United Airlines

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United Airlines
United Airlines logo
United Airlines Boeing 777-200ER
IATA code : UA
ICAO code : UAL
Call sign : UNITED
Founding: 1926
Seat: Chicago , United States
United StatesUnited States 
Turnstile :
Home airport : Chicago O'Hare
Company form: Corporation
ISIN : US9100471096
IATA prefix code : 016
Management: Oscar Muñoz ( CEO )
Number of employees: 95,000 (2019)
Sales: US $ 41.3 billion (2018)
Passenger volume: 158 million (2018)
(also includes United Express numbers)
Alliance : Star Alliance
Frequent Flyer Program : MileagePlus
Fleet size: 803 (+ 286 orders)
Aims: National and international
Website: www.united.com

United Airlines is a US airline based in Chicago , whose company history dates back to 1926.

In addition to its own passenger division, United Airlines is the parent company of United Express , the cargo division United Cargo and United Technical Operations for aircraft maintenance and is also a founding member of the Star Alliance . In 2019, United employed more than 95,000 people, including over 12,700 pilots and 25,000 flight attendants , and had a fleet of 783 of its own aircraft and 561 aircraft from United Express partners. The company operated more than 1.7 million flights in 2018, around 4,900 flights per day, transporting a total of 158 million passengers. In 2018, the global route network included around 230 US destinations, 124 flight destinations in 48 countries on five continents.

United Airlines was valid until 2014. Delta Air Lines by passenger kilometers as the world's largest airline . In terms of seat kilometers , United ranked number one worldwide in 2019. United is on the list of major carriers in the United States published by the United States Department of Transportation and, alongside American Airlines and Delta Air Lines, is one of the three remaining traditional US scheduled airlines with an extensive route network, the so-called legacy carriers . In 1983 the company started international air traffic.

On May 3, 2010, United Airlines and Continental Airlines announced their merger , as a result of which the joint parent company United Continental Holdings was founded on October 1, 2010 and the name Continental was given up on March 3, 2012 . The merger-based integration was completed in October 2018 . The parent company renamed itself to United Airlines Holdings in 2019 .

history

First years

A United Boeing 377 Stratocruiser in the late 1940s

The company history of United Airlines (United Air Lines until 1974) goes back to the postal airline Varney Air Lines , founded in Boise , Idaho, by the American military pilot and entrepreneur Walter Varney , which started its flight operations on April 6, 1926 on CAM Route 5 from Elko to Pasco .

This makes United the oldest still active commercial airline in the USA. Boeing founder William Boeing founded his own airline, Boeing Air Transport , in 1927 and bought Varney Air Lines . The Boeing Airplane and Transport Corporation, founded in 1928 (merging of the aircraft manufacturing and airline divisions) became the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (UATC) in 1929 with the engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney and other aircraft manufacturers . In 1931, Boeing Air Transport and the acquired airlines within the UATC finally merged to form United Air Lines, under whose names passenger and mail flights were offered. Walter Varney founded Varney Speed ​​Lines in 1934 , which eventually became Continental Airlines in 1937 after they were sold. United was the world's first airline to employ female flight attendants (still as Boeing Air Transport ) , then trained nurses . Previously there had only been male stewards.

In 1932 United Air Lines ordered a fleet of 59 Boeing 247s . Until the order was fully processed, no other airline received this aircraft, which was considered the most modern and fastest aircraft in the United States of that time. The lead only lasted until 1934, when Transcontinental and Western Air (T&WA) put the Douglas DC-2 into service. In the same year, as a result of the airmail scandal , William Boeing was forced to split up his company. This eventually resulted in the independent United Air Lines. From 1935 American Airlines operated the Douglas DC-3 . All of a sudden, the United Air Lines fleet was considered obsolete, because the Douglas machines were faster and more comfortable than the Boeing 247. In addition, the number of seats was larger.

In October 1935, a group of United employees founded his own for the workforce cooperative bank with the name United Air Lines Employees' Credit Union , which by year-end joined 146 members. Until 2003, when the bank was spun off under the name Alliant Credit Union with 270 employees as part of the insolvency of United, membership was reserved for United employees and, since the 1990s, their relatives, since then other people from certain groups of people have also been accepted. The bank does not accept cash and allows its members banking since the 1980s and the 1990s, mainly via telephone or online banking make. In 2010, as part of the merger with Continental, its Continental Federal Credit Union (founded in 1952) was taken over. Alliant had more than 280,000 customers in the early 2010s, had assets of over US $ 7 billion, was one of the largest credit unions in the United States at the time, and operated 15 branches mostly located at airports.

Jet age

A United Air Lines Douglas DC-6 in 1966
A United Air Lines McDonnell Douglas DC-10 in the color scheme until 1974

The first jet aircraft was the Douglas DC-8 . United ordered 30 aircraft of this type on May 29, 1959, and these were delivered from September 18, 1959. In the following years, the company procured another 80 aircraft of this type. United Air Lines bought the 720, a smaller version of the 707, from Boeing .

In February 1960 Sud Aviation received the order for 20 Caravelle . A short time later, United Air Lines initially ordered 40 Boeing 727s . When reordering this type, United also procures quick convertible versions, which could be converted so quickly that planes carried passengers during the day and cargo at night.

On June 1, 1961, United Air Lines took over the American Capital Airlines , whose route network covered the east coast of the United States , making it the second largest airline in the world after Aeroflot. The first wide-body aircraft was the Boeing 747 , which United received on June 23, 1970. United also tried unsuccessfully from the 1960s to the 1980s in the highly regulated American aviation sector for permission to operate international routes.

In 1974 United introduced a new corporate design in the colors orange, red, blue and with the now famous “U” on the rear. At the same time the company changed its name from United Air Lines to United Airlines.

In 1968, the parent company UAL, Inc. was founded as a holding company with the aim of diversification . In the following years, UAL, Inc. acquired the hotel chains Westin (1970) and Hilton (1986) and the car rental company Hertz for 587.5 million dollars (1985) , along with other subsidiaries . United had also launched the central reservation system Apollo in 1971 and from then on presented itself as a comprehensive travel company.

1980s

In 1981, United launched the Mileage Plus frequent flyer program , which continues to this day. In 1982 it was the first airline to put the Boeing 767-200 into service. With the connection to Tokyo, the airline put the first trans-Pacific route into operation in 1983. 12 more Pacific routes had been added by the end of this year. In 1985 United took over from the loss-making Pan American World Airways, in addition to parts of their flight crew, the scheduled flight rights for other Pacific routes for $ 715.5 million including the Boeing 747SP and Lockheed TriStar aircraft . United was previously restricted to a domestic American route network (since 1984 United was the only US company to fly to all 50 states in the USA ), transformed from the mid-1980s into one of the largest international airlines in the world.

As of 1983, United had to reinstate 400 former stewardesses who were fired in the 1960s for getting married following a court ruling. Approximately 1,800 flight attendants were dismissed at the time because they had violated the company regulation, which was subsequently found to be discriminatory, and the then common practice of having to remain unmarried as a stewardess.

In the early summer of 1985, a bitter labor dispute between the United pilots ended in an almost one-month strike for a better collective agreement, during which at peak times only 14% of the original flight operations could be maintained, which inevitably also affected the flight attendant staff, and which in which led to immense financial losses for the company.

In early 1987, UAL, Inc. was renamed Allegis Corporation . In the same year, after an unsuccessful attempt to take over the company by its own employees (employee ownership) promoted by the pilots' union ( ALPA ), the subsidiaries Hilton (to Ladbrokes ) and Hertz (to a subsidiary of Ford ) were sold. Westin was sold to the Japanese Aoki Corporation in 1988. Likewise, 1988 Allegis in UAL Corporation renamed its main subsidiary now United Airlines, Inc. was.

1990s

A United Boeing 747-SP in the color scheme from 1974 to 1993

United began regular services to Europe in May 1990 with two flights to Frankfurt. In 1990 United bought the route rights from Pan Am, which was in financial difficulties, to London-Heathrow and launched air traffic in April 1991. Heathrow was allowed to operate on routes between London and the USA for protectionist reasons alongside two British airlines until 2007 under the so-called Bermuda II Agreement ( British Airways and Virgin Atlantic ) are only served by two US airlines: for decades these were Pan Am and TWA. The latter sold its route rights to American Airlines almost at the same time. With the takeover of these exclusive route rights, United also established a base for flight attendants at Heathrow Airport, for whom non-US citizens were also recruited as flight crew against the resistance of the union. Until the early 1990s, United also offered flights from Heathrow to Berlin, Hamburg and Munich as part of the Bermuda II Agreement. In the course of international expansion, further flight routes were taken over by the now insolvent Pan Am in the 1990s. United also opened additional locations for its flight attendants outside of the United States, including Paris (1992-2006), Santiago de Chile (closed in 2002) and Taipei (1993-2003). In Singapore (1986-2001 and 2006-2008) and Bangkok, the company maintained stations for locally hired flight attendants who worked exclusively on United flights within Asia and who, according to union requirements, wore different uniforms than the rest of the United cabin crew. To date, United maintains bases for cabin crew outside the Americas in London (since 1991), Hong Kong (1995), Frankfurt (1996) and Tokyo.

In mid-1992 United ordered 50 of the Airbus A320s launched in 1988, for the first time in the company's history, aircraft from the European aircraft manufacturer Airbus , which were delivered at the end of 1993. In 1996 United ordered 24 A319s . To date, United has no other Airbus aircraft besides these two types, although the airline ordered 25 Airbus A350 -900s in March 2010 and this order in June 2013 in 35 Airbus A350-1000s and in early September 2017 in 45 Airbus A350-900s expected delivery between 2022 and 2027.

In 1994, after concessions totaling almost $ 5 billion, some of the then approximately 85,000 employees, among other things in the form of salary cuts, which had become necessary due to the emergence of Southwest Airlines as a low-cost airline , an employee stock ownership plan (employee stock ownership plan / ESOP), through which United Airlines' workforce owned 55% of the company's total share capital. ESOP shareholders were members of the ALPA pilots union and over 50,000 members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers ; 25% of the company was in the hands of the approximately 10,000 United pilots at the time. The flight attendant union AFA had spoken out against participation and instead enforced wage increases for cabin crew. As a result, United changed into the world's largest stock corporation owned by its own employees (employee-owned corporation). From today's perspective, critics of the ESOP plan complain that the control of the company by the employees (three seats on the Board of Directors) prevented important personnel decisions at United or painful but necessary rationalization measures were not initiated much earlier. The often by employees for retirement savings accumulated employee shares were almost worthless upon termination of the ESOP program of 2002.

In the spring of 1993, the new gray-blue color design was introduced. At the end of 1994, in response to the increasing competition from the low-cost airline Southwest, Shuttle by United (from 1999: United Shuttle ), an "airline within the airline", was launched. Shuttle flights were recently offered at low prices with 59 Boeing 737s and more than 450 daily flights with reduced service offerings, mainly between San Francisco and Los Angeles, but also other airports in the western part of the USA . The concept, which was quite profitable at the end of the 1990s, was finally discontinued in October 2001 and the machines were integrated back into the main fleet.

In 1995 United Airlines put the then new Boeing 777-200 into service, in whose development the company played a key role. From the end of 1995, after three years of resistance from its own pilots, United was the only airline in the world to offer scheduled around-the-world air traffic ( around-the-world service ) from Los Angeles by adding New Delhi as a destination Newark, London, New Delhi and Hong Kong back to Los Angeles (west and east with flight numbers "1" and "2") on United planes. Previously, only Pan Am had offered flights around the world with its own scheduled flights from 1947 to 1982. In 1999 the flight service to New Delhi, and with it the round-the-world air traffic, was temporarily suspended due to the Asian crisis , resumed in 2001 and finally ended a few years later. In May 1997 United Airlines founded the Star Alliance together with Lufthansa , Air Canada , SAS and Thai Airways , with United being the largest airline in the world at the end of the 1990s until it was merged with Trans World Airlines in January 2001 by American Airlines ( TWA) has been overhauled. The period between 1995 and the end of the 1990s was economically successful for United Airlines , also due to the New Economy . In 1997, United's share price hit just under $ 100, and the company employed nearly 100,000 people in those years.

Smoking has been banned on all United flights worldwide since July 1997 , after US law had banned smoking on US domestic flights under two hours of flight time since 1988 and generally since 1990. In 1971 United became the first US airline to set up separate smoking compartments on its aircraft. By the mid-1990s at the latest, United began to ban smoking on more and more flights on the international route network. Most recently, the company had only allowed passengers to smoke on selected routes between the USA and South America or Asia.

2000s

In mid-2000, the then CEO, James Goodwin, agreed a collective agreement with the company's pilots that contained wage increases of up to almost 30% after the ALPA pilots' union had taken strategic measures to hinder flight operations. Goodwin's motivation was a planned takeover of rival US Airways, for which he needed the votes of the pilots' representatives on the board of directors and the backing of the company's pilots. This takeover was ultimately blocked by the US Department of Justice . US Airways subsequently joined the Star Alliance. Due to the high wage obligations, the failed takeover strategy and declining sales figures due to the dot-com bubble that burst in early 2000 , United got into a financial crisis. For the first half of 2000 United reported losses of over $ 1 billion.

Restructuring from 2001

Airbus A319-100 of United in the color scheme up to 1997

In the course of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 , two American Airlines aircraft and two United aircraft were hijacked. A Boeing 767 ( Flight 175 ) crashed into one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. The second Boeing 757 ( Flight 93 ) - which is believed to have hit the Capitol or the presidential residence - crashed in Pennsylvania .

After huge revenue losses due to the financial crisis, in which all major US carriers came after the terrorist attacks, and finally, following the rejection of a credit assistance from the state, the company started on 9 December 2002 in the USA with the bankruptcy proceedings under bankruptcy protection . The operative business has continued uninterrupted since then. In addition, the company had to contend with high wage costs, labor disputes, the inefficient organizational structure, rising fuel prices and increasing competition from low-cost airlines in the US market. The result was numerous layoffs as part of drastic cost-saving measures. From the original approx. 100,000 employees, just under 57,000 remained in 2003. Other consequences were unpaid leave of absence, wage and salary cuts, the termination of pension obligations, the closing of all city offices in the USA, the temporary shutdown of some aircraft and the cancellation of some existing and planned flight connections. The ESOP employee participation plan was terminated, and in 2003 the company's shares were worth around 60  cents . The Miami location lost its status as an international gateway to South America, and the base for cabin crews there was closed. International stations for cabin crews in Santiago de Chile , Taipei and Paris have also been closed.

With all rationalization measures, the company started a number of projects during the reorganization phase, most of which have been maintained to date:

  • United gradually upgraded the front rows of the economy cabins in their entire fleet and set up so-called Economy Plus zones as Premium Economy Class , which differ from the rest of the cabin in that they have more legroom (around 12 cm) and as a link between the Economy and the Business class are supposed to act. The Economy Plus project was started back in 1999. These rows of seats are generally reserved for frequent flyers and holders of expensive tickets. For a surcharge, however, passengers with discounted tickets can also purchase Economy Plus seats if they are still available at short notice.
  • At the end of 2003, the company's subsidiary Ted (last syllable of Uni ted ), similar to Shuttle by United before, started its service from its own hub in Denver in response to the American low-cost airlines . In addition to an extensive national route network, Ted also offered three destinations in Mexico, such as Cancun . On June 3, 2008, United announced that it would reintegrate their daughter Ted into the main fleet on January 4, 2009. The fleet last consisted of 56 Airbus A320 aircraft for 156 passengers each.
  • In 2004 the prestigious ps - Premium Service was launched on the routes between New York and Los Angeles as well as San Francisco with the reconfigured Boeing 757, which was divided into three service classes (converted into two-class seating from 2012).
  • In autumn 2004, a new company design was introduced after only nine years. A Boeing 777-200 was the first machine to be painted in white and blue.
  • In December 2004, the connection from San Francisco to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in Vietnam was launched. Since the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 there had been no US airline connection to Vietnam.
  • At the beginning of 2006 United presented the product explus on the feeder routes operated by regional jets . The smaller aircraft of the United Express route network with 60 to 70 seats, which previously had economy seats throughout, have been expanded to include a first-class cabin with leather seats and an Economy Plus section with greater legroom. There are no unpopular center seats on board. Food is served again on flights over 2.5 hours.

The then CEO of United, Glenn Tilton, who was originally brought into the company in 2002 to avert bankruptcy, announced in late 2005 that the airline was financially stronger and far better off than three years earlier. Disregarding the cost of restructuring the company - corporate and legal advisory services alone were $ 370 million - United posted third-quarter 2005 operating income of $ 165 million. A consortium led by Citigroup and JP Morgan provided the company with US $ 2.5 billion in fresh capital.

According to press releases, United operated at costs that were only 20% higher than those of the so-called low-cost carriers. The 20% higher costs, however, should not be tried any further, rather it was assumed that the service offered with several classes , lounges , food and drinks justified a moderate additional price.

End of creditor protection in 2006

A United Boeing 747-400 in the color scheme up to 2011
Willis Tower in Chicago, headquarters of operations since 2010 and United's headquarters since 2012

On February 1, 2006, United Airlines formally ended the insolvency proceedings after a three-year restructuring phase by submitting a reorganization plan. During this time, the airline's annual costs had been reduced by approximately US $ 7 billion, including the sale of approximately 100 aircraft and two cuts in wages for many of the employees.

One day after the termination of the creditor protection listed the parent company UAL Corporation with 3.7 million shares as a public company on the New York NASDAQ (symbol UAUA). The value of a share at the end of the first day of trading was approximately US $ 37. The issue price was set at US $ 40. The day before, the share was pretrading at US $ 42.50. In advance, analysts had speculated for the issue price with an estimated value of around US $ 15. The CEO of United, Glenn Tilton, opened the NASDAQ Stock Market on that day in the morning with a live link from Chicago O'Hare Airport . The company's old stock, which was listed on the NYSE at $ 0.13 each, became worthless. In mid-January 2007, the stock briefly passed the $ 50 mark.

Consolidation in the US aviation market from 2007

Rumors of a merger between United and one of the other large US carriers , such as US Airways , which were financially stronger at the time , have been circulating since the time of bankruptcy protection, even if CEO Glenn Tilton denied this at the time. These assumptions were, however, supported, among other things, by the fact that the top management had secured themselves for themselves when the new blocks of shares worth approximately US $ 10 million were issued. An Employee Stock Incentive Plan distributed $ 2 billion worth of shares to all remaining employees. In early 2007, when speculation about a takeover of Delta Air Lines by US Airways was circulating in the media, it was also suspected that United could take over competitor Continental Airlines as part of a wave of consolidation in the US airline sector . There was no official statement from any of the airlines.

Glenn Tilton, however, was a very big proponent of consolidation in the American airline segment. He had campaigned for a change in the law in the USA that would have allowed a larger proportion of foreign investors in US airlines - one of the as yet unrealized conditions for the 2007 open skies agreement between the USA and the EU . The law has not yet been changed in the United States.

Since late 2007 and early 2008, there has been renewed speculation that United could merge with Delta Air Lines after the hedge fund Pardus Capital Management, which held shares in both airlines, had suggested it. Since a merger of Delta Airlines and Northwest Airlines would have brought greater savings potential with it, it was already suspected at the time that United could merge with Continental Airlines in return. All airlines involved declined to comment. On April 14, 2008, the merger of Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines to form the largest airline in the world was officially announced. A merger between United and Continental Airlines, which would have exceeded Delta and Northwest in size, was ruled out on April 26, 2008 by Continental.

2010s

Merger with Continental Airlines 2010

77 West Wacker Drive in Chicago, former headquarters of United's headquarters (2006–2012)

In April 2010 it was reported that United was again in merger talks with US Airways. At the same time it was assumed that these talks were intended to induce Continental Airlines to reconsider a merger with United - which would have offered a greater increase in the combined market value than a merger with US Airways. The biggest hurdle for a merger was the unions of the various employee groups represented in the companies. On May 3, 2010 it was announced that United intends to merge with Continental under the brand name United Airlines . United took over Continental Airlines for 3.2 billion US dollars in shares. Jeff Smisek , who had been CEO of Continental Airlines until the merger , became chairman and CEO of the new United . Glenn Tilton moved to a supervisory board position within the company's board of directors . At the end of September 2010, the merger process began under the umbrella of the new parent company United Continental Holdings, which was renamed United Airlines Holdings in June 2019 .

On November 11, 2011, the Air Operator Certificate of the two companies should be merged. This step finally took place on December 1, 2011. The two companies then legally flew as one airline. The last flight under the name Continental Airlines took place on March 3, 2012 . Since then, all flights have been operated under the United Airlines name , even though the separate operation of the two airlines within the company, for example with regard to the crew, was not completely abandoned until October 1, 2018 due to separate collective agreements .

Since the merger with Continental Airlines, the route networks of Continental, Continental Express , Continental Connection , Continental Micronesia and Continental Cargo have belonged to the company, all of which have been operating under the name United Airlines since March 3, 2012 .

Since the merger with Continental, United has been the only US airline to have its own catering company, Chelsea Food Services, for airplane meals . The company was owned by Continental Airlines until the merger. United had contracts with Gate Gourmet and LSG Sky Chefs prior to the merger .

As of 2011

For the 85th anniversary of the airline, an Airbus A320-200 with the aircraft registration number N475UA and the name “Friend Ship” was repainted in the color scheme of the 1970s. According to United, the historical paint scheme was selected after a vote by employees.

In June 2012, it was announced that United Airlines would reduce its operations at Houston Airport as the city had approved long-haul flights from Houston Hobby Airport to competitor Southwest Airlines . The new route from Houston to Auckland , which was supposed to be carried out with the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner , will not be realized, and some other unprofitable long-haul routes will be canceled. Some of the activities are to be relocated to Denver Airport .

In 2013 United retired both their last Boeing 737-500s and the remaining Boeing 767-200ERs .

In June 2015, United announced its intention to acquire a 5% stake in the Brazilian airline Azul Linhas Aéreas for US $ 100 million . At the same time, the two companies want to enter into a strategic alliance that will include code sharing and mutual benefits in the respective frequent flyer program. United will have a seat on Azul's board of directors.

In May 2016, United announced that it would discontinue its last connection to Africa on July 1, 2016 with the Houston - Lagos route . In June 2016, United announced the launch of United Polaris for December 2016 . With the product named after the polar star as a landmark for travelers, the equipment and service in the premium cabins will be improved, especially on international flights. The Business or Business First Class will be renamed United Polaris Business Class , and until it is completely abolished, the Global First Class will temporarily become United Polaris Global First on three-class aircraft . With the new concept, which also provides for the opening of new Polaris airport lounges, among other things, unpopular middle seats are to disappear in the front cabin areas and an upscale on-board meal is to be offered along with other amenities.

On April 9, 2017, a passenger on United Express Republic Airline 's flight 3411 from Chicago to Louisville , operated on United's behalf, was found at Chicago O'Hare International Airport by three security officers from the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDoA ) forcibly pulled from the aircraft and injured in the process, after he had previously refused to leave the aircraft several times. The background to this was that Republic Airline's flight crew was supposed to travel on the booked flight at short notice ( dead-head flight ) and four booked passengers who were already on board had to give up their seats. After considerable media criticism and international coverage of videos of the incident made by passengers and posted on the Internet, CEO Oscar Muñoz apologized publicly after defending the actions of his employees in internal emails. For a few days, the share value lost more than four percent due to this incident. In response, United announced a 10-point plan to prevent future events of this kind. Representatives of American airlines, including Muñoz, were then invited to a congressional hearing. The CDoA initially put the three security officers involved and their superiors on leave, then dismissed the officer who had injured the passenger and his superiors and imposed disciplinary sanctions on the other two officers. As a consequence, the word "Police" was removed from the uniform of all CDoA security officers. Since then, the Chicago Police Department has been responsible for incidents of this type. The passenger in question and his lawyers then reached an out-of-court settlement with United.

Company management

Since 1931, United has been led by 13 different CEOs or chairmen.

  • Oscar Muñoz (* 1959)
    2015-to-date; Muñoz, a former railroad top manager and board member at Continental since 2004 and United board member since 2010, took over as CEO at the beginning of September 2015 in order, among other things, to complete the company's post-merger integration eight years after the merger with Continental Airlines on October 1, 2018. After five weeks in office, Munoz suffered a heart attack on October 15, 2015, according to press reports , and one week later United's Board of Directors appointed United's legal advisor , Brett Hart, who had been with the company since 2010 , to act as sickness representative. On March 14, 2016, Muñoz resumed his duties as CEO of United Airlines after a heart transplant .
  • Jeffrey 'Jeff' Alan Smisek (* 1954)
    2012–2015; Smisek, a lawyer and CEO of Continental Airlines from 2008 to 2012, failed, among other things, because of the merger-led integration at United. Critics accuse Smisek of poor employer-employee relationships and the inadequate handling of massive IT problems at United, which repeatedly led to numerous flight delays or cancellations. On September 8, 2015, Smisek was unexpectedly replaced along with two other top United executives as part of an investigation by the American federal authorities, which had already been initiated in February 2015 on the occasion of possible illegal influence on officials of the port authorities of New York and New Jersey . United's three pilots, flight attendants and ground crew unions welcomed Smisek's resignation in the press.
  • Glenn Tilton (* 1948)
    2002-2012; Tilton, a longtime Chevron Texaco manager, was recruited from outside the industry in September 2002, three months later United went bankrupt; Tilton achieved massive savings through Chapter 11 and was a proponent of consolidation in the airline sector; he eventually brought about the merger with Continental; Tilton handed over to Continental CEO Jeff Smisek in 2012.
  • John 'Jack' W. Creighton, Jr. (born 1933)
    2001-2002; was appointed as interim CEO because initially no other top manager wanted to take over the position and was confronted with the massive problems after September 11, 2001; his efforts to get state subsidies failed.
  • James E. Goodwin
    1999-2001; Goodwin, previously head of marketing at United, appeased the United pilots in 2000 after wage disputes with huge wage increases and tried to bring about a merger with US Airways, which was ultimately prohibited by the antitrust authorities; Goodwin resigned in late October 2001 after posting a letter to United workforce predicting the airline's demise within a year and the unions calling for his resignation.
  • Gerald 'Jerry' Greenwald
    1994-1999; Greenwald, a Chrsyler top manager, was the first choice of employee representatives after the ESOP came into effect; under him, the Star Alliance was founded in 1995 and the Boeing 777, which United helped design, was integrated into the fleet and United Shuttle was launched in California (all planned by his predecessor Wolf); In times of economic upswing, Greenwald was considered the CEO who relied on communication with employees rather than confrontation. John Edwardson, proposed by Greenwald as his successor after his contract had expired, prevented the pilots union and instead nominated James Goodwin.
  • Stephen Wolf (* 1941)
    1987-1994; Wolf, an airline veteran since 1966 (CEO of Continental Airlines , Republic Airline and Tiger International ) drove United's international expansion, sold Westin and Hilton; Wolf conceived the Star Alliance in 1993 with Lufthansa boss Weber ; Wolf had to leave when the ESOP plan went into effect; the pilots had partly boycotted his successful, albeit painful, restructuring measures because they feared that the company would be upgraded and the price for the company takeover would increase; Wolf was then CEO of US Airways from 1996 to 1998.
  • Frank A. Olson
    1987-1987; Olson, head of Hertz since 1977, changed the company name back to UAL or United, reduced internal administration and sold Hertz; Olson kept his senior position at Hertz while running United and moved back to the rental company in October 1987.
  • Richard 'Dick' J. Ferris (born 1936)
    1979-1987; under Ferris (since 1971 as head of the Caterinng division in the company) Hertz and Hilton were bought to transform United into a travel company, and UAL was renamed Allegis ; after the United pilots tried unsuccessfully to buy Allegis for $ 4.5 billion in April 1987, massive restructuring began; During Ferris' tenure, the pilots strike of 1985 fell, which caused the company a massive drop in sales; Ferris resigned in June 1987.
  • Edward 'Eddie' Carlson (* 1911, † 1990)
    1971–1979; former Westin manager and CEO, became CEO of United following the acquisition of Westin by UAL; Carlson was known for his good relationship with the workforce. Under him a new color scheme for aircraft painting was introduced and United Air Lines shortened to United Airlines ; Carlson restructured United from a loss of $ 40 million in 1970 to positive income of $ 86.4 million in 1974; At the end of his term in office, the Airline Deregulation Act came into force. Carlson proposed his successor, Richard Ferris, himself.
  • George Keck
    1966–1971; The working atmosphere deteriorated under Keck; he lost a fight with the pilots' union, which successfully secured a third man (from a technical point of view not necessary) as a flight engineer in the cockpit of the Boeing 737 , which was newly introduced in 1967 , which resulted in high costs for the company (only reduced to two pilots in 1981); Keck started the UAL Corporation, of which United Air Lines became a subsidiary; after a newly created reservation system was inoperable, Keck had to leave.
  • William A. Patterson (* 1899, † 1980)
    1934–1966; Patterson, who was on good terms with the United workforce, is credited with creating the flight attendant profession; he bought Capital Airlines in 1961, whereby United overtook competitor American Airlines as the world's largest airline; under Patterson the "fly the friendly skies" slogan was introduced, and United was regarded as an airline highly regarded by both employees and customers; Patterson's over 30-year tenure is by far the longest in United history.
  • Philip G. Johnson (* 1894, † 1944)
    President of Boeing Comany in 1926, President of United Aircraft and Transport Corporation in 1929, President of United Air Lines in 1931. Johnson was forced to resign in 1934 after being accused of involvement in the 1930 Air Mail scandal.

Company headquarters

Construction of the United headquarters in the Chicago suburb of Elk Grove Village near O'Hare Airport began in 1962 and was completed in 1968. As architect was Bruce J. Graham committed. Several buildings, a former in-house training center, an artificial lake and tennis courts are located on an area of ​​around 66 acres .

In late 2006, approximately 350 United executives and employees moved from Elk Grove Village to the new United Building ( 77 West Wacker Drive ) in downtown Chicago, where new corporate headquarters were being established. The operations center remained in Elk Grove Village . The city of Chicago had offered the company tax breaks in the mid double-digit million range so that it would not give up the Chicago location.

In October 2010, part of the United workforce moved into the Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower ) in downtown Chicago as the new operations center. The Elk Grove Village location has been abandoned and put up for sale. In the course of the merger with Continental Airlines, their headquarters in Houston were given up. At the end of April 2012, United announced that it wanted to locate its company headquarters, as well as its operations center, in the Willis Tower, for which there is a lease until 2028, and thus sublet the Wacker Drive location, for which a lease had been signed until 2022 . In July 2013, the last employees of 77 W. Wacker Drive moved to the Willis Tower, where around 4,000 United employees have been working in the airline's corporate and operations center on 16 floors. As of 2013, no buyer has been found for the site in Elk Grove Village.

Brand identity

Company logo from the 1930s modified in the 1960s
Logo from 1973 modified in 1997 and used until 2010

From 1936 a stylized sign with horizontal red-white-blue stripes acted as the company logo . Under the red crown of the coat of arms, the United Air Lines lettering was emblazoned in black on a white background over a blue horizontal stripe. The product designer Raymond Loewy redesigned the shield logo in the 1960s, and reduced the company name on the shield to United . However, the logo was not used uniformly and was abandoned in the early 1970s at the latest. In 1965 the Leo Burnett advertising agency created the slogan "Fly the friendly skies", which was retained until 1997. For a transitional period of a few years, apart from the United lettering, no logo was used in the early 1970s. The planes at that time were white with a blue and red stripe, the black lettering United and four blue stars and the expression Friend Ship . This painting was referred to as Stars and Bars . In 2011, a United A320 was painted in this retro design to celebrate the airline's 85th anniversary.

In 1973 the well-known graphic designer Saul Bass was commissioned to design a new logo for United. Bass created a stylized "U" in red and blue color, colloquially (dt. Because of the shape as "tulip" tulip ) was referred to. The color scheme for the aircraft was an orange-red-blue horizontal stripe called 'rainbow' on a white background with United lettering and a red-blue tulip logo on the vertical stabilizer . The Rhapsody in Blue has been used by George Gershwin as a corporate melody since 1987 . Gene Hackman discussed the United commercials off -screen in the late 1980s .

Boeing 747-400 of United in the livery from 1992 to 1997

From 1992, based on a design by the Californian advertising agency CKS Partners, the United aircraft was painted in dark blue (bottom) and dark gray (top) separated by a narrow red stripe, the United Airlines lettering was written out in full and the tulip logo in red and blue on dark blue keep striped ground. This was known as battleship livery. The expression "worldwide service" was also found on the aircraft.

In 1997, the British design company Pentagram Design won the agency pitch to renew the logo and thus the brand identity of United. Pentagram also stuck to the tulip logo - albeit in a blue and white variant - and returned to the short form of the company name United . The Fallon McElligott advertising agency came up with the slogan "Rising" in 1998, which was linked to an advertising campaign that ended in late 1999 due to bad reviews. After the attacks of September 11, 2001 , United used the slogan “We are United”. Pentagram was also entrusted with the advertising of the subsidiary TED. For cost reasons and finally because of the bankruptcy from 2002, the aircraft were only given a dark blue (bottom) and white (top) coat of paint with a red and blue tulip logo, United lettering and a stylized tulip in blue and white on the vertical stabilizer from 2004. This color scheme was called Blue Tulip . Robert Redford , among others, acted as voice actor for the commercials . The United slogan from 2004 to 2010 was “It's time to fly!”.

As a result of the merger with Continental Airlines, United, with the support of Lippincott , presented the new blue and white logo in August 2010, which consists of the United lettering and the Continental globe symbol. The aircraft were painted white with dark blue United lettering and yellow horizontal stripes as well as the globe symbol in yellow and white on a blue background on the vertical stabilizer. The abandonment of the Tulip logo brought massive criticism to the company. Mcgarrybowen has been looking after United since 2011 . The phrase “Let's fly together” was used as the slogan. Matt Damon was hired as the spokesperson for the United commercials . In 2013 the advertising slogan “Fly the friendly skies” from 1965 was taken up again.

In the spring of 2019, United introduced a new aircraft design in white and several shades of blue, updating the previous redesign from 2010.

Frequent flyer program

MileagePlus

The frequent flyer program of United launched under the name Mileage Plus on May 6, 1981 six days after American Airlines AAdvantage was launched. In addition to the loyalty program created by Texas International Airlines in 1979, Mileage Plus was the airline 's third extensive frequent flyer program.

As early as the late 1950s, United had created the 100,000 Mile Club and later the Half-Million or Million Mile Club for frequent customers. Admission to these 'clubs' was typically accompanied by the presentation of a badge and the handing out of luggage tags as well as the invitation to the Red Carpet Club airport lounges, which were then only accessible to a limited group of customers . The direct predecessor of Mileage Plus was the Executive Air Travel Program (EATP) from the mid-1970s , which replaced the Mile Clubs at United and in 1979 had around 250,000 members. Members received either small gifts or vouchers for future flights. With the introduction of MileagePlus, United gave up previous loyalty programs.

In 1987 United changed the rules of Mileage Plus, expired accumulated miles for the first time, increased the number of miles required for a seat, introduced blackout data and limited the number of seats available through miles. As a result, a group of Mileage Plus members filed a class action lawsuit against United, which forced the company to settle out of court with the plaintiffs. After the merger with Continental, the 2012 Mileage Plus rules underwent major changes. In addition, the notation in MileagePlus has been shortened.

Continental Airlines' frequent flyer program, OnePass , launched in 1987 , was discontinued as part of the merger with United on March 31, 2012 or integrated into the "Mileage Plus" program. OnePass emerged from the collaboration with Eastern Airlines and was retained by Continental after their bankruptcy in 1991. In 1982, Continental and New York Air launched a frequent flyer program called TravelBank , for which the first frequent flyer credit card was issued in 1986 and whose name was changed to OnePass in 1987 .

As of 2015, there are four hierarchy levels in the Mileage Plus program in addition to free membership , which are defined by qualifying miles (Premier Qualifying Miles / PQM), flight routes (Premier Qualifying Segments / PQS) and - for members residing in the USA - also certain Mandatory minimum sales (Premier Qualifying Dollars / PQD) can be achieved. The designations for the individual status levels are combinations of the frequent flyer designations of United Airlines (UA) and Continental Airlines (CO) prior to their merger in 2010. Compliance with these criteria is checked annually for each member.

Status level
(formerly UA)
(formerly CO)
PQM
PQS
PQD
member member member - - -
Premier Silver premier Silver 25,000 30th $ 3,000
Premier gold Premier Executive gold 50,000 60 $ 6,000
Premier Platinum - Platinum 75,000 90 $ 9,000
Premier 1K Premier Executive 100K - 100,000 120 $ 12,000

Global Services

In addition, United introduced the top Global Services category in 2003 as a separate status for its top frequent flyers. In 2005, out of a total of 52 million Mileage Plus members, there were 18,000 Global Services frequent flyers. Members of the Mileage Plus program who, compared to all United frequent flyers, have a combination of a particularly high number of miles traveled on non-discounted premium tickets, particularly distant destinations or particularly high revenue, are included in the group of United's Global Services Members invited who enjoy special privileges and for whom United - with one exception, see the Million Milers section below - does not publish admission criteria (" by invitation only " - by invitation only ).

Million milers

In addition, United has launched the Million Miler Program , with which long-standing frequent flyers are rewarded for their loyalty with lifelong status (including global services ), even if they subsequently no longer meet the criteria that are actually required for this status.

accumulated miles Lifetime status
1 million Premier gold
2 million Premier Platinum
3 million Premier 1K
4 million Global Services

Destinations

United Air Lines route network 1940
Countries served by United in 2012

In 2018, the global route network included the 230 US destinations, 126 flight destinations in 48 countries on five continents. In total, the company operates more than 4,900 flights per day.

Through the cooperation with the airlines of the Star Alliance , United as a member has access for its passengers to more than 700 destinations in 127 countries worldwide.

Goals in German-speaking countries

United operates the following routes non-stop in Germany and Switzerland in the 2019 summer flight schedule (usual aircraft type in brackets). Austria is currently not served by its own aircraft.

  • from Newark to Berlin-Tegel (per 1 × daily Boeing 767 -300), Frankfurt (Boeing 787-10), Munich (Boeing 767-400), Geneva (Boeing 767-300) and Zurich (Boeing 767-400)
  • From Washington, DC 2 × daily to Frankfurt ( Boeing 777-200) and 1 × daily to Munich (Boeing 777-200), Geneva (Boeing 767-300) and Zurich (Boeing 767-400)
  • from Chicago 2 × daily to Frankfurt (Boeing 777-200) and 1 × daily to Munich (Boeing 777-200)
  • from Houston once a day to Frankfurt (Boeing 777-200) and Munich (Boeing 767-300)
  • from San Francisco twice a day to Frankfurt (Boeing 777-200, Boeing 777-300), and once a day to Munich (Boeing 787-9) and Zurich (Boeing 787-8).
  • from Denver daily to Frankfurt (Boeing 787-8)

Until the merger with Continental Airlines , United only served the airports of Amsterdam, Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Munich, Paris, Rome and Zurich in Europe. The connection to Düsseldorf , which United had maintained in the 1990s, had been canceled in the course of cost-cutting measures. Furthermore, United canceled the routes between Newark and Stuttgart (started in 2011) in autumn 2014 and between Newark and Hamburg (started in 2005 by Continental Airlines) in October 2018 due to insufficient income. Aircraft of the type Boeing 757-200 , Boeing 767-300 and Boeing 767-400 were used.

Lounges and turnstiles

Airport lounges

Polaris Lounge Entrance at Chicago Airport (2019)

In the course of the merger, the airport lounges of the old United ( Red Carpet Club ) and those of the Continental ( Presidents Clubs ) were converted into United Clubs and all European lounges were closed (including in London, Paris and Frankfurt). In June 2014, a new United Club was set up in London's new Terminal 2 . In San Francisco there is also a United Arrivals Lounge for arriving Business Class passengers. At London Heathrow, passengers arriving before lunchtime have access to shower rooms which are not operated by United itself.

Turnstiles

United has seven main hubs in the US and one in Guam and one in Tokyo . London and Frankfurt are considered regional transfer hubs ( international gateways ). The Cleveland hub was abandoned in 2014.

Turnstile Passengers / year daily flights international destinations US targets Lounges
( United Clubs and United Polaris Lounges )
Employed region
Houston 16.8 million 501 59 116 6 (5/1) 13,804
Chicago 18 million 594 41 166 5 (4/1) 15,000
Newark 15.1 million 400 71 91 5 (4/1) 14,000
Denver 13.9 million 442 13 159 2 (2/0) 6,080
San Francisco 12.5 million 290 29 83 5 (4/1) 12,340
los Angeles 6.2 million 143 9 57 3 (2/1) 5,140
Washington Dulles 6.7 million 243 34 87 3 (3/0) 5,900

Classes of carriage

Polaris seat on board a United Boeing 777-300 (2017)
Polaris Seat with Accessories from Saks Fifth Avenue (2017)
Economy Plus seating on board a United Boeing 767-300 (2015)
Former United Business cabin on board a United Boeing 767-300 (2009)

Until 2010, United Airlines and American Airlines were the only US airlines that offered International First Class . Since the merger with Continental, United has retained its concept on some routes of only offering BusinessFirst and Economy seating. In 2018, United's International First Class was finally abolished.

The transport classes are divided into different categories depending on the route and aircraft:

Business class
  • United Polaris since December 1, 2016 (business class on international flights)
  • United First (Business Class on American domestic or short-haul flights, North and Central America and the Caribbean)
Premium Economy Class
  • United Premium Plus (separate area with its own tariff in the economy cabins of selected Boeing 777 and 787 aircraft with more comfortable seats, special catering, lounge access, etc.)
Economy class
  • United Economy Plus (seats with more legroom in the economy cabin)
  • United Economy
ps Premium Service

so-called premium transcon (tinental) service, exclusively between EWR (from 2004 to 2015: JFK ) and LAX / SFO as well as LAX and BOS , Boeing 757-200 (and partly Boeing 777-200 on the route from / to Boston)

  • United Business
  • United Economy Plus
  • United Economy

The Premium Service fleet has been operating on the routes between JFK and LAX / SFO with three-class seating (First, Business and Economy Plus) since 2004 . In June 2015, United announced under CEO Jeff Smisek that it would completely give up its presence at JFK Airport in New York City. The ps Premium Service flights to / from San Francisco and Los Angeles have therefore been relocated to Newark. As a result, United's last flight from JFK Airport took off on October 24, 2015 with ps flight UA535 to Los Angeles. In spring 2017, CEO Oscar Munoz admitted that it was a mistake to give up the JFK location. In 2017, the ps route network was expanded to include Boston-Los Angeles.

fleet

Airbus A320-200 of the United
United's Boeing 737-800
United Boeing 747-400
United Boeing 757-200
United Boeing 767-400
United Airlines Boeing 777-200
United's Boeing 787-8

As of August 2020, the United Airlines fleet consists of 803 aircraft with an average age of 15.9 years:

Aircraft type number ordered Remarks Seats
( First / Business / Eco + / Eco )
Average age

(May 2020)

Airbus A319-100 85 21st nine inactive
128 (8 / - / 42/78) 18.6 years
Airbus A320-200 98 4th two inactive; N475UA in retro painting 150 (12 / - / 42/96) 22.0 years
Airbus A321XLR 50 Delivery probably from 2024. (Replace Boeing 757 ) -open-
Airbus A350-900 45 Delivery probably from 2027. Contains 35 converted A350-1000 orders - open -
Boeing 737-700 49 12 two inactive; N13720 in Star Alliance special livery 126 (- / 12/36/78)
118 (- / 12/40/66)
20.4 years
Boeing 737-800 141 2 in Star Alliance special livery ( N26210 & N76516 ) 154 (16 / - / 48/90)
166 (16 / - / 48/102)
166 (16 / - / 54/96)
166 (16 / - / 42/108)
16.5 years
Boeing 737-900 148 N75432 in EcoSkies special livery;

N75435 in Continental Airlines retro paint scheme

167 (20 / - / 51/96)
179 (20 / - / 42/117)
179 (20 / - / 39/120)
8.6 years
Boeing 737 MAX 9 14th 47 first delivery on April 24, 2018; since March 13, 2019 all inactive 179 (- / 20 / - / 159) 2.0 years
Boeing 737 MAX 10 100 - open -
Boeing 757-200 40 will be replaced by A321neoXLR, 737-900 and 737 MAX 9; three inactive;

N14120 in Star Alliance special livery

142 (- / 28/42/72)

169 (- / 16/45/108)

23.6 years
Boeing 757-300 21st United is the largest operator of the 757-300 213 (24 / - / 55/134) 18.0 years
Boeing 767-300ER 38 all equipped with winglets ;

N653UA in Star Alliance special livery

183 (6/26/71/80)
214 (- / 30/49/135) 214 (- / 30/46/138
)
24.6 years
Boeing 767-400ER 16 N76055 in Star Alliance special livery 242 (- / 39/70/133) 19.0 years
Boeing 777-200 19th 269 ​​(8/40/113/108)
267 (- / 50/72/145)
364 (28 / -102 / 234)
21.3 years
Boeing 777-200ER 55 5 in Star Alliance special livery (example: N77022 ) 269 ​​(8/40/113/108)
267 (- / 50/72/145)
364 (28 / -102 / 234)
Boeing 777-300ER 22nd 366 (- / 60/102/204) 2.7 years
Boeing 787-8 12 219 (- / 36/70/113) 7.2 years
Boeing 787-9 32 6th 252 (- / 48/88/116) 3.6 years
Boeing 787-10 13 1 318 (- / 44/75/199) 1.4 years
total 803 286 15.9 years

Under the umbrella brand United Express , several regional airlines ( Cape Air , CommutAir , ExpressJet Airlines , GoJet Airlines , Mesa Airlines , Republic Airways , Shuttle America , SkyWest Airlines , Trans States Airlines ) serve hundreds of other, smaller aircraft for regional and international airlines on behalf of United Airlines Feeder connections.

Thanks to its historical connection to Boeing, United was the first customer of numerous Boeing aircraft types, including the Boeing 247 , Boeing 720 , Boeing 727 , Boeing 737-200 , Boeing 767-200 and Boeing 777-200 .

United has been gradually equipping its fleet with Wi-Fi (called United Wi-Fi ) since the beginning of the 2010s . This enables internet use on board for a fee. The company plans to equip the entire fleet with Wi-Fi and DirecTV by the end of 2015 . As of 2013, United offered the complete entertainment program on selected Boeing 777 planes that no longer have screens on board, free of charge via Wi-Fi, so that they can only be used via a device brought on board by the passenger. Internet access from Gogo Inflight Internet is offered on United ps flights between Newark (EWR) and Los Angeles or San Francisco . The last Boeing 747 was retired on November 7, 2017 with flight UA747 from San Francisco to Honolulu.

Incidents

Between 1937 and March 2017, the company lost 54 aircraft. 1171 people were killed. Incidents include the following:

  • On June 17, 1948, the crew of a Douglas DC-6 (NC37506 ) flooded the hold with carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) due to a fire alarm . During the subsequent descent with the nose tilted downwards, the CO 2 began to creep through a valve from the hold into the cockpit, rendering the crew incapable of action. The machine got into an uncontrolled flight condition and crashed into a swath of high voltage lines near Mount Carmel (Pennsylvania) . There were no survivors among the 43 occupants (see also United Air Lines flight 624 ) .
  • On August 24, 1951, a Douglas DC-6 B (N37550) fell below the prescribed minimum flight altitude on its approach to Oakland Airport and flew at an altitude of 300 meters against a hill. All six crew members and 44 passengers on board were killed.
  • On September 12, 1951, a Boeing 377 (N31230) crashed in San Francisco Bay. One engine had been shut down on the test flight; the machine crashed on approach to the San Francisco airport due to a stall from a height of 100 meters. All three crew members on board were killed.
  • On October 6, 1955, a Douglas DC-4 (N30062) flew into a mountain in the Laramie Mountains en route from Denver to Salt Lake City . The machine flew 40 kilometers (32 kilometers according to another report) off the normal flight route at an altitude of around 3500 meters. All 66 people on board died. It was the most serious accident of a DC-4 to date.
  • On November 1, 1955, a Douglas DC-6 B (N37559) exploded near Longmont (Colorado) at an altitude of 3300 meters 56 kilometers north of Denver after a bomb was deposited in the luggage compartment. All 44 people on board were killed. The bomb was deposited by the son of a passenger who had previously taken out life insurance on his mother (see also United Air Lines flight 629 ) .
  • On July 11, 1961, a Douglas DC-8-12 (N8040U) with 129 people on board had a hydraulic problem in flight. Two tires burst during the emergency landing at Denver / Stapleton Airport . The plane turned and caught fire. The fire fighting and rescue of the people showed the most serious deficiencies in terms of organization, equipment and personnel, despite previous complaints. Seventeen occupants and one person on the ground died (see also United Air Lines Flight 859 ) .
  • On July 9, 1964, a United Air Lines Vickers Viscount 745D (N7405) crashed during a cabin fire near Parottsville, Tennessee, USA. All 39 people on board died. One of the victims, a passenger, jumped off the plane three kilometers from the crash site (see also United Air Lines flight 823 ) .
  • On August 16, 1965, a United Airlines Boeing 727-22 (N7036U) disappeared while approaching Chicago O'Hare Airport from 6,000 feet and was found about 50 km east-northeast of the airport in the water of Lake Michigan . The cause of the accident could not be clarified. All 30 people on board were killed.
  • On November 11, 1965, a United Airlines Boeing 727-22 (N7030U) was approached far too high at Salt Lake City International Airport , whereupon the captain increased the rate of descent far beyond the permitted level. An attempt by the first officer to increase the thrust was stopped by the master. The aircraft hit the runway at a high rate of descent, the main landing gear broke and tore a hole in the fuselage, whereupon a fire broke out. 43 of the 91 people on board were killed.
  • On March 21, 1968, the captain of a Boeing 727-22C on a United Airlines cargo flight (N7425U) broke off take-off from Chicago O'Hare Airport shortly after take-off. The acoustic warning of unsafe start-up configuration was active almost continuously during the start-up run; however, the start was initially continued. The cause turned out to be that the landing flaps and slats had been extended to a position of 2 ° instead of the necessary 5 ° to 25 °. All three crew members survived.
  • On January 18, 1969, a United Airlines Boeing 727-22C (N7434U) crashed 20 km west of the Los Angeles departure airport with a complete nightly instrument failure in Santa Monica Bay . The aircraft had been operated with a defective generator No. 3 for three days, but this was permissible. About 90 seconds after take-off, the fire warning for engine no. 1 sounded, which was then correctly switched off. Shortly thereafter, the remaining No. 2 generator failed and the electrical standby system did not operate. During the instrument failure, the machine crashed into the Pacific . All 38 people on board were killed (see also United Air Lines flight 266 ) .
  • On December 8, 1972, a United Airlines Boeing 737-200 (N9031U) crashed into a residential area while approaching Chicago Midway Airport after losing control. 43 of the 61 people on board the machine and two people on the ground were killed.
  • On December 18, 1977, a Douglas DC-8F-54 "Jet Trader" (N8047U) flew on a cargo flight due to an error in the electrical system holding patterns over Salt Lake City . For a period of seven and a half minutes, the pilots interrupted radio contact with air traffic control in order to coordinate the further course of action with United Airlines technicians on a different radio frequency. During this time the machine flew into a mountainous area. When radio contact could be re-established, the air traffic controller on duty instructed the crew to immediately make a left turn and climb up. Seconds later, the DC-8 crashed into a mountain slope at an altitude of 2200 meters. The three-person crew was killed (see also United Airlines flight 2860 ) .
  • On December 28, 1978, a Douglas DC-8-61 (N8028U) crash-landed in the woods just outside Portland , Oregon Airport . The machine had run out of fuel while on hold due to landing gear problems before landing. Of the 189 occupants, 10 were killed (see also United Airlines flight 173 ) .
  • On January 11, 1983, the crew of a Douglas DC-8-54F (N8053U) , which was supposed to operate a cargo flight from Detroit to Los Angeles , overlooked the fact that the horizontal stabilizer was still in the landing position while working through the checklist. After lifting the machine rolled to the right and crashed due to a stall on a farm. All three crew members were killed.
  • On July 19, 1989, the rear engine of a McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10 (N1819U) exploded on its flight from Denver to Chicago. When approaching Sioux City Airport, Iowa, the machine crashed on the runway. 111 people were killed in the accident (see also United Airlines flight 232 ) .
  • On March 3, 1991, a Boeing 737-200 (N999UA) crashed over a residential area while approaching Colorado Springs. There were 25 fatalities (see also United Airlines Flight 585 ) .
  • On May 13, 2001, a United Airlines Boeing 727-222 (N7274U) , which was parked without occupants at Omaha-Eppley Airfield, was so badly damaged by a hailstorm along with other aircraft that repairs would have been uneconomical.
  • Also on September 11, 2001, terrorists hijacked a Boeing 757-200 (N591UA) launched at Newark International Airport , which they steered vertically into a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania, as passengers tried to break into the cockpit. 45 people were killed on board (see also United Airlines Flight 93 ) .

Sponsoring and social engagement

United is the main sponsor of the United Center in Chicago, built in 1994 and named after the airline , the roof of which is adorned with the airline's logo. United paid $ 1.8 million annually for the naming rights under a 20-year contract. At the end of 2013 the contract was extended for a further 20 years from 2014 Since taking over Continental, United has also sponsored the baseball teams of the Chicago Cubs and the Los Angeles Dodgers and has been the “official airline” of these teams since 2011. The company logo can be seen in both Wrigley Field and Dodger Stadium . Since August 2019, United has also been sponsoring the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for a period of ten years , the field of which was subsequently renamed United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum . United has also been the official airline of the United States Olympic Committee ("Team USA") since 1978 and has since offered discounted flights to athletes, coaches and officials during the Olympic Games .

The company is also active in the field of product placement . In Hollywood film productions such as Something's Got to Give (1962), Freundinnen (1988), Harry and Sally (1989), Schlaflos in Seattle (1993), Jerry Maguire - Game of Life (1996), The Thomas Crown Affair ( 1999), Terminal (2004) or Hawaii Five-0 (2010) and others, the airline can be seen because the actors either clearly fly United, are in United airport lounges or check-in areas, or - like Catherine Zeta Jones at The Terminal - playing even United staff. As is generally the case, United does not pay any money for these product placements, but provides the film set with the equipment free of charge and advertises the films on its own on-board television. United's marketing department regularly reviews scripts for product placement opportunities.

United also sponsors numerous charitable, social or regional organizations, provides aircraft for humanitarian purposes, among other things, or organizes charitable events. For example, every year in December, with the help of United volunteers, so-called “Fantasy Flight” charter flights for seriously ill children with the apparent destination of the North Pole as the home of Santa Claus take place.

In addition, United Airlines is on the CRAF ( Civil Reserve Air Fleet : dt about. The reserve Civil Air Fleet list) Department of Defense and may thus official charter flights for worldwide transport of troops of the United States Armed Forces perform.

See also

Web links

Commons : United Airlines  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
 Wikinews: United Airlines  - in the news

Individual evidence

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  2. United Airlines Achieves Highest Second-Quarter Pre-Tax Income In Company History united.com, July 16, 2019
  3. United Airlines Reports Full-Year and Fourth-Quarter 2018 Performance united.com, January 15, 2019
  4. United Airline To Report Upbeat Q2 Results Despite Hiccups From Boeing 737-MAX Grounding forbes.com, July 15, 2019
  5. United Airlines Achieves Highest Second-Quarter Pre-Tax Income In Company History united.com, July 16, 2019
  6. United Airlines pilots re-elect outspoken veteran as their union leader bizjournals.com, January 11, 2018
  7. United Airlines Says It's Doing an 'Unforgettable' Thing For All 25,000 United Flight Attendants. But Will Passengers Like the Result? inc.com, December 29, 2018
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  12. American Airlines Loses Top Spot As World's Largest Airline simpleflying.com, June 26, 2019
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  16. A legend disappears on aerotelegraph.com, March 3, 2012
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  38. ^ The New York Times - United, American Ban Smoking Entirely , accessed April 20, 1997
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