CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- It's a change at the top of Chicago-based United Airlines.
CEO Oscar Munoz will turn over day-to-day management of the airline next spring.
President Scott Kirby will be elevated to Chief Executive Officer, while Munoz accepts the title of executive chairman.
DePaul University Transportation Professor Joe Schwieterman told the WBBM Noon Business Hour Thursday that Munoz weathered a number of crises during his four years at the helm, from PR disasters to his own heart attack, which resulted in heart-transplant surgery.
Video of a passenger being violently dragged off of a United flight at O'Hare in April of 2017 became a worldwide news story.
Schwieterman says Munoz was able to transform the airline's reputation: “He's pushed the airline back to a pretty good public relations position and he improved on time performance.”
He added that investors were skeptical about his plans to expand domestic service out of the airline's hubs at O'Hare and Denver.
"That's mostly paid off. He's leaving with a pretty good legacy," Schwieterman said.