United Airlines vs. the World: This Probably Won't End Well

United Continental (NYSE: UAL) President Scott Kirby is playing with fire. Since taking the No. 2 job at United a year ago, Kirby has overseen a stark strategy change. The company has significantly increased its growth rate in the domestic market while becoming aggressive about matching or even beating competitors' prices.

These moves ultimately stem from Kirby's belief that United Airlines' willingness to cut or downsize underperforming routes has harmed its financial performance in recent years. Serving more domestic routes with more nonstop flight options is critical to success as a network carrier, according to this logic. Kirby also believes that it's important to match every competitor's prices in order to avoid losing customers to cheaper rivals.

United Airlines is competing very aggressively with its rivals these days. Image source: United Airlines.

Source: Fool.com