United Airlines CEO offers up to $1m for Hurricane Harvey relief fund

Oscar Munoz says he will match contributions made by United Airlines employees

Oscar Munoz pitches in with his own relief fund for victims of Hurricane Harvey (REUTERS)

United Airlines chief executive Oscar Munoz is pledging as much as $1m (£774,500) of his own money to match donations to the company’s employee-relief fund in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, according to people familiar with the matter.

The chief executive encouraged workers to contribute to its United We Care fund for storm-stricken employees in a letter on Monday, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private.

“We are all in this together, which is why I will personally match your contributions dollar-for-dollar up to $1m,” Munoz said, according to the letter, a copy of which was seen by Bloomberg.

The Chicago-based airline and its customers have also raised more than $1m for a broader public relief effort for Houston, which included a $200,000 contribution by United, said Maddie King, a spokesman for the company.

The carrier’s hub at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport has been closed since Sunday and is likely to reopen Thursday afternoon, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

United Continental Holdings was formed after a merger with Houston-based Continental Airlines in 2010.

Bloomberg