Beyond Chapter 11 History of United Airlines

united airlines boeing 777-200 landing in blue tulip livery.

on december 9, 2004, airline made history when ua869, operated boeing 747–400, landed @ ho chi minh city (formerly saigon), vietnam. scheduled flight san francisco via hong kong (sfo–hkg–sgn) first u.s. airline since end of vietnam war, when pan halted service shortly before fall of saigon in 1975.

united s management called consolidation in industry , looked suitor in 2006. wall street journal revealed in late 2006, continental airlines in merger discussions united. deal not or imminent, talks being in preliminary state. in interim, increased ties british carrier bmi , aloha airlines. in april 2007, united , british carrier bmi announced merge trans-atlantic operations . merged operations have begun in march 2008, lufthansa’s takeover of bmi preempted 2 carrier’s plans when bmi’s transatlantic flights terminated. united’s may 2007 acquisition of equity stake in longtime partner aloha airlines short-lived aloha ceased operations in march 2008. on june 14, 2007, cfo jake brace said company still looking tie knot suitable merger partner.

in years following united’s exit bankruptcy, 2 large financial firms, bank of america , fidelity investments, accumulated shares become second largest owner 11 percent stake in company. mentioned earlier, industry environment ripe pressures merge , consolidate. pardus capital management lp, hedge fund owned 7 million shares of delta , 5.6 million shares of united, called 2 carriers merge. action sent shares of both airlines short-lived , became moot because delta wedded northwest.

the surge in jet fuel prices caused disruption united’s impending start of non-stop long-haul services. though faa had awarded sfo guangzhou, china united, postponed launch citing high fuel prices. other long-haul city pairs, such 2009 application fly between los angeles , shanghai (which began may 2011) denied faa.

during time of turmoil brought on external forces, united explored options reestablish financial footing , raise capital. these changes included:

divesting of maintenance, repair , overhaul operations @ sfo.
spinning off cargo division.
spinning off mileage plus frequent flier program.

these spin-offs , divestitures have not come fruition.

on february 19, 2008, westin hotels & resorts announced refreshed partnership united westin provide products heavenly bed line on p.s. routes.

in may 2008, american customer satisfaction index scored united airlines second-last among us-based airlines in customer satisfaction 21% decrease since study began in 1994 , 11% decrease on previous year.

on june 12, 2008, united announced charge $15 first checked bag, becoming second united states airline so, first being american airlines. charges, while not affecting every united flight, created in effort offset high fuel prices.

on june 28, 2008, united announced cessation of several international routes including san francisco–nagoya , chicago – mexico city.

a united airlines boeing 767-300er taking off london heathrow airport, england. (2007)

on september 8, 2008, price of ual shares fell 99% in fifteen minutes $0.01 amid rumors of bankruptcy, before nasdaq temporarily halted trading. rumors traced old story on south florida sun-sentinel website 2002 bankruptcy being picked google news , subsequently presented bloomberg lp breaking story. share price subsequently recovered of value. on february 1, 2006, united emerged chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under had operated since december 9, 2002, largest , longest airline bankruptcy case in history of industry.

on april 27, 2008, reported ual corporation , airways group, inc. in advanced stages of merger negotiations well. sources stated merger expected announced within 2 weeks of report. united pilots vociferously rejected proposal , vowed fight it. star alliance co-founder lufthansa ceo wolfgang mayrhuber threw support behind marriage of partner carriers united , airways.

on june 4, 2008, united announced close ted unit , reconfigure them return mainline configuration, compensate removal of united s boeing 737s retired. retirement plan included boeing 737s , boeing 747s, reducing mainline fleet 460 359 aircraft , furthering airline s goal of cutting domestic capacity 15 percent. on january 6, 2009, ted ended operations converting entire fleet united mainline fleet. ted flights changed united mainline flights.

in january 2009, united announced code-sharing agreement aer lingus flights between washington dulles , madrid. aer lingus operate service, permitted under recent open skies agreements between , eu.

in 2009, united entered extensive partnership continental airlines. partnership included codeshare , frequent flyer agreements. part of agreement, continental left skyteam , joined star alliance. elite members of each airline s frequent flyer program received benefits on both airlines.

as of may 2009, u.s. department of transportation rated ual eleventh among 19 carriers in lost, damaged, delayed or pilfered baggage 3.67 complaints per 1,000 passengers. in july 2009, viral music video, united breaks guitars released disputed damaged baggage claim airline. united said use video staff training tool company improve internal corporate culture relating customer relations in area of services.

on october 28, 2009, united flew final boeing 737 flight, ua flight 737. retirement flight flew washington-dulles san francisco via chicago-o hare, denver, , los angeles, united s main hubs. united s 737 retirement particularly significant, u.s. launch customer of 737 family in 1967, , operated variants of type 42 years. while united retired 737s had in 2009, airline ended regaining 737s merge continental.