01:09:37 · Scott Kirby, Ben Thompson
[01:09:37] S0: So I don't think about it through the lens of the frequent flyer program. I think about how do build brand loyalty. And the frequent flyer program is one of those things. And so really, like if we're doing something that's going to detract from brand loyalty, like there's got to be a good reason to do it. And, you know, clubs are... You know, how many people are a Global Services member? Like, people love being Global Services, but we limit it. It's exclusive. [01:10:01] S2: There was one year I thought I was gonna make it. I mean, it just... January passed and never came. That's very sad. [01:10:06] S0: Clubs are another example. Like, this is another thing. Like, during COVID, I'm pretty sure we're the only airline that did this. Like, we doubled down on club investments. We've doubled our square footage of club space from pre COVID to today, more than doubled. And it's going to grow by another 50%. Like, it was the one time in history, if you close a club, it's complicated, you close a club, like it makes customers mad in the short term, like you have to do it sometimes to expand it. But COVID was like the one time in history, like we had But no like we had no customers so like we can get away with doing it, can do it faster, like. So expanding club space is what we have a bit, we're gonna do more of that. But those are the kinds of things that we're more focused on. But any changes to the frequent flyer program are about trying to build loyalty. [01:10:51] S2: And that is just we could deliver
01:10:51 · Ben Thompson, Scott Kirby, John Collison
[01:10:51] S2: And that is just we could deliver [01:10:52] S0: a better experience if there's Yeah. Fewer people. Well, sometimes it's that, you know, and it... Yes, there's a... There's only a certain number we're putting more first class seats on, but at any given time, we only have so many, you know, first class seats on airplanes. And so we're calibrating the program to make it valuable, you know, for loyal customers. [01:11:14] S1: You run the Starlines [01:11:16] S0: board? Not anymore. Oh, you used to. Carson. [01:11:19] S2: I see. [01:11:20] S0: I run to the airport. [01:11:21] S1: What's that like? Because it's kind of an interesting construct, right? It's one of these businesses where... The airline business is one of these businesses where these are... I mean, kind of competitors, but you do run some overlapping routes. But it's better to work together, but then you gotta pick who you work together. Like, how much are you picking based on you like the vibe of the other CEO versus it's strategic? How much does that change?
01:11:42 · Scott Kirby, John Collison
[01:11:42] S0: So we're all kinda locked into lines and now it's hard to switch. And the real value for customers is being able to connect onto places that we don't fly to. You know, so when we fly, you know, we fly to Frankfurt and Munich and I think we have, you know, four times as many flights into Frankfurt and Munich as American Delta combined. But it's because we have a partnership with Lufthansa. And those people, I think 60% of the people on our Frankfurt and Munich flights are connecting beyond Munich. And so they're going to Kazakhstan and, you know, all kinds of places that we don't fly to. So that's the value for customers. The downside is the experience doesn't feel the same as on United. And that's what we've been working to do. And we've made a lot of progress. A few years ago, actually, I finally, like, I asked and asked and asked other airlines about this and I finally said, if you don't have seat assignments available for our customers, we're gonna turn off our partnership with you. And that got everyone to do it. Like I'd been begging them, we'd been begging them to do it for years but it just wasn't a priority for [01:12:43] S1: them. [01:12:43] S0: That other stuff wasn't their priority And we finally had to say, we're going to cut you off unless you do it. And so my focus on our partnerships has been how do we make the customer, if a United customer is flying on any of our partners, how do we make it feel to them like it is still United Airlines? And I think the other airlines, you know, ought to be [01:13:03] S1: doing it.
01:13:03 · John Collison, Ben Thompson, Scott Kirby
[01:13:03] S1: doing it. [01:13:04] S2: Is that the nature of the partnership? You provide the most customers and so that ultimately Yeah, [01:13:08] S0: we're by far the biggest, you know, and the access to the, you know, have the big hubs. Lufthansa is second. You know, across the Pacific, you know, ANA is big. There's several big partners. But some of the others are, like, one of my favorite airlines is Croatia. You know, I love the people. They're small. 21 airplanes. One, I love Croatia. [01:13:27] S1: It's a [01:13:27] S0: great country. Super fun. People are awesome. I like the CEO. I like the culture. I like the people. And like, it doesn't drive a ton of economic value. But when we try to do new stuff, like, we're gonna do new technology stuff, like, they're one of the smallest. They raise their hand every time. Yeah. Like, and so I appreciate that. [01:13:44] S2: Well, career is very much defined by consolidation [01:13:46] S0: and doing stuff together. And you've [01:13:47] S2: been talking about, oh, we should just buy American Airlines or whatever it might be. Is there any limit in your belief in the power of consolidation [01:13:56] S0: building a better consumer experience? My... I've... My... I was gonna start with... Thank you for adding it. My belief is delivering a better consumer experience works. Like, we're not in a commodity business. Maybe not true in steel because it's commodity, but in non commodity businesses, doing things that are good for your customers is the one...
01:13:56 · Scott Kirby, John Collison
[01:13:56] S0: building a better consumer experience? My... I've... My... I was gonna start with... Thank you for adding it. My belief is delivering a better consumer experience works. Like, we're not in a commodity business. Maybe not true in steel because it's commodity, but in non commodity businesses, doing things that are good for your customers is the one... [01:14:12] S1: And the consolidation dynamic, actually, hadn't thought about this. The consolidation dynamic that you're referencing is that ultimately eliminating duplicative flights in a capacity constrained airport, which is all the major ones, means that you can have more selection [01:14:26] S0: as That's consumer the Chicago example. [01:14:29] S1: But it's not just that?
01:14:29 · John Collison, Scott Kirby, Ben Thompson
[01:14:29] S1: But it's not just that? [01:14:30] S0: It's not just that. Like, the American rationale is I would like to create an airline that Americans broadly are proud of. That they think of as the flight carrier of The United States. If you go to Dubai, people are proud of Emirates. They may complain about stuff but they're proud of Emirates and they recognize that Dubai, the wealthy city state exists because of Emirates. Like, they're hand in hand. Singapore, same thing. Singapore is not Yeah. Without Singapore Airlines. And I would like to create the same thing. We also have a massive trade deficit with international airlines. It's two thirds of the long haul seats into The US are from our competitors even though only 40% of the customers are coming from overseas. Because they're all state subsidized, you know, a bunch of reasons for it and I'm not complaining about those. But I would like to create an airline that can compete head to head with those airlines. And by the way, doesn't create as many good jobs in The US, like a whole bunch of reasons. I would create a great airline in The US that can really compete head to head with state subsidized entities around the globe on every, not just in totality, on every factor. [01:15:36] S1: Anything we haven't covered? [01:15:38] S2: Well, he does have seven kids. He goes to soccer games, reads a lot of books and apparently runs the global airline. Yeah. How do you pull that off? [01:15:45] S0: I'm very efficient with time management. [01:15:48] S2: Were you, was this a post kid thing?