The coronavirus has hobbled airlines. Here's how United Airlines is coping with the pandemic.

• United Airlines has been resetting its marketing and PR as it navigates through the coronavirus pandemic.
• The airline started back in February, pulling down a promotional campaign and cutting costs.
• It's also enlisted its workforce and labor unions to advocate for the stimulus package.
• The company has faced criticism over the bailout, but it's also gotten press coverage for its philanthropic moves.
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The coronavirus had hobbled industries, and travel has been one of the hardest hit. United Airlines is resetting its marketing and PR strategy as it tries to weathers a global economic and health crisis.

"This is totally unprecedented," Josh Earnest, chief communications officer at United Airlines, told Business Insider. "The economic impact is far worse than 9/11."

The crisis response falls to Earnest, a former White House press secretary during the Obama Administration who was hired a year after United's public condemnation of 2017 when a passenger was dragged off a flight.

During the interview process, CEO Oscar Munoz asked Earnest pointedly why he wanted the job. Earnest responded that he thought he could help. "I hope he took it the right way."

United started adjusting its PR and marketing in February

Airline companies are often the canary in the coal mine with respect to economic downturns, but United had a larger exposure to the coronavirus' impact than other U.S. airlines because of the number of international routes it has, Earnest said.

United started responding to the coronavirus outbreak back in February, changing its flight schedules and cutting costs, he said.

United pulled an ad campaign in March to promote flight routes between Newark, New Jersey, and London, Earnest said. It also donated outdoor advertising placements to UNICEF, which was raising money to help children in places affected by the coronavirus.

The company created a microsite to inform customers what they were doing to clean planes and areas where travelers gather in airports.

United also cut costs, including reducing the number of consultants it uses.

United Airlines took heat for saying it would cut jobs after getting a bailout

United and other airlines drew criticism when they said they would still cut pay and hours and warned it would have to make cuts long term despite benefitting from the $2 trillion stimulus package to protect against furloughs and layoffs.

One criticism was that the bailout money would be used to boost United's shareholder value while several employees from various airlines voiced concerns to Business Insider they may not be able to pay their bills or support their families.

United's major message was that the stimulus package would protect the paychecks of their 96,000 workers - as well as the employees of other airlines - bolster the economy, and allow them to keep flying.

"As soon as the president signed the legislation, we made public the fact that there would be no involuntary furloughs or pay cuts between now and September 30," Earnest said. "This is good for our company, workers and the broader economy."

To shore up support, United asked its 96,000 employees to contact their political representatives to voice their support for the pending stimulus package.

United, along with other airlines, also worked with labor unions to build their case for federal relief.

Sara Nelson, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, which represents 50,000 workers across 20 airlines, tweeted that the stimulus package represented labor interests.

United has gotten press coverage for its philanthropy

Along with news coverage of its financial troubles, United also got press coverage for its philanthropic work. The New York Post covered United flying volunteer medical workers to the epicenter of the crisis while Forbes wrote about United's partnering with the State Department to fly home 12,000 Americans stranded abroad.

"We don't want to be self-congratulatory, but it highlights how we can be part of the work that everyone does as they band together," Earnest said.