After an eventful two-year tenure, United Airlines’ top PR executive is stepping down.
Jim Olson, senior vice president of corporate communications is leaving on January 8, 2018.
He arrived at United amid the back end of a scandal which saw a previous chief executive ousted over the infamous ‘chairman’s flight’ but even that wasn’t the lowest point for the airline’s credibility.
The airline has since been involved in an investor revolt not long after new CEO Oscar Munoz returned after suffering a heart attack.
Then in April, United’s reputation tanked to its lowest ebb yet over the notorious passenger dragging incident last spring when Davis Dao was violently removed from a flight at Chicago.
It sparked a media firestorm which the airline has struggled to recover from ever since.
Olson previously worked in communications at US Airways.
"Jim has decided to leave United to pursue professional and personal aspirations outside the company," said a United Airlines spokesperson.
"We are grateful for the contributions he has made to United over the past two years and wish Jim and his family the very best."
