United.com offers 3300 flights/day, reaching to more than 200 destinations
United Airlines
United Airlines is an important American airline, second-largest airline by revenue-passenger-miles, having 56,000 employees and owning 459 aircraft. The company which claims its origins to go as far as 1926 has survived the passage of time and is now a recognizable brand all around the world.
The Website
United.com immediately strikes the reader as a consumer oriented website. The core features are those that allow customers to make online reservations and those that reward old time clients. Despite this however, the website also has the features commonly associated with corporate web design although they are much harder to spot. Investor relations, press releases, company history and figures are all there for the interested reader.
History
UAL claims it is the oldest commercial U.S airline. In its early beginnings the company was part of United Aircraft, founded and developed by pioneer William Boeing. Soon after the Air Mail Scandal, in 1930, Boeing’s company split apart into three: a parts supplier (United Technologies), an aircraft manufacturer (Boeing Airplane Company) and an airline group (the future United Air Lines). The president of UAL, whose task was to make a fresh start for the company was (since 1934 to 1963) William A. Patterson.
United’s early routes went from north to south along the West Coast and from east to west along a transcontinental route: San-Francisco-Midwest-Mid Atlantic states. It is strange how a dark event such us World War II led to an increasing success of the company. UAL supported the US army transforming a series of airplanes into bombers, or simply transporting material and passengers in that troubled period. After the war, the accumulated experience, the increased demand for air travel lead to a bright and fast evolution. Another sad moment in the history of UAL was Nov 1, Flight 629 when all the passengers were killed by a bomb planted in one of the luggage. Again, UAL made history; the company implemented a change in order to protect the lives of the passengers: the screening of all luggage before boarding. This procedure was kept ever since.
For 23 years United tried to take overseas routes but without any success. The Trans Pacific Route Case denied them the expansion. By the end of 1985 though UAL established a series of contracts with the company Pan Am and obtained flights to 13 Pacific destinations. The company’s rough history didn’t end here. On 17 May 1985 the pilots of United went on a strike arguing about the issue of the pay rates. This struggle had awful effects: the company lost almost one billion dollar fact which provoked a major financial deterioration and after 20 years later ended in bankruptcy. The union founded with Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS and Thai Airways-Star Alliance-wasn’t a long time solution. After the September 11 Attacks, when two United planes were hijacked, the company crisis culminated with the filling under Chapter 11 for bankruptcy in order to protect additional capital. UAL continued though their operations during the bankruptcy trial, but their costs were cut drastically, many employees were sacked, the ticket offices in US were closed, they eliminated several routes and diminish edsubstantially their mainline fleet. All this time, the company continued to invest in new projects. After 4 hard years the United company emerged victorious with a much more competitive look, on February 1, 2006. The status of a smaller company proved more efficient and competitive. Their competitors were forced to reduce costs and capacity. UAL had finally overcame the crisis. This is how by 2007 United rejoined the club of good performing companies and is now a part of the Fortune 500 list.
Impact On Popular Culture
Airlines rarely make the news on a positive note and United is no exception. During the rough years that the company endured,. The 4 years in which the company operated under the chapter 11 of the bankruptcy law (the longest in history) together with the increased restrictions faced on US airports following the dreaded 9/11 attack affected the company’s image.
In the last two years however, a shift can be observed and now the company is no longer perceived negatively, but rather neutrally. After 6 years of hardships, United is perhaps the symbol of an industry that found normality once more.
Languages
English
Contact
- United Airlines, Eddie Mosqueda
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- +1 773 557 4052, Fax: +1 212 629 9305
Additional Information
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- Alexa: United.com
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