United Airlines CEO suffered heart attack - WSJ

(Reuters) - United Continental Holdings Inc Chief Executive Oscar Munoz has suffered a heart attack and is in a Chicago hospital, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The company's board is waiting to hear from doctors and Munoz's family about the heart attack's severity before deciding if an interim leader is necessary, the report said.

United confirmed in a statement that Munoz, 56, had been hospitalized on Thursday but did not provide further details about his condition.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and we are respecting their privacy," the carrier said in a statement, adding that it was operating normally.

United's shares were down nearly 3 percent.

The Wall Street Journal cited an "informed individual" as saying the heart attack may have been mild and that Munoz could be back at work in two weeks.

Munoz took the helm of the second-largest U.S. airline by capacity last month. He replaced Jeff Smisek, who resigned because of internal and federal investigations into the carrier's relationship with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

The probes have focused on whether United added direct flights to Columbia, South Carolina to curry favor with the Port Authority's then-Chairman David Samson, who had a home there, a source familiar with the matter has said.

Munoz had called a summit of United's union leaders for Thursday and has made a point since taking the job of listening to customers and meeting with workers.

(Reporting by Sweta Singh in Bengaluru and Jeffrey Dastin in New York; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty, Christian Plumb and David Gregorio)