United CEO Oscar Munoz was grilled in the press and on social
media for his initial response to a passenger getting dragged off an overbooked
flight, but his employees are squarely in his corner.
Munoz was the top-rated travel industry executive in the
annual employee-satisfaction survey conducted by job site Glassdoor.
Munoz, who wasn't listed among Glassdoor's top 100 U.S. CEOs
in last year's survey, was No. 18 this year. Munoz received a 96% approval rating
from more than 1,700 employees, who said competitive salaries and travel
benefits outweighed concerns over upper-management organization and the
integration of Continental Airlines.
Munoz was criticized for his initial response to an April 9
incident in which United Express passenger David Dao was dragged off a plane in
Chicago, writing to employees that United workers "followed established
procedures," adding, "I also emphatically stand behind all of you."
Munoz later said that the company needed "to do a much better job serving
our customers" and called the incident "a watershed moment."
Marriott International CEO Arne Sorenson was one of a number
of hotel executives who discussed the incident during the NYU Hospitality
Conference in New York earlier this month.
"It was obviously horribly handled in retrospect but he
was obviously trying to stand behind his people," Sorenson said of Munoz.
Among other travel companies, Enterprise Holdings CEO Pamela
Nicholson and Hilton's Christopher Nassetta entered the top 50 in this year's
survey at No. 21 and No. 49, respectively.
Expedia CEO Dara Khosrowshahi's was No. 39; he was at No. 11
last year.
Sorenson and Airbnb's Brian Chesky, who were in Glassdoor's
2016 survey, both dropped out of the top 100 this year.
The Glassdoor rankings were compiled culling reviews from
more than 700,000 workers for the year-ended May 1. Company reviews were based
on company culture and employee satisfaction ratings, among other factors.
Clorox Co.'s Benno Dorer topped the U.S. list of
employee-friendly CEOs, followed by World Wide Technology's Jim Kavanaugh and
Boston Scientific's Michael Mahoney.