justApilot
Dawn Patroller
- Joined
- Jan 27, 2002
- Posts
- 346
United Talks With Unions About Low-Cost Airline Thursday February 6
CHICAGO -- UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, hoping to become relevant to more travelers while at the same time achieving the lowest costs among big hub- and-spoke carriers, reiterated that it must launch a low-fare airline to retake the leisure customers it has lost, Thursday's Wall Street Journal reported.
United, which filed for bankruptcy-court protection in December and posted a loss of $3.2 billion for all of 2002, said it is talking to its unions about the structure, size and operational attributes on the new airline, code-named " Starfish." United said it has proposed creating a separate entity with its own management, work force and access to capital, but integrated into United's network, brand and frequent-flier program.
That facet of the turnaround plan, which has been savaged by analysts based on past failures of low-fare divisions within big airlines, also has raised the ire of at least two unions at United. The pilots and flight attendants fear that the new airline would amount to a breakup of UAL, erode United's core business, and employ workers who aren't on United's seniority list.
Wall Street Journal Staff Reporter Susan Carey contributed to this report.
CHICAGO -- UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, hoping to become relevant to more travelers while at the same time achieving the lowest costs among big hub- and-spoke carriers, reiterated that it must launch a low-fare airline to retake the leisure customers it has lost, Thursday's Wall Street Journal reported.
United, which filed for bankruptcy-court protection in December and posted a loss of $3.2 billion for all of 2002, said it is talking to its unions about the structure, size and operational attributes on the new airline, code-named " Starfish." United said it has proposed creating a separate entity with its own management, work force and access to capital, but integrated into United's network, brand and frequent-flier program.
That facet of the turnaround plan, which has been savaged by analysts based on past failures of low-fare divisions within big airlines, also has raised the ire of at least two unions at United. The pilots and flight attendants fear that the new airline would amount to a breakup of UAL, erode United's core business, and employ workers who aren't on United's seniority list.
Wall Street Journal Staff Reporter Susan Carey contributed to this report.
