Rumor: UA to be Launch Customer for 787-10

[rjacobs]

I dont work for United or CAL, have no desire to work for the "unified" United, but I have been in both the CAL and UAL systems both prior and post merger. So a perspective of the outside looking in so to speak.

we have Smiseck on record saying it in his testimony to Congress, and he said it in the Chicago Tribune.

Never heard a politician lie to get what they want/need? Do you remember when DAL and NWA were trying to get merger approval from congress and they both miraculously posted ridiculous(like in the 10's of billions of $$) losses in the previous quarter? accounting tricks to "convince" congress they "needed" to merge or a real loss?

your CRAP airline with your CRAP Mis-Management until CAL went bankrupt is in beyond logic?

Now that we are stuck with CAL Mis-management, Your Mis-management is going to bring down this whole airline into Bankruptcy, 2015 - 2106 at the latest

This point I have an issue with. While I wont say CAL's management under Kellner was that great, and Smisek didnt have the solo reigns long enough to prove he did or did not know what was going on, I will say that UAL was the terribly managed company. Tilton was a guy who was brought in to navigate the BK of UAL, however after that he couldnt get out because the system he destroyed was now so terrible that no CEO would come to take his place. Finding somebody to merge with was his only way out IMO. I dont believe he was an airline CEO(not that any of the current guys are really airline guys either though to be fair).

The system that UAL created(and now CAL has inherited) is absolutely disgusting and is slowely making the once greatly managed CAL hubs into a nightmare. This is coming from the perspective of a UAX pilot turned COEX and back to UAX. The service we were provided under COEX in both the hubs and outstations was tremendous. The service we get under UAX at both the hubs and outstations is simply frightening how poor it is. That started under UAL, NOT CAL. From what I understand though is that the mainline flights get good service still so a lot of the guys I talk to are always shocked when I describe how ********************ty the service we get is. I also see agents giving the worst customer service I have ever seen. I rarely saw that under the straight CAL system and still in the ex CAL hubs its still fairly good, although not what it used to be.

 

[list2002]

Got to read between the lines of Airmike. If you haven't got the joke yet oh well. No other United pilot is agreeing yet, which is smart. Because everything he writes is opposite. Swap carrier names and his arguments make much more sense. Sorry to spoil your troll Airmike, I was hoping for someone to bite. But it seems only sCAL guys/gals are falling for it.
The only truth I see of the sUAL takeover is it sure seems the flight ops, hiring, and training department are going that way... oh well, easier check rides.

 

[densoo]

Payback time is coming to you and your MEC

Payback came and went. LUAL "won," LCAL lost. Now it's just waiting for BK. In 2009 Continental ranked 6th among all airlines, 2nd among the legacies. United was 13th, 6th and dead last among the legacies. Now we're dead last together.

http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1020&context=aqrr

Here's Why United Was Just Named America's Worst Airline
by Matt Brownell Jun 18th 2013 11:37AM

In a week that saw United Airlines (UAL) place dead last in a customer service ranking of the major airlines, a picture surfaced that gives some idea of how the airline earned that dubious distinction.

A member of travel forum FlyerTalk posted this picture, which he says he snapped in the lavatory of a United Airlines flight.

"Apparently, they ran out in one lav half-way home and couldn't bother to transfer a roll from another," writes the poster. As you can see, a member of the flight crew seems to have hacked together a holder out of duct tape and filled it with cocktail napkins -- which, appropriately enough, bear the slogan "Fly by the tips of your fingers."

And this was no short flight, either: He notes that this took place on a San Francisco-to-London trip. While having to use napkins as toilet paper isn't the end of the world, it's still hard to imagine an airline like JetBlue (JBLU) running out of toilet paper and having to resort to such college-dorm-style innovation.

It's that sort of lax approach to basic customer service that's led to United once again ranking dead last in the American Customer Service Index. The quarterly ranking of various consumer-facing industries and companies found that while the airline industry as a whole has slightly improved, it still rates poorly among consumers, with only TV and internet providers performing worse. And within the industry, there was United in dead last once again, with an aggregate score of 62 points out of 100. JetBlue and Southwest (LUV) led the category, scoring 83 and 81 points, respectively.

The index is compiled through thousands of phone and email surveys, and each company score is the product of 250 interviews.

Of course, United's problems don't begin and end with toilet paper. A recent ranking of airline performance that accounted for on-time arrivals, customer complaints and baggage handling likewise ranked the airline dead last.

We've reached out to the airline for comment and will update this article if we get a response.

Update (3:45 p.m. ET): A United spokesperson responds to the mishap:
"The aircraft ran low on toilet tissue and our crew improvised and provided customers with paper napkins. We apologize to our customers on this flight for the inconvenience and would like the opportunity to welcome them back."

As for the airline's poor customer-service ranking, the spokesperson says that United's operation performance has improved significantly since fall 2012 and that customer complaints are down this year.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/on/united-americas-worst-airline-no-toilet-paper/

 

[Azul]

Here is my question. United was merging with somebody. Either airways or cal. That was clear with Tilton. So I might buy the downsize argument, maybe. But heres my question, why would airways or cal pilots have to pay for a decision YOUR management made. This totally disregards the fact that Ual allowed it to happen via your scope clause. You guys voted it in. Not us. Why do we have to pay for that decision?
We had to take the same type of concessions at cal, but we hacked or work rules to the bone to save scope and the old farts pensions. Could have saved other items but, instead when they parked 67 737 we replaced them with guess what? Larger 737's cause they could not use e-jets. Any rational ual guys please explain.

 

[eaglesview]

These arguments are comical. It does not matter what anyone thinks about the ISL on this forum. I fully believe that CO ran much better before the merger. So did UA. This management team has screwed up almost everything they have touched. I look forward to when the terms L-ual and L=cal are gone. What purpose do they serve now?

In other news......this just in....

On Tuesday, the UAL-MEC received a decision in the liability phase of the Transition and Process Agreement Section 4-A dispute (Profit Sharing).

As part of his award, Neutral Richard Bloch wrote:

The Transition Agreement was negotiated in contemplation of a potentially challenging and markedly sensitive process involving the melding and reordering of thousands of professional lives.

AWARD
The Company violated the TPA by entering into the Profit Sharing Agreement in question.

As requested by ALPA, Neutral Bloch has ordered that the issue be remanded back to the parties for consideration of remedy.

 

[Flopgut]

I fully believe that CO ran much better before the merger. So did UA. This management team has screwed up almost everything they have touched.

Completely agree. Corporate day one, or whatever the management team proclaimed as the day of the official merger closing, that's when things fell apart for both airlines. This entire management team needs to be replaced.

 

[fr8doggie]

So let me get this straight, I am a CAL 2006 hire that can hold 737 Capt and approx 68% on the wide body (787 FO) and my overall relative seniority is 67%. On the CAL proposal I will stay at approx 67% relative seniority. On the UAL proposal I would loose 18% relative seniority. Do you really think that is "fair"?? Why should my career take such a hit and the UAL pilots get a windfall gain in relative seniority? Do you really think that's fair??

Because you don't know how to spell 'lose'?

 

[densoo]

On the UAL proposal I would loose 18% relative seniority. Why should my career take such a hit and the UAL pilots get a windfall gain in relative seniority?

Because you don't know how to spell 'lose'?

Does any pilot? Most didn't put English 101 high on their list of priorities, including me. That's why I don't proof read my posts very well.

A euphamism for furloughed? Do you know the origins of this term?

Regards,
fr8foggie

Origins? No. Spelling? Yes. "Euphemism."

You also might be aware that punctuation goes inside the quotation mark except in Britain.

Thanks. I went and looked it up after I received Scoreboard's "answer".

regards,
Fr8-

And people "lie" down while you "lay" an object down. For instance, "we'll find a place for you to lie down" but "we'll find a place to lay your suitcase down."

We don't frown upon it. We will fight you for the best spots to lay down, however.

Regards,
Fr8doggie

Also, when you use the word "if" the "be" verb that follows is subjunctive and therefore "were" not "was."

Wait, If I was to believe this I would be considered quite the fool.

An easy way to remember this is to recall the lyric from "Fiddler On The Roof"--"...If I were a rich man."

Well, that's all for today. For tomorrow please read pages 256-327 of Joseph Conrad's "Nostromo" and complete section 11 of the workbook.

 

[Azul]

Any UAL pilots care to respond to my post?

When they came to you for next round of concessions( ERP 2 I believe) , ie lets relax scope to 70 seats, did anybody ask this question? "well S**t , alot of our flying has been farmed out to express in the form of 50 seaters. This can't be a good idea, find the money somewhere else".

When they came to us asking for money we gave it to them alright, but not our jobs!! Scope was on the table and we took it off the table, simple as that.

Thats why most of us thought this POS should have been DOA, not cause we wanted your jobs... Now we have relaxed it even further, I guess we will see what happens at the next downturn. No wait we won't. They will take what they want because we will give it to em. Sad

 

[eaglesview]

If you knew a little history you would already know how the 70 seaters got there. As for responding to the rest of your post, tell me what good getting into a pi$$ing match with an anonymous person on line does.