John,
Nothing in law school prepares its graduates to run an airline.
But United hasn’t been an airline for at least a decade. It has been a black box whose function is to create value for its shareholders. Airplanes and passengers were not a passion but necessary evils to generate cash flow.
With that model in collapse, United now needs a leader who can successfully navigate restructuring and liquidation, negotiate debt forbearance and maximize the corporation’s share of future federal relief. In other words - a lawyer.