
And for his part, Kirby has expressed disappointment that American Airlines declined the merger proposal, saying that he believed it could have created a great airline that customers love. And he pitched himself as the guy to run it.
"Why doesn't he fly his own airline?" was the dominant question on social media. But mum's the word in the sky as United Airlines did not provide a comment on the situation when contacted by the media.
