United Airlines Ousts CEO Amid Federal Investigation Into Christie Crony

Emergency vehicles surround a SkyWest Airlines plane, operating as United Express, that made an emergency landing at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, Wednesday, April 22, 2015, in Cheektowaga, N.Y. A SkyWest sp... Emergency vehicles surround a SkyWest Airlines plane, operating as United Express, that made an emergency landing at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, Wednesday, April 22, 2015, in Cheektowaga, N.Y. A SkyWest spokeswoman said one passenger aboard Flight 5622, lost consciousness and the pilots rapidly descended "out of an abundance of caution." (AP Photo/Gary Wiepert) MORE LESS

The chairman and CEO of United Airlines is stepping down in connection with an investigation into dealings with the agency that operates New York-area airports.

United Continental Holdings Inc. said Tuesday that Jeff Smisek and two other senior executives had resigned and railroad executive Oscar Munoz was named CEO and president.

United disclosed earlier this year that the company and some of its executives had received subpoenas from a federal grand jury for information about dealings with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. United said it was conducting its own internal investigation.

Former Port Authority chairman David Samson’s activities have been subject of document requests from the U.S. attorney’s office in New Jersey, including Samson’s votes on United Airlines projects at Newark Airport at the same time United was restarting flights from Newark to Columbia, South Carolina, near where Samson has a vacation home.

United began an about twice-weekly direct flight from Newark to Columbia that began after Samson became chairman and was canceled days after he resigned last year.

Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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  1. C’mon Josh what a very deceptive headline. Meh

  2. One vulture capitalist (Smizek) crashes and burns. Replaced by another vulturist, no doubt fresh from overseeing the ongoing degradation of the country’s rail network.

  3. This is the guy who was bitching about Emirates Air in the United mag when I flew to SF in May.

    U.S. airlines and our employees have shown time and again that we can compete with foreign airlines around the world, when we are on a level playing field. However, forcing free-market companies, like United, that must provide a market return on investment, to compete against the national treasuries of foreign governments is too much to ask for any industry. U.S. airlines can and will compete on a level playing field, but we’ll only have that if we compete against airlines, not against the treasuries of Gulf nations.

    I didn’t like the opinion. I liked the delayed flight to Dulles even less.

    UA, like most of the remaining airlines, is a sad shadow of its former self.

    http://www.hemispheresmagazine.com/2015/05/01/open-and-fair-skies/#O7S7Z2IMGJohHk2v.97

  4. Avatar for mjshep mjshep says:

    What is the world coming to when a political crony appointee can’t even get an airline to arrange personal charter flights for himself to his vacation home without stirring up a controversy? I mean, why even be Chairman of the Port Authority if you can’t get a little bit to wet your beak? If you didn’t pull stunts like this Christie would have no respect for you, and then how could he trust you to shut down a bridge when it needs to be done?

    I just hope they scheduled at least a 737 for him, and not one of those crappy Embraer 145’s, or worse yet, a turboprop. Think of the embarrassment that would have caused.

  5. Uh oh… wonder if Christie is on suicide watch yet?

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