The Wall Street Journal just ran an article about United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, and about how the carrier has been trending upwards under his leadership. The piece starts with an interesting story about Kirby, which I didn’t know, and can’t help but share.
Kirby used to be a serious gambler, counted cards
I had no clue that Kirby used to be a gambler, and that he has even been banned from many casinos around the globe:
Before he started in the airline industry, and long before he was the CEO of United Airlines, Scott Kirby was a serious gambler.
He taught himself to count cards, raking in money on trips to Atlantic City and Las Vegas. To this day, he brags about getting kicked out of casinos all over the world. He’s still on the banned list in hotels up and down the Vegas Strip.
A few years ago, he walked into the Bellagio during Super Bowl week and headed for the high-limit poker table. To set up a line of credit, Kirby handed over his ID. As he waited for his chips, a manager approached. The chief executive of one of the world’s largest airlines was told that he was welcome to spend his money on poker or any other casino game—but not blackjack.
“It’s been at least 15 years since I’ve played,” Kirby said. “But I’m in the database.”
For those not familiar, card counting in blackjack is about trying to keep track of how many of each type of cards have been played in a deck, to maximize your odds of coming out ahead. If you’re smart about it, it’s one of the few ways you can come out ahead in a casino. Of course casinos don’t like this practice, hence the bans.
The point of that anecdote is that nowadays Kirby doesn’t have to be in a casino to place a bet, and instead, can do so by running one of the largest and most successful airlines. That “bet” has been turning United into an airline that people actually like, and it has proven to be a great strategy.
The story is worth a read in general, but I don’t think there’s much in there that will surprise OMAAT readers who have been following the industry. This quote from Kirby — “the more we invest, the more we win,” is quite the contrast to how American has spent its past decade, as it’s now trying to play catch-up.
Kirby is quite the interesting industry character
Kirby is a quirky guy, even beyond the above anecdote. The 58-year-old has seven kids, reads for three hours per day, and takes a 20-minute nap at work every day. And somehow he does that while very successfully running the US airline that has been most transforming itself.
You can’t help but respect his drive for success. It’s rare to seen an airline executive so focused on bringing their airline to the top of the industry.
At the same time, being honest, he’s not necessarily the industry’s most likable guy. He’s also clearly largely driven by revenge against his former employer, American. And I also think a lot of the statements he makes don’t necessarily reflect reality, but instead, reflect the narrative that best positions his airline. Which, I guess that’s not totally wrong, but he’s not quite as reliable of a narrator on the industry as some other folks.
Also, I’m reminded of when Kirby appeared on the Airlines Confidential podcast, and was asked about which other airline executives he looks up to. He said none, and instead, he just learns from the mistakes of others.
But hey, Kirby sure has come a long way from the America West days. If you asked me 15 years ago who would turn around United, Kirby would’ve been nowhere close to the top of that list. So good on him!
Bottom line
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby used to be a big gambler back in the day, and even got banned from many casinos for card counting. The WSJ ran a story about this, and how the new “bets” he’s placing are at United, with its transformation. He’s quite the guy, between that, the number of books he reads, and his daily nap at work.
