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United wasting more money!

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jettypeguy

Well-known member
Joined
Feb 12, 2003
Posts
98
To bad United can't give some money back to their hard working employees instead of wasting it on things like this that won't really help them bring in more revenue. A happy, hardworking employee is 10X better than any stupid automated jetbridge....:rolleyes:



News
[FONT=sans-serif,Arial,Helvetica]09/07/2006 15:32:52 EST [/FONT]
[FONT=sans-serif,Arial,Helvetica]Related Quotes[/FONT]​

[FONT=sans-serif,Arial,Helvetica]UAUA[/FONT] [FONT=sans-serif,Arial,Helvetica]24.80[/FONT] [FONT=sans-serif,Arial,Helvetica]http://a1040.g.akamai.net/f/1040/759/1h/pic.infospace.com/vzn.dsl/pics/inv/rtqdownsm.gif 0.14[/FONT][FONT=sans-serif,Arial,Helvetica]United Introduces New Boarding Equipment [/FONT]
[FONT=sans-serif,Arial,Helvetica]By DAVE CARPENTER
AP Business Writer
[/FONT] [FONT=sans-serif,Arial,Helvetica]CHICAGO - Looking to improve its boarding process and turnaround times, United Airlines is rolling out new automated boarding equipment that it says should make getting on and off its planes much faster. The carrier put the first of five advanced jet bridges in place Thursday at Denver International Airport, one of its five U.S. hubs, with plans to install them at other airports in "the near future."

The dual-end or Y-shaped bridge connects to both doors of a narrow-body plane, arching over the wing to the back door, to allow for simultaneous loading or unloading. They automatically connect to aircraft using sensors that detect the plane's position, thus doing away with the need for workers to connect them by hand.

Some dual-end bridges are in use but United says its is the first to be completely automated.

The airline began testing the first bridge on Aug. 23 at Denver, where it is now fully operational for flights on Ted, its discount carrier.
"Our customers - especially those in the rear of the plane - are already telling us they love the convenience of the new bridges," said Alex Marren, United's vice president of operational services, United Express and Ted. "Also, because we can board customers faster, we are able to eventually add more flights without adding new aircraft."

United says the bridge can reduce the time it takes to unload and then reboard a plane, by 10 minutes, allowing it to fly its planes longer each day.

The carrier plans to install the other four in Denver by year's end and will look to expand to other airports soon afterward, spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said. She declined to elaborate.

United, a unit of Elk Grove Village, Ill.-based UAL Corp., is not disclosing the cost of the new bridges but has referred to them as "a multimillion-dollar asset." They are made by Ontario, Canada-based Dewbridge Airport Systems.

David Stempler, president of the Air Travelers Association consumer group, said anything that makes the boarding and exiting process go quicker will please passengers.
"The automated part should also eliminate those irritating waits when you sit there at your destination and have to wait for someone to come operate the jet bridge," he said.

But industry consultant Michael Boyd questioned the need for such an expensive system, saying airlines have at least 40 minutes to turn around their planes in a hub-and-spoke system anyway. "It's a nice idea to get people on and off quicker," and it will help if flights are late, said Boyd, president of the Boyd Group in Evergreen, Colo. "But if you don't really need to do it, why are you putting all that money into it? This isn't going to suddenly make them more competitive than somebody else."

Stempler agreed that the service feature isn't likely to be a big factor in passengers' decisions about which flights to book, which he said are based primarily on price, schedule and frequent-flier relationships.


UAL, which emerged from three years in bankruptcy in February, reported its first true profit in six years in the second quarter, a $119 million gain. But it hasn't had a profitable year since 2000.
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Hope they work better for United than they did for us (SWA). Maybe they are a different design. Ours turned out to be too expensive and complex to keep up so we canned them. Still have some in ALB though I think.
 
I think Boyd misses the point. The idea behind the bridge is shorter turn times and better on time. While passengers may not buy a ticket based on a double jetway they sure would enjoy their experience much more if they left on time and boarded and deplaned in an easier manner.
 
with the current carry-on restrictions... arent turn times faster? We just did a 17 minute turn in PVD. 70 off and 131 on. Not to bad.
 
SWA/FO said:
with the current carry-on restrictions... arent turn times faster? We just did a 17 minute turn in PVD. 70 off and 131 on. Not to bad.

Try doing that at a lecagy carrier with simiar equipment. Might make a World Record.
 
It's a good idea. But all it will mean for the pax is an extra 10 mins. waiting for their checked bags.
 
I think you're right

MRYFLYER said:
I think Boyd misses the point.quote]

I agree, I think UA isn't paying for the first bridges like WN at ALB. I think it was part of their settlement with the city over the BK charges, etc. Beyond that, the base post has a point if no tangible benefits are seen.
 
SWA/FO said:
with the current carry-on restrictions... arent turn times faster? We just did a 17 minute turn in PVD. 70 off and 131 on. Not to bad.

A 17 minute turn isn't that impressive. Getting a post in during said 17 minute turn, now that's impressive ...

;)
 

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