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UAL has been undergone some major financial restructuring since filing for bankruptcy in 2002. The company has since talked of merging with American Airlines, Northwest Airlines, and most recently Continental Airlines Inc. In May of 2010, the merger between UAL and Continental was officially announced, and plans for the merger are currently being carried out (Moreno, 2010). This merger forms the world's largest airline, and its headquarters is in Chicago, Illinois.
4. Commitments and Contingencies
According to United Airline's Website, (2010), it is committed to, "operating a reliable schedule for every customer. Weather and Air Traffic Control (ATC) issues, along with other operational challenges, can cause delays and cancellations. We aspire to make our customers who experience long on-aircraft or in-airport delays as comfortable as possible during the inconvenience." (United Airlines, 2010).
The airline also promises its customers that it will manage any delay situation accordingly and to the best of its ability. The airline states, "When an on-aircraft delay occurs, we will manage the situation aggressively to minimize delays of greater than three hours and make every reasonable effort to prevent those with durations longer than two hours. In the event of a lengthy delay, United has contingency plans to provide food, water, restroom facilities and access to medical treatment for customers onboard an airplane. In the event a flight exceeds the three-hour guideline for a taxi-out or diversion situation or if we exceed the 90-minute mark during taxi-in -- we will provide our customers with compensation, generally in the form of discount travel certificates." (United Airlines, 2010).
UAL is committed to providing its customers with excellent customer service as well. In the past decade, the company noticed a sharp up-tick in passenger complaints relative to this issue. These have stemmed from UAL's attempt to trim down the size of their workforce, specifically flight attendants, and cut payroll costs by offering lower wages and fewer benefits. This has negatively impacted the company by creating less congenial...
After NBC News reported that "United Airlines is the worst airlines ever." (Brancatelli, 2008) in one of their television news stories, the company has taken it to heart to reverse this sentiment. Since 2008, UAL has tried to stem the tide of complaints by emphasizing excellent customer service, using the NBC News story as a catalyst for change.
5. Conclusions
UAL have a very rich history and are committed to providing its customers with an excellent product and value for their money. The company has recently undergone many changes, but has survived the 9/11 attacks and the recent economic downturn by remaining nimble and adapting to the market demands. This adaptability is certainly one of UAL's strengths, and the vision behind this adaptability has helped to save the airline and the commercial airline industry in the United States. The company's business strategy seems to be working well, now that it has ironed-out recent customer service complaints and other negative press. The company has just merged with Continental Airlines Inc. As long as UAL remains vigilant of its strengths and weaknesses, it will be able to survive in the tough economic climate of today's global air travel industry.
References
Brancatelli, Joe. (2008). "The worst airline- ever." MSNBC Website accessed July 15, 2010. <http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25083833/>.
Moreno, Jenalia. (2010). "Continental and United merger meeting is today." Houston Chronicle, July 14, 2010.
Moreno, Jenalia. (2010). "Passenger lawsuit attacks Continental-United merger." Houston Chronicle, June 29, 2010.
UAL Investor Relations. (2010). "Investor Home." UAl Investor Relations Homepage accessed July 16, 2010. <http://ir.united.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=83680&p=irol-IRHome>.
United Airlines. (2010). "Company Information." UAL Website accessed July 16, 2010.
United Airlines. (2010). "Soaring Through History, the History of United Airlines." UAL Website accessed July 15, 2010.
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