United Airlines

United Airlines

File:United Airlines.svg
IATA ICAO Call sign UA UAL United
Founded	1926 (as Boeing Air Transport)
Hubs	O'Hare International Airport Denver International Airport San Francisco Int'l Airport Washington Dulles Int'l Airport Los Angeles Int'l Airport
Focus cities	Narita International Airport
Frequent-flyer program	Mileage Plus
Alliance	Star Alliance
Fleet size	460
Destinations	210
Parent company	UAL Corporation
Headquarters	Chicago, Illinois
Key people	Glenn Tilton (CEO), Jake Brace (CFO)
Website	http://www.united.com/

United's logo as seen at United hub Denver International Airport.

United Airlines, the primary subsidiary of the UAL Corporation, is a major airline of the United States headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Its operations center is in Elk Grove, near O'Hare International Airport, the airline's largest traffic hub, with 650 daily departures.

As of July 31, 2006, United is the world's second-largest airline by revenue-passenger-kilometers (behind American Airlines), third-largest by total operating revenues (behind Air France-KLM, American Airlines), and fourth-largest by total passengers transported (behind American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines). United has roughly 56,000 employees and operates approximately 460 aircraft.

On February 1, 2006, United emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under which it had operated since December 9, 2002, the largest and longest airline bankruptcy case in history.

History

Early beginnings

UAL traces its claim to be the oldest commercial airline in the United States to the Varney Airlines air mail service of Walter Varney. Varney's chief pilot, Leon D. "Lee" Cuddeback, flew the first Contract Air Mail flight in a Swallow biplane from Varney's headquarters in Boise, Idaho to the railroad mail hub of Pasco, Washington on April 6, 1926 and returned the following day with 200 pounds of mail. April 6 is reckoned in the United Airlines company history as both its own birthday and the date on which "true" airline service—operating on fixed routes and fixed schedules—began in the United States. Varney Airlines' original 1925 hangar served as a portion of the terminal building for the Boise Airport until 2003, when the structure was replaced.

In 1927, airplane pioneer William Boeing founded his own airline, Boeing Air Transport, and soon began buying other airmail carriers, including Varney's. Within four years, Boeing's holdings would grow to include a number of airlines, airplane and parts manufacturing companies, and several airports. In 1929, the company changed its name to United Aircraft - Transport Corp.

United Airlines Boeing 777 taking off at Schiphol, Amsterdam.

In 1930, as the capacity of airplanes proved sufficient to carry not only mail but also passengers, Boeing Air Transport hired a registered nurse, Ellen Church, to assist passengers. United claims Church as the first airline stewardess.

Following the Air Mail Scandal of 1930, the Air Mail Act of 1934 banned the common ownership of manufacturers and airlines. United Aircraft-Transport's President Philip G. Johnson was forced to resign and went on to Trans-Canada Airlines, the future Air Canada. William Boeing's company was broken into three: a parts supplier (the future United Technologies), an aircraft manufacturer (the Boeing Airplane Company), and an airline group—United Air Lines. The airline company's new president, hired to make a fresh start as airmail contracts were re-awarded in 1934, was William A. Patterson, who remained as president of United Airlines until 1963.

Expansion into a national carrier

United's first 727, on display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.

United's early route system, formed by connecting air mail routes to one-another, operated essentially north-and-south along the West Coast, and east-to-west along a transcontinental route from San Francisco to the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states via Denver, Colorado. The early interconnections made at San Francisco and Denver during this early era became the basis of major United hubs in these cities, and still exist today.

During World War II United trained ground crews, modified airplanes for use as bombers, and transported mail, material, and passengers in the war effort. Post-war United benefitted from both the wartime development of new airplane technologies (like the pressurized cabin which permitted planes to fly above the weather) and a boom in customer demand for air travel. This was also the period in which Pan American Airways established a Tokyo hub and revived its Pacific route system that would later be acquired by United.

On November 1, 1955, United Airlines Flight 629, which was flying from Stapleton Airport in Denver to Portland, Oregon, was bombed, killing everyone on board. The bomb was planted by a man named Jack Graham, who was executed a year after the explosion.

United was an early customer of the Douglas DC-8, which was released months after the Boeing 707, delaying the airline's entry into the jet.

The company merged with Capital Airlines on June 1, 1961, making it the world's largest commercial airline and giving it a route network covering the entire United States.

In 1968 the company reorganized, creating UAL Corporation, with United Airlines as a wholly owned subsidiary.

Deregulation

The airline lobbied for transpacific routes for over 20 years, but its westernmost destination was Honolulu until 1983. United is now one of the world's largest transpacific carriers.

United had begun to seek overseas routes in the 1960s, but the Transpacific Route Case (1969) denied them this expansion. It did not gain an overseas route until 1983, when they began flights to Tokyo from Portland and Seattle. By the end of 1985, United had flights to 13 Pacific destinations, many of which were with route contracts purchased from the ailing Pan Am.

Economic turmoil, labor unrest, and the pressures of the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act greatly affected the company, which incurred losses and saw a greatly increased turnover in its senior management through the 1970s and early 1980s.

In May 1981, one week after archrival American Airlines launched AAdvantage, the first frequent flyer program, United launched its Mileage Plus. The Wall Street Journal mistakenly reported United's program to be the first.

In 1982, United became the launch customer for the Boeing 767, taking its first delivery of 767-200s on August 19.

Strike of 1985

On May 17, 1985 United's pilots went on a 29-day strike claiming the CEO, Richard Ferris, was trying to "break the unions." They used management's proposed "B-scale" pilot pay rates as proof. American Airlines already had a B-scale for its pilots. Ferris insisted United had to have pilot costs no higher than American's, so he offered United pilots a "word-for-word" contract to match American's, or the same bottom line numbers. The United ALPA-MEC rejected that offer because it meant they would not get their deferred pay raise. The only choice left, to achieve parity with American's pilot costs, was to begin a B-scale for United's new-hire pilots. Ferris wanted that B-scale to merge in the captain's ranks, which was more generous than American's B-scale, which never merged at all. In the final hours before the strike, nearly all issues had been resolved, except for the time length of the B-scale. It appeared that would be resolved too as negotiations continued. ALPA negotiators delivered a new counter-proposal at 12:20 A.M. in an effort to avoid the strike. However, MEC Chairman Roger Hall, who was hosting a national teleconference with F. Lee Bailey, declared the strike was on at 12:01 A.M., on May 17, without consulting the negotiators, who believed they were about to agree on all contract terms with United's management negotiators.

That struggle cost the airline $1 billion, and provoked a long period of labor unrest and financial deterioration that culminated in bankruptcy nearly 20 years later. Following Ferris' termination by the board, Allegis divested its non-airline properties in 1987 and reverted to the name UAL Corp. That helped clear the path for the United Pilots to do an ESOP takeover of United, which eventually did happen in 1994.

Employee Stock Ownership Plan

The fall of Pan Am offered new opportunities for United. In 1991 the company initially expanded dramatically, purchasing Pan Am's former routes at London Heathrow Airport and paving the way for the company's first transatlantic flights. Also, the purchasing of Pan Am's Asia-Pacific routes and its eleven Boeing 747SP-21s also made United expand dramatically. However, the aftermath of the Gulf War and increased competition led to losses of $332m in 1991 and $957m in 1992.

File:OKC 2.jpg

A United Shuttle Boeing 737 at Will Rogers World Airport

In 1994, 55% of company stock was given to employees in exchange for salary concessions from its unions. The Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) made United the largest employee-owned corporation in the world. It used the opportunity to create a low-cost subsidiary, Shuttle by United, in an attempt to compete with low-cost carriers.

There were three previous attempts to form an ESOP at United, in 1987, 1989, and 1990. Fees paid to advisors on both sides totaled $145 million for all four ESOP plans. An internal pilots' union report by Thomas Sullivan (U.S. Attorney for northern Illinois), revealed that "pilot union leaders made secret agreements in 1989 and 1994 to pay millions of dollars in fees to lawyers already on the union's staff or on retainer. They did not disclose these fees to the rank and file."

That Sullivan report said that Roger Hall, the United-ALPA-MEC chairman, had authorized a payment of $2 million to Charles Goldstein, who was the union's own staff lawyer, but he did not reveal that to his board. The report also concluded that Hall and Goldstein had violated union rules, and many of United's pilots openly complained that the advice from Goldstein could hardly have been objective if he knew the ESOP had to be successful in order to receive that $2 million fee. Union leaders agreed to let Goldstein keep $750,000 of that $2 million, after he threatened a lawsuit. Hall's predecessor, Frederick Dubinsky, also did not reveal to the rank and file that he had authorized a payment of $375,000 to Goldstein after the failed ESOP attempt of 1989. Both Hall and Dubinsky denied they ever did anything wrong, but Hall did resign upon request of the pilot union board.

The Sullivan report also uncovered a $4.12 million "success" fee to be paid to Cohen, Weiss & Simon, which had been receiving hourly billing payments from the union for its work on the ESOP buyout. Again, that fee wasn't common knownledge until after the ESOP was completed. Once that became known, Cohen, Weiss & Simon agreed to return the entire $4.12 million.

United CEO Wolf got a consulting job with Lazard Freres, the very investment company he had hired to advise United's board during the ESOP buyout process. Stewart Oran, the key legal advisor to the pilots' union during all 4 ESOP plans, received a $5.5 million package to join United's management as legal counsel after the ESOP was formed. Meanwhile, all employees who participated in the ESOP took pay cuts ranging from 15 to 25%. They did that in return for the ESOP stock that they received, which eventually became worthless, when United was forced into bankruptcy.

In 1995, Roger Hall and Frederick Dubinsky filed a lawsuit against their own MEC, ALPA National, and named numerous ALPA individuals, including Randolph Babbit, the President of ALPA. They alleged that they were libeled and defamed and that their privacy was invaded as a result of an August 1994 letter that alleged they had been guilty of criminal conduct in relation to the ESOP buyouts. The trial court dismissed 15 of the 18 counts in the complaint, but did sustain 3 counts. Both sides appealed and the appellate court reversed the dismissal of 4 of the 15 counts and sent the case back to the trial court for further proceedings.

Before filing for bankruptcy and wiping out the ESOP, United made substantial use of its employee-ownership in its marketing communications, with slogans such as "the employee-owners of United invite you to come fly the friendly skies," "we don't just work here," and "thank you for calling United Airlines; please hold and one of our owner-representatives will be with you shortly." United's flight attendant union was not included in the ESOP plan, and at its beginning some flight attendants wore buttons saying "we just work here."

Turn of the century developments

In 1997, United founded the Star Alliance with Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS and Thai Airways.

United was a launch customer of the Boeing 777 and had significant input on its design. It was also the first airline to introduce the twin-jet in commercial service.

In May 2000, United announced plans to acquire competitor US Airways in a complex deal valued at $11.6 billion. The offer drew immediate scorn from consumer groups and employees of both airlines. By the following year, regulatory sentiment was against the deal, and United withdrew the offer just before the Department of Justice barred the merger on antitrust grounds in July. The two airlines subsequently formed a partnership that led to US Airways's entrance into the Star Alliance.

May 2000 also saw a bitter contract dispute between United and its pilots' union. Planning for the busy summer season, United had counted on its pilots flying overtime. However, the pilots could not be forced to work overtime, and most pilots refused to fly the extra hours. Although United knew they would have to cancel numerous flights if this were to happen, they did not hire new pilots to make up for the potential shortage. Over the summer, United ended up having to cancel a large portion of its schedule at its major hubs. Eventually, CEO Jim Goodwin and the rest of the management had to get the pilots back in the cockpits and quickly offered the pilots a 48% increase over four years with up to 28% upfront. The large increase in pay and the loss of many of its frequent fliers, especially business travelers, started United on the road to bankruptcy. Coupled with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the resulting economic and tourism downturn, United's economic woes went from bad to worse.

Oplan Bojinka and September 11

Oplan Bojinka, Ramzi Yousef and Khalid Sheik Mohammed's plot against a large number of airliners targeted eight United aircraft flying transpacific routes on January 21, 1995. While this attack was prevented by an apartment fire in Manila, a "descendant" of the project perfected by Sheik Mohammed would cause death on United aircraft six years later.

As part of the September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack, two United Airlines planes were hijacked by al-Qaeda operatives working under the direction of Osama bin Laden, a Boeing 767-222 (Flight 175) that crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, and a Boeing 757-222 (Flight 93) that crashed in rural Pennsylvania. The latter was suspected to have been directed towards either the White House or the United States Capitol building.

Bankruptcy and reorganization

United, with a strong presence on the West coast, benefited from the dot-com boom, which boosted traffic (especially premium traffic) to its San Francisco hub. This increase was only temporary unfortunately and when the 'bubble' finally burst United was in a worse position than before because it had failed to keep its costs under control. Coupled with a battered network (after the dot-com bust) and the September 11 attacks, the company lost $2.14 billion in 2001 on revenues of $16.14 billion. In the same year United applied for a $1.5 billion loan guarantee from the federal Air Transportation Stabilization Board established in the wake of the September 11 attacks. When the application was rejected in late 2002, the company was forced to seek debtor-in-possession financing from commercial sources to cover the expected future losses.

Unable to secure additional capital, UAL Corporation filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December. The ESOP was terminated, although by then its shares had become virtually worthless. Blame for the bankruptcy has fallen on the events of September 11, which triggered financial crisis in all the major North American airlines. However, the rise of low-cost carriers, labor disputes, and problems within the management structure of the company also contributed significantly.

United continued operations during its bankruptcy, but was forced to cut its costs drastically and under delicate terms. Tens of thousands of workers were furloughed, and all city ticket offices in the US closed. It cancelled several existing and planned routes, and eliminated its entire Latin American gateway and flight crew base at Miami International Airport after March 1, 2004.

At the same time, the airline continued to invest in new projects. On November 12, 2003, it launched a new low-cost carrier, Ted, to compete with other low-cost airlines. In 2004 it launched its luxury "p.s." (for "premium service") service on re-configured 757s from JFK Airport in New York City to Los Angeles and San Francisco. The service was targeted to business customers and high-end leisure customers in the coast-to-coast market.

Financial pressure on the airline was heavy. The SARS epidemic in 2003 depressed traffic on United's extensive Pacific network. The soaring cost of jet fuel ate away remaining profits. United made, withdrew, and followed several fare hikes on overseas routes, citing rising fuel costs, in 2004 and 2005. Indeed, two days after its triumphant first flight to Vietnam, United announced that it would cut U.S. flight capacity by 14% after the holidays and add more international flights, which were more profitable.

United took advantage of its Chapter 11 status to negotiate hard-to-cut costs with employees, suppliers, and contractors, including cancellation of feeder contracts with United Express Atlantic Coast Airlines (which became Independence Air) and Air Wisconsin (which became a US Airways Express carrier).

Most controversial of all, however, was the 2005 cancellation of its pension plan, the largest such default in U.S. corporate history. It renegotiated its contracts with the pilots' and mechanics' unions for lower pay; however, the Association of Flight Attendants resisted until the bankruptcy court ruled in United's favor. Criticism was also leveled at the CEO, Glenn Tilton, for demanding pay cuts from employees while receiving the highest salary of any major U.S. airline CEO. Although Tilton's salary was the highest in the industry, his pay mix did not include the level of stock options and bonuses granted to his counterparts.

Originally slated to exit bankruptcy protection after 2½ years in the third quarter of 2005, United requested yet another extension in light of record-high fuel prices. On August 26, 2005, the bankruptcy court extended the airline's exclusive right to file a reorganization plan to November 1, although it also stated firmly this extension would be the last. United announced at the same time it had raised $3 billion in exit financing and filed its Plan of Reorganization, as announced, on September 7, 2005.

The bankruptcy court approved the restructuring plan on January 20, 2006, clearing the way for United to exit bankruptcy on February 1, 2006, and finally return to normal operations. Its emergence as a smaller, much more efficient carrier has in turn put additional pressure on its competitors to reduce costs and capacity.

Beyond Chapter 11

On December 9, 2004, the airline made history when UA869 (747-400) landed at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The scheduled flight from San Francisco via Hong Kong was the first by a U.S. airline since the end of the Vietnam War, when Pan Am halted service shortly before the fall of Saigon.

On July 16, 2006, United Airlines announced after months of speculation that it would be moving its headquarters from suburban Elk Grove Village to the Chicago Loop. The Top 350 Executives will be moving to 77 West Wacker Drive. The Elk Grove Village campus will be known as the Operations Center.

The Wall Street Journal revealed on December 12, 2006 that Continental Airlines was in merger discussions with United. A deal was not "certain or imminent," with the talks being in a preliminary state.

In January, 2007, United Airlines announced a change to its frequent flyer program. Previously, accounts were closed if there had been no activity in 3 years. Beginning December 31, 2007, accounts will be closed if there has been no activity in 18 months.

Destinations

United Airlines operates 3,700+ flights a day to 210+ destinations in 29 countries from hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Denver, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

Further information: United Airlines destinations

Further information: Previous United Airlines destinations

Route network

United operates an extensive domestic route network concentrated in the Midwestern and Western United States. United is also prominent in transcontinental, transatlantic, and transpacific service. It is by far the leading US carrier to Hawaii and Asia, flying 25,821,884 transpacific RPMs in 2005 or 300 weekly departures; from July 2005-June 2006, United carried 3.5 million passengers to/from the Hawaiian Islands. It is also one of only two US carriers permitted to fly to London Heathrow Airport under the Bermuda II agreement, and the only US carrier which operates its own aircraft from the mainland US to Australia (Hawaiian Airlines flies from Honolulu to Sydney and Continental Airlines maintains a route from Guam to Cairns). United Airlines is the only US carrier to serve Vietnam and Kuwait.

United operates a low-cost leisure airline called Ted. The name is taken from the last three letters of its parent United. Ted serves leisure destinations within the United States, Mexico, and Canada with 240 daily flights utilizing 56 aircraft. Ted was created to compete with other low-cost airlines like Frontier and Southwest Airlines.

United has focused for the last several years on its international presence, notably in the People's Republic of China (with nonstop flights to Beijing and Shanghai from its hubs in Chicago and San Francisco). The airline also hopes to begin flying to Guangzhou from San Francisco in the near future. These routes offer a higher proportion of premium fare passengers while being relatively insulated from the cutthroat competition in the domestic market, especially from low-cost carriers. United has also focused more on Latin America, a region from which it had largely retreated in the last decade, and added new destinations and frequencies to Mexico and the Caribbean and will continue to do so into the next decade.

United is a founding member of the Capital-to-Capital Coalition, a Washington-DC based group dedicated to establishing non-stop service between Washington Dulles International Airport and Beijing, China. On January 9, 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) awarded the new nonstop U.S.-China route to United Airlines, reinforcing that the route will provide the greatest public benefit and promote the national interest by connecting two of the world's most important capitals. In its decision, DOT found that "United's Washington (Dulles)-Beijing proposal has important advantages that should benefit the traveling public while also enhancing sustainability of the service."

Fleet

As of December 31, 2005, United operates 460 aircraft (230 owned, 230 leased) with a weighted average fleet age of 10.7 years.

United is currently the only U.S. airline that offers three-class service on all long-haul international services. Three-class service is also available on United's p.s. flights between San Francisco & Los Angeles and New York-JFK, as well as domestic flights operated by international aircraft. However, most flights within North America (including domestic U.S., Hawaii, Alaska, Canada, Mexico and Central America) utilize two-class aircraft, while all Ted aircraft are one-class. United brands its classes as UnitedFirst, UnitedBusiness, and UnitedEconomy. As with most airlines, actual service levels vary with route, flight, and aircraft configuration.

United now has live Satellite radio by XM radio. In mid-2007, United will feature docking capability for Apple Computer's iPod portable music and video player. This will allow the device's battery to be charged, but will also allow integration with United's In-flight Entertainment (IFE) system. This will also enable the IFE system to play music, television shows, or movies stored on the iPod, as well as function as a control system.

United Airlines Fleet

Aircraft	Total	Passengers (First/Business*/Economy)	Routes	Notes
Airbus 319-100	55 (23 orders)	120 (8/112)	Domestic
Airbus 320-200	97 (18 deferred orders)	138 (12/126) 156 (Ted)	Domestic	United Airlines Ted operates all economy
Boeing 737-300	64	120 (8/112) 128 (8/120)	Domestic
Boeing 737-500	29	104 (8/96) 110 (8/102)	Domestic
Boeing 747-400	30	347 (14/73/260)	Intercontinental
Boeing 757-200	97	110 (12/26/72) (p.s.) 182 (24/158)	Transcontinental, Hawaii, Latin America	p.s. service offers 3 classes
Boeing 767-300ER	35	193 (10/32/151) 244 (34/210)	Transcontinental, transatlantic, interhub, Hawaii, Latin America
Boeing 777-200/200ER	52	253 (10/45/198) 258 (12/49/197) 348 (36/312)	Domestic, Intercontinental

^{*Business class available on select aircraft}

Several aircraft types have common type ratings; flight crews are certified to operate either aircraft without any additional training. The Boeing 767 and 757 have a common type rating; crews trained to operate the Boeing 767 can operate the Boeing 757 and vice versa. Additionally the A320 and A319 have a common type rating as do the 737-300 and 737-500. The A320 and A319, and to a lesser extent the two 737 types, are so commonly substituted for one another that economy row numbers have been synchronized between the two.

United was the launch customer for a number of aircraft types, including the Douglas DC-10 (with American Airlines) and several Boeing aircraft: the 727 (with Eastern Air Lines), the 737-200, the 767, and the 777.

United is one of only two passenger airlines in the United States to operate the Boeing 747, currently the largest commercial passenger transport in service. Northwest Airlines is the other airline. Other competing American carriers have operated the 747 at one point. There are several cargo airlines in the United States operating 747's.

Cabin

File:N775UA.jpg

United's current livery, introduced in 2004, is seen here on Boeing 777-200

United offers three different classes of travel: UnitedFirst, UnitedBusiness, and UnitedEconomy/UnitedEconomy Plus.

UnitedFirst Suite is offered on international Boeing 777-200s and all Boeing 747-400s, features a 78 inch pitch flat-bed seat that reclines to 180 degrees. UnitedFirst passengers check in at special desks and receive an invitation to the United First International Lounge or United Red Carpet Club. Passengers are given priority boarding and priority baggage. On board, passengers enjoy pre-takeoff beverages, table linens and lead-crystal glasses. UnitedFirst suite passengers are served a five course meal, and a personal entertainment unit featuring nine channels of video as well as an additional fourteen feature film titles. Also, passengers have access to personal phones and laptop power ports, as well noise-canceling headsets and comfy pillows and duvets. On Boeing 767-300 aircraft, UnitedFirst consists of a cradle seat offering 64 inches of pitch, although all other features (such as the entertainment) and services remain the same.

Domestic UnitedFirst is offered on all two-class Boeing 777-200 and Boeing 767-300 aircraft as well as all narrow-body aircraft, except the p.s. Boeing 757-200s, which offer a better product. Domestic UnitedFirst includes a cradle seat similar to the international UnitedBusiness seat without the personal reading lamps, leg/foot rests, and personal entertainment units. A 38 inch pitch is offered, along with priority boarding and baggage, pre-departure beverages, complimentary meals, and separate check-in desks. For domestic travel, the Red Carpet Club is limited to members-only.

UnitedBusiness is offered on all international Boeing 767-300s and Boeing 777-200s as well as all Boeing 747-400s. These cradle seats consist of a 55 inch pitch and 150 degree recline, as well personal phones and laptop power ports. Inflight service includes pre-departure beverages, table linens and lead-crystal glasses, and three course meals. Passengers are also treated to priority boarding and baggage. Each seat includes an individual entertainment system offering nine channels of movies and noise-reducing headsets.

UnitedEconomy is offered on all planes and offers a 31 inch pitch, adjustable headrests, and on longhaul flights, a complimentary meal. One service that sets United apart from other carriers is that they still charge for alcoholic beverages on most international routes, except transpacific flights. The charge is $5 per drink. On other flights, food is offered for sale onboard. On internationally configured Boeing 777-200 and Boeing 767-300 aircraft, personal entertainment units are featured in the seatback of the preceding row, and nine channels of entertainment are offered, along with audio channels. On Boeing 747-400 aircraft, no individual entertainment is offered. Instead, movies are played on projector screens at the front of the economy cabin as well as on overhead monitors. Shorthaul aircraft also feature overhead monitors, except the Boeing 737 aircraft, which only has audio entertainment.

Economy Plus is similar to UnitedEconomy, but offers an additional 5-6 inches of space although cabin service is the same. Seats in this section are reserved for Premier members of United's frequent flyer program, and Economy Plus subscribers. However, the introduction of this service has created unbalanced load factors between the middle of the aircraft (Economy Plus), which is often underutilized, and the rear of the plane (UnitedEconomy), which often operate at crush load.

p.s. - United offers its Premium Service (p.s.) product on its New York JFK-Los Angeles and New York JFK-San Francisco routes. The product is offered on Boeing 757-200 aircraft and offers three classes of travel: UnitedFirst, UnitedBusiness, and UnitedEconomy Plus:

• UnitedFirst offers twelve lie-flat, leather-trimmed seats, with a 68 inch pitch, along with an individual handheld DVD player offering ten entertainment choices through noise-reducing headsets. Passengers enjoy new menus offering full meals, chocolates, and signature champagne cocktails, as well as an invitation to Red Carpet Clubs and United International First Lounges. Seats include personal reading lights, privacy screens, laptop power ports, and personal phones.
• UnitedBusiness offers twenty-six spacious leather cradle-seats with a 54 inch pitch, individual handheld DVD players offering ten entertainment choices through noise-reducing headsets, new menus including chocolates and champagne cocktails, as well as personal phones, reading lights, and laptop power ports.
• United Economy Plus offers seventy-two seats offering a 34 inch pitch, laptop power ports, and phone access from every seat.

UnitedBusiness, First and First suite all offer access to the Red Carpet Member Lounge. Features of the lounges include refreshments, inexpensive alcohol products, Wi-Fi Internet access and other business services. Passengers also get the privilege of using Star Alliance member lounges.

Alliances

United Express

United Express is United's regional airline feeder operation. United Express is the marketing name for several small airlines that operate under contract to fly passengers from small cities in the U.S. and Canada to United hubs. Although the aircraft are painted in United colors, they are separate companies with different crews and management. United Express operates 292 jet and turboprop aircraft to 150 destinations with over 2,000 daily departures. In 2005, United Express flew a combined total of 17 billion revenue RPM's.

Star Alliance

Main article: Star Alliance

UA is a founding member of the Star Alliance, through which it is a marketing partner of 16 other international carriers. It has special partnerships with Star members Air Canada, Lufthansa and with US Airways (featuring closely linked frequent flyer programs.).

Frequent Flyer Program

Frequent flyer programs started in its current form in 1981. United began one week after American Airlines started the first program. United's program is called Mileage Plus. Over the years, the program has been enhanced in many ways. Initially, there was no expiration of mileage credits. This later was changed to 3 years. On January 19, 2007, United announced the latest enhancement consisting of mileage expiration in 18 months where accounts with no activity will have their miles cancelled on December 31, 2007. This was portrayed as an enhancement because it would allow travellers who fly often to redeem awards easier after the accounts with little activity but with a significant amount of miles were cancelled. Other enhancements have included requiring a Saturday night stay for domestic (USA) coach awards.

Other enhancements whose benefits are clearer have included the introduction of partner airlines. Over the years, these have changed. For example, in 1987, passengers on KLM flights could receive Mileage Plus credits but this is no longer possible. Airlines who are part of the Star Alliance, such as Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Air Canada, and others participate where passengers on these airlines can receive Mileage Plus credits. Another example of true enhancements has been the domestic coach award. In 1981, it was 50,000 miles. This was reduced to 20,000 miles. Currently, it is 25,000 miles although the number of seats are limited and sometimes 50,000 miles are required when there are no seats at the 25,000 mile award level. Elite level membership, which has added benefits over the standard level membership, is a feature that was not initially part of the program.

Codeshare agreements

United currently codeshares with the following airlines as of December 2006:
(This list does not include Star Alliance airlines)

Aloha BWIA Grupo Taca

United Ground Link partner, SNCF French Rail, operates stations in France.

United also has marketing agreements of varying intimacy with Aeromar, Air Dolomiti (a subsidiary company of Deutsche Lufthansa AG), Air China, Aloha Airlines, Austrian Airlines (in 2007), BWIA, Continental Connection (operated by Gulfstream), Great Lakes Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways, Shanghai Airlines, and Virgin Blue.

Incidents and accidents

• FAA registration NC13304 (no flight number) 10 October 1933
• Flight 610 (30 June 1951)
• Flight 615 (24 August 1951)
• Flight 409 (6 October 1955)
• Flight 629 (1 November 1955)
• Flight 718 (30 June 1956 - Grand Canyon mid-air collision)
• Flight 826 (16 December 1960 - mid-air collision)
• Flight 859 (11 July 1961)
• Flight 297 (23 November 1962)
• Flight 823 (9 July 1964)
• Flight 389 (16 August 1965)
• Flight 227 (11 November 1965)
• Flight 266 (18 January 1969)
• Flight 553 (8 December 1972)
• Flight 173 (28 December 1978)
• Flight 811 (24 February 1989)
• Flight 232 (19 July 1989)
• Flight 585 (3 March 1991)
• Flight 826 (28 December 1997 - Clear-Air Turbulence)
• Flight 175 (11 September 2001 - terrorist attacks)
• Flight 93 (11 September 2001 - terrorist attacks)

Trivia

• On 7 November, 2006, United Airlines workers allegedly reported seeing a saucer-shaped craft. Workers, including pilots, said the object hovered over the airport before shooting up through clouds. FAA said it was not investigating the report. The Federal Aviation Administration acknowledged that a United supervisor had called the control tower at O'Hare, asking if anyone had spotted a spinning disc-shaped object. But the controllers didn't see anything, and a preliminary check of radar found nothing out of the ordinary.

Record-setting flight—Friendship One

In 1988, using a 747SP-21 purchased from Pan Am, United flew this 2-stop around-the-world flight in order to raise money for the Friendship Foundation, to which the plane was 'loaned'. The flight made a very short-lived record; within a month, a Gulfstream IV business jet had broken Friendship One's record.

Brand

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A United Boeing 757-222 tailfin in new livery at San Francisco International Airport, with United tailfins in old livery in the background.

United adopted a red, white and blue shield logo in 1936, but its use varied widely and was eventually abandoned altogether in the early 1970s. In 1974, the airline commissioned designer Saul Bass to develop a new logo. The "tulip" logo of colored stripes representing overlapping letter "U"s remains in use today with only slight modification.

The early slogan "The Main Line Airway," emphasizing its signature New York-Chicago-San Francisco route, was replaced in 1965 with "Fly the Friendly Skies." The "friendly skies" tagline was used until 1996. Other United Slogans include:

• "The Great White Way to New York" (1971-1972)
• "The Friendly Skies of your land" (a/k/a "Mother Country") (1972-1976)
• "You're the boss" (1976-1977), "United we fly" (1977-1978)
• "That's what friendly skies are all about" (1980)
• "You're not just flying, you're flying the Friendly Skies" (mid 1980s)
• "Come fly the airline that's uniting the world. Come fly the Friendly Skies" (late 1980s)
• "Come fly our Friendly Skies" (The early ESOP years)
• "United - Rising" during the mid 1990s
• "We Are United" following the September 11 incident.
• "Relax, Stretch Out" with the rollout of EconomyPlus

Most recently, United started using the tagline "It's time to fly", voiced over by Robert Redford in their famous commercials using their now renowned animations.

United's theme song is George Gershwin's 1924 "Rhapsody in Blue", which it licensed from Gershwin's estate for $500,000. "Rhapsody" would have entered the public domain in 2000, but the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act of 1998 extended its copyright another 20 years.

See also

• United Center

External links

Official sites

• United Airlines
  • Worldwide sites
• Ted
• Star Alliance

Marketing

• The United Shop, official online retailer for United- and Star Alliance-themed gift merchandise
• Hemispheres, United's in-flight magazine
• It's Time to Fly video clips featuring the "It's Time To Fly" tagline

Employees

• Mainliner Clubs, network of non-profit social clubs for United employees
• A Village United, news site maintained jointly by United's unions

Route maps

• Current route maps
• Historical route maps and timetables

Credit risk

• Moody's KMV Default Case Studies

History

• A Chicago Tribune Special Report: United's rhapsody of blues
• Super70s.com: United Airlines

Customer relations

• United Customer Relations
• Untied.com, complaint site
• United Passenger Opinions

Frequent flyer miles

• Mileage Plus official homepage
• FlyerTalk.com: United Mileage Plus
• MileMaven.com United Mileage Plus Bonus Miles Promotions

Fleet information

• United Airlines Fleet Age
• United Airlines Seating Charts on SeatGuru.com
• Past Fleet