by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:35 AM ET, Fri August 21, 2026
United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby is once again talking about American Airlines, where he previously served as president, calling the airline’s move to install seatback screens across its narrowbody fleet "irrelevant."
According to our sister publication, Travel Weekly, Kirby talked about United’s competitor airline during an event on August 20 at United’s flight-training center in Denver, saying in part that seatback screens “will help American compete with the low-cost carriers.”
"We're so far ahead on everything that we do, it's irrelevant to the competition at United," said Kirby.
American Airlines, which had previously phased out seatback screens on its narrowbody aircraft, announced on August 18 that it would add them to more than 800 airplanes, along with expanding premium seating options. In July, the airline reported its highest-ever quarterly revenue, generating $16.7 billion in the second quarter.
Yet, according to Travel Weekly, American’s reported net income for the past 14 quarters has been significantly lower than Delta and United, causing friction between CEO Robert Isom and its pilots and flight attendants, who held a no-confidence vote against him earlier this year.
In the spring, rumors surfaced about closed-door discussions between Kirby and President Donald Trump about a potential merger between United and American Airlines, something which American staunchly denied any interest in. Kirby, for his part, penned a letter explaining his effort to forge a major merger between the two airlines.
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