Turning crisis into credibility. Lessons from United Airlines

The Challenge: Turbulence at Newark

In spring 2025, Newark Liberty International Airport was in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Runway construction, short-staffed air traffic control, and even reports of pilots losing contact with control towers raised fears about whether the airport was safe and reliable.

As Newark’s largest carrier, United was caught in the storm. Most of the issues were outside its control, but the brand was taking the hit. Newark’s problems were becoming United’s problems and headlines threatened to undermine customer trust at United’s largest hub in the New York metro area and its primary transatlantic gateway. Silence wasn’t an option.

The Strategy: Flip the Script

United knew it had to flip the script. The plan was simple but bold: reassure customers and employees that safety was never at risk; get ahead of regulators by being the first to act; communicate openly across every channel, with real people speaking directly; and prove that “Good Leads the Way” means choosing long-term trust over short-term profit.

At the heart of the approach was one principle: transparency. To ensure that people continue to associate the United brand with safety, the airline would take bold steps, explain them clearly, and let results speak for themselves.

The Execution: Seek out the Spotlight

The first big move came on May 2, when CEO Scott Kirby announced that United would voluntarily cut 35 round-trip flights a day from Newark — a step no other airline took before the FAA stepped in.

Ten days later, customers heard directly from Kirby in an email that spelled it out: “Neither the FAA nor United will ever compromise on safety.” A supporting video from Captain Miles Morgan, United’s Director of Pilot Training, showed the rigorous procedures pilots follow in case of outages. It was emailed to 3.7 million New York area customers, who opened it at an unusually high rate and shared on social, garnering positive reactions.

On May 22, United’s Vice President of Newark Airport Operations, Jon Gooda, emailed frequent flyers, explaining how cutting flights had already eased congestion. On eight of the previous eleven days, Newark had canceled less than 1% of flights, beating the average of the three major tri-state airports. United was also ranked number one nationwide for on-time departures in May 2025. Putting a local operations leader directly in front of customers was rare in the industry and drew appreciative responses.

Later that month, Kirby joined Newark employees on the ground and posted about it on LinkedIn, thanking them for protecting customers every day. He also appeared on Face the Nation, CNN, and The Today Show and authored a Fox News op-ed, ensuring Newark’s story — and United’s proactive stance — reached a national audience. At the Wall Street Journal Future of Everything conference, he tied Newark’s challenges to bigger aviation infrastructure issues.

On June 2, Gooda followed up with a message announcing that runway construction had been completed early. Memorial Day weekend had seen Newark outperform both LaGuardia and JFK, with the best on-time rates of any large U.S. airport.

United amplified the news on Instagram with simple graphics and a short video. Kirby posted on LinkedIn the same day, thanking FAA and DOT leaders for visiting Newark and confirming the airport’s return to top performance.

In July, Kirby shared another LinkedIn update, this time with a bold graphic declaring Newark the most on-time airport in the New York City area. Media coverage echoed the message: ‘United Airlines Newark Hub Surging to 380 Daily Flights.’ NJ.com also reported on United’s fare cuts to win back travelers, further reinforcing that Newark was bouncing back.

On August 8, Kirby posted about the FAA’s decision to extend Newark’s flight caps through 2026, a policy United had long advocated. He called it good news for customers and employees and proof that aligning flights with real capacity was working. The announcement, covered widely, reinforced United’s leadership in pushing for systemic change.

The Results: Sticking the Landing

• Customers came back: Bookings that dropped steeply below historic levels in early May snapped back to normal levels by early July (50% increase vs May), with United operating 380 daily flights from Newark by July. Six million flew United from Newark this summer, the most in its history.
• Lagging to leading: Newark went from lagging in April to the most on-time airport in the New York City area by June, operating better than ever.
• Consistency replaced cancellations: Newark posted the lowest cancellation rate of any NYC airport in June. No other airline matched this result.
• Trust scores rose: Newark’s Net Promoter Score nearly tripled by early May from its late April levels and outperformed United’s 2024 average NPS for EWR by 33%, showing that passengers noticed the difference.
• Headlines flipped: Early chaos warnings gave way to coverage praising leadership, including a New York Times profile of Newark’s ops team and NJ.com features on United’s proactive fare cuts.
• The nation engaged: Kirby’s broadcast appearances and Fox News op-ed amplified Newark’s story to an audience of millions. Kirby’s LinkedIn — from thanking FAA leaders to highlighting Newark’s on-time lead — drove almost 10K impressions and reinforced the storylines that soon appeared in national and local media coverage.
• Consumers felt it: Travelers responded to Gooda’s updates with messages of thanks like ‘grateful to your leadership at EWR…keeping us all safe.’
• Industry followed: The FAA convened a summit with carriers two weeks after United’s cuts and later extended flight caps through 2026, validating United’s advocacy.
• Confidence held firm: Despite trimming flights, Newark demand rebounded and United reported a $1.2B second-quarter profit, beating Wall Street expectations.
• Expansion was fueled: By September, United doubled down on expanding service at Newark, with plans to hire more than 2,500 people before end of 2026, and Port Authority discussions to gain access to additional gates for international flights.

The Takeaway: Face the Crisis Head on

United could have blamed regulators or kept quiet. Instead, it showed brand bravery. By voluntarily cutting flights, putting frontline leaders in front of customers, and communicating with radical transparency, United proved that ‘Good Leads the Way’ is more than a brand platform. It’s an operating manual.

United was the airline most impacted at Newark, but due to the commitment and hard work of United employees, Newark went from chaos to credibility in a matter of months. It became the most reliable airport in the New York City area, operating better now than before the crisis and advancing United’s vision of treating EWR like the crown jewel it is and working with the FAA and DOT to deliver the first-class air traffic system the country deserves.

The lesson is simple: when a crisis hits, don’t hide. Act early, tell the truth, and put safety first. That’s how you protect your customers, your business, and your brand.

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