The move was meant to send a message to staff after a year marked by setbacks
United Airline’s CEO requested to forgo his annual bonus and declined a seat at the board after a year marred by customer-service failures.
The incidents sparked widespread outrage and the airline has since struggled to regain consumer and investor trust.
Oscar Munoz had declined his performance-based 2017 bonus payment, the company said.
The airline also slashed other executive bonuses by 20% to 30% as part of an incentive program designed to tie executive compensation more directly to improved customer satisfaction.
“I felt it was important to send a message about the culture of accountability and integrity that we are building here as a United team,” Munoz said in a letter to employees.
“We had some incredible successes in 2017 but also some setbacks.”
His planned 2018 appointment as board chairman was also reversed, leaving “future determinations related to the Chairman position to the discretion of the board”, according to Reuters.
The moves were made in response to two incidents involving United’s crew members.
In April 2017, a viral video of a United passenger being violently dragged from his flight prompted intervention by the US Congress.
More recently, a crew member’s stern instruction for a passenger to secure her puppy’s carrier in the overheard compartment led to the animal’s death. This resulted in renewed public criticism and pushed Congress to regulate the in-flight storage of animals.
