United's CEO Skips 2017 Bonus to Show 'Accountability' — But Still Made $9.56 Million
United CEO Oscar Munoz saw his 2017 pay nearly halved that of the year before, following a number of public relation disasters the airline faced throughout the year.
In 2017, Munoz took home a total of $9.56 million. While it may seem like a lot, the total is nearly half of the amount of cash Munoz received in 2016, United said in a filing on Monday. In a letter to employees, Munoz detailed that he deferred the bonus from United's compensation committee.
"I felt it was important to send a message about the culture of accountability and integrity that we are building here as a United team," CNBC reports that Munoz said in the letter to employees. "We had some incredible successes in 2017, but also some setbacks."
In addition to the pay cut for Munoz, United Continental Holdings, the airline's parent company, is getting a new chairman. In Monday's filing, United said that its current chairman, Robert Milton, who is the former CEO of Star Alliance partner Air Canada, will not seek reelection. Another of its board members, Laurence Simmons, will also not seek reelection. In all, the number of members on the board will be reduced from 16 to 14 members.
Of course, the largest of the public relations disasters to hit United in 2017 came in April with the dragging incident of Dr. David Dao. Then, last month, United was behind another major PR disaster when a dog was killed after a flight attendant forced a passenger to place the dog in the overhead bin.
The headline on this story was corrected to show that Munoz skipped, rather than deferred, his bonus.
TPG featured card
at Capital One's secure site
Terms & restrictions apply. See rates & fees.
| 2X miles | 2 miles per dollar on every purchase |
| 5X miles | 5 miles per dollar on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel |
| 10X miles | 10 miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Business Travel |
Pros
- The Capital One Venture X business card has a lucrative welcome offer.
- In addition, the card comes with many premium travel perks such as an annual $300 credit for bookings through Capital One Business Travel.
- Business owners are also able to add employee cards for free.
Cons
- The card requires significant spending to earn the welcome offer.
- Another drawback is that the annual travel credit can only be used on bookings made through Capital One Business Travel.
- Earn 150,000 bonus miles once you spend $30,000 in the first 3 months from account opening
- Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, everywhere—with no limits or category restrictions
- Earn 10X miles on hotels and rental cars and 5X miles on flights and vacation rentals booked through Capital One Business Travel
- With no preset spending limit, enjoy big purchasing power that adapts so you can spend more and earn more rewards
- Empower your teams to make business purchases while earning rewards on their transactions, with free employee and virtual cards. Plus, automatically sync your transaction data with your accounting software and pay your vendors with ease
- Redeem your miles on flights, hotels and more. Plus, transfer your miles to any of the 15+ travel loyalty programs
- Every year, you'll get 10,000 bonus miles after your account anniversary date. Plus, receive an annual $300 credit for bookings made through Capital One Business Travel
- Receive up to a $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®. Enjoy access to 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide, including Capital One Lounge locations and Priority Pass™ lounges, after enrollment
- Enjoy a $100 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Premier Collection
- This is a pay-in-full card, so your balance is due in full every month
- Top rated mobile app