According to United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby, airfares do not rise when they should. They rise when airlines are “forced” to act. In that, Kirby muses, is a lesson on how airlines can get away with raising fares. United CEO Says Airlines Foolishly Only Raise Fares In A Crisis United Airlines has offered a candid explanation for why airlines only push through enduring fare increases when something breaks: internal dysfunction. During United’s 2026 Q1 earnings call , CEO Scott Kirby explained that airline pricing is often held back by internal politics. Revenue management teams understand that demand for air travel is relatively inelastic and that fares could be higher. But marketing and communications teams push back, warning that higher fares send the wrong message or risk backlash. And those teams tend to win. The result is that airlines underprice their product until something forces their hand.…