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{{Infobox_Airline |logo=United Airlines.svg|logo_size=300px|IATA=UA|ICAO=UAL|callsign=UNITED|parent=UAL Corporation, [Illinois ([CEO)
Jake Brace (CFO)]
Denver International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport
San Francisco International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
[Honolulu International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport|lounge=[Red Carpet Club|fleet_size=460|destinations=210|company_slogan=It's Time to Fly|website= http://www.united.com/|Slogan= Fly with Us-->

United Airlines is a [major carrier of the United States.http://av-info.faa.gov/detail.asp?DSGN_CODE=UALA&OPER_FAR=121&OPER_NAME=UNITED+AIR+LINES+INC It is a subsidiary of UAL Corporation with corporate offices in Chicago, Illinois at 77 West Wacker Drive, and its operations base in nearby Elk Grove Village, Illinois. United's largest airline hub is O'Hare International Airport, where it has 650 daily departures. United also has hubs in Denver International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, and Los Angeles International Airport. Its largest maintenance facility is at San Francisco International Airport. The airline also maintains focus city operations at Narita International Airport, Honolulu International Airport, and Hong Kong International Airport.

As of July 31, 2006, United is the world's second-largest airline by revenue-passenger-miles (behind American Airlines), third-largest by total operating revenues (behind Air France-KLM and American Airlines), and fourth-largest by total passengers transported (behind American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines). United has 56,000 employees United Airlines press release January 9, 2007 and operates 460 aircraft.

On February 1, 2006, United emerged from Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code bankruptcy protection under which it had operated since December 9, 2002, the largest and longest airline bankruptcy case in history.

History Beginnings UAL traces its claim to be the oldest commercial airline in the United States to the Varney Airlines air mail service of Walter Varney, who also founded Continental Airlines. Varney's chief pilot, Leon D. "Lee" Cuddeback, flew the first Contract Air Mail flight in a Swallow biplane from Varney's headquarters in Boise, Idaho to the railroad mail hub of Pasco, Washington on April 6, 1926 and returned the following day with 200 pounds of mail. April 6 is regarded in the United Airlines company history as both its own birthday and the date on which "true" airline service—operating on fixed routes and fixed schedules—began in the United States. Varney Airlines' original 1925 hangar served as a portion of the terminal building for the Boise Airport until 2003, when the structure was replaced.



In 1927, airplane pioneer William Boeing founded his own airline, Boeing Air Transport, and began buying other airmail carriers, including Varney's. Within four years, Boeing's holdings grew to include airlines, airplane and parts manufacturing companies, and several airports. In 1929, the company changed its name to United Aircraft - Transport Corp.In 1930, as the capacity of airplanes proved sufficient to carry not only mail but also passengers, Boeing Air Transport hired a registered nurse, Ellen Church, to assist passengers. United claims Church as the first airline stewardess The Original Eight: Genesis of the Modern Day Flight Attendant.

Following the Air Mail Scandal of 1930, the Air Mail Act of 1934 banned the common ownership of manufacturers and airlines. United Aircraft-Transport's President Philip G. Johnson was forced to resign and moved to Trans-Canada Airlines, the future Air Canada. William Boeing's company was broken into three: a parts supplier (the future United Technologies), an aircraft manufacturer (the Boeing Airplane Company), and an airline group—United Air Lines. The airline company's new president, hired to make a fresh start as airmail contracts were re-awarded in 1934, was William A. Patterson, who remained as president of United Airlines until 1963.

Expansion into a national carrier , on display at the Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) in Chicago.United's early route system, formed by connecting air mail routes, operated north-and-south along the West Coast of the United States, and east-to-west along a transcontinental route from San Francisco via Denver, Colorado to Chicago in the Midwest and on to Washington, DC. The early interconnections during this era became the basis of major United Airline hub in these cities, and still exist today.

During World War II United-trained ground crews modified airplanes for use as bombers, and transported mail, material, and passengers in the war effort. Post-war United benefited from both the wartime development of new airplane technologies (like the Cabin pressurization which permitted planes to fly above the weather) and a boom in customer demand for air travel. This was also the period in which Pan American Airways established a Tokyo hub and revived its Pacific route system that would later be acquired by United.

On November 1, 1955, United Airlines Flight 629, which was flying from Stapleton Airport in Denver, Colorado to Portland, Oregon, was bombed, killing everyone on board. The bomb was planted by a man named Jack Graham who placed the bomb in his mother's luggage with the intent of collecting on her life insurance policy. Graham was executed a year after the explosion. http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/mass/jack_graham/index.html] This incident led to the screening of all passenger luggage before boarding (one of many safety changes to be implemented on-going throughout the history of air travel).The company merged with Capital Airlines on June 1, 1961, making it the world's largest commercial airline and giving it a route network covering the entire United States.

In 1968 the company reorganized, creating UAL Corporation, with United Airlines as a wholly owned subsidiary.

United Airlines has the distinction of being the only commercial airline to have operated Executive One, the designation given to a civilian flight which the U.S. President is aboard. On December 23, 1973, then President Richard Nixon flew as a passenger aboard a United DC-10 flight from Washington Dulles to Los Angeles. It was explained by his staff that this was done in order to conserve fuel by not having to fly the usual Boeing 707 Air Force aircraft. http://openweb.tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/1973-12/1973-12-27-CBS-8.html . This however turned out not to be the case as 'Air Force One' flew behind in case of an emergency.

Deregulation United had begun to seek overseas routes in the 1960s, but the Transpacific Route Case (1969) denied them this expansion. It did not gain an overseas route until 1983, when they began flights to Tokyo from Portland, Oregon and Seattle. By the end of 1985, United had flights to 13 Pacific destinations, many of which were with route contracts purchased from the ailing Pan American World Airways.

Economic turmoil, labor unrest, and the pressures of the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act greatly affected the company, which incurred losses and saw a greatly increased turnover in its senior management through the 1970s and early 1980s.

In May 1981, one week after rival American Airlines launched AAdvantage, the first frequent flyer program, United launched its Mileage Plus. The Wall Street Journal mistakenly reported United's program to be the first.

In 1982, United became the launch customer for the Boeing 767, taking its first delivery of 767-200s on August 19.

Strike of 1985 On May 17, 1985 United's pilots went on a 29-day strike claiming the CEO, Richard Ferris, was trying to "break the unions." They used management's proposed "B-scale" pilot pay rates as proof. American Airlines already had a B-scale for its pilots. Ferris insisted United had to have pilot costs no higher than American's, so he offered United pilots a "word-for-word" contract to match American's, or the same bottom line numbers. The United ALPA-MEC rejected that offer because it meant they would not get their deferred pay raise. The only choice left, to achieve parity with American's pilot costs, was to begin a B-scale for United's new-hire pilots.

Ferris wanted that B-scale to merge in the Pilot in command, which was more generous than American's B-scale, which never merged at all. In the final hours before the strike, nearly all issues had been resolved, except for the time length of the B-scale. It appeared that would be resolved too as negotiations continued. ALPA negotiators delivered a new counter-proposal at 12:20 A.M. in an effort to avoid the strike. However, MEC Chairman Roger Hall, who was hosting a national teleconference with F. Lee Bailey, declared the strike was on at 12:01 A.M., on May 17, without consulting the negotiators, who believed they were about to agree on all contract terms with United's management negotiators. This struggle cost the airline USD $1 billion, and provoked a long period of labor unrest and financial deterioration that culminated in bankruptcy nearly 20 years later.

Mr. Ferris changed United's parent company's name from UAL Corporation to Allegis in February, 1987 but the name change was short lived. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE5D9103EF934A15756C0A96E948260 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964764-2,00.html Following Ferris' termination by the board, Allegis divested its non-airline properties in 1987 and reverted to the name UAL Corp. in May, 1988 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE5D9103EF934A15756C0A96E948260 That helped clear the path for the United Pilots to do an ESOP takeover of United, which eventually did happen in 1994.

Record-setting flight In 1988, using a 747SP-21 purchased from Pan American World Airways, United flew a 2-stop around-the-world flight to raise money for the Friendship Foundation, to which the plane was 'loaned'. The flight made a very short-lived record for fastest flight around the globe; within a month, a Gulfstream IV business jet had broken Friendship One's record United Airlines Friendship One Sets Short-Lived World Record-Setting Flight

Employee Stock Ownership Plan The fall of Pan American World Airways offered new opportunities for United. In 1991 the company expanded dramatically, purchasing the routes to London Heathrow Airport, the Asia-Pacific routes, as well as Pan Am's Lockheed L-1011s and eleven Boeing 747SP-21s. In direct negotiations with the UK government, United also obtained rights to fly to Heathrow from Chicago--the only Heathrow rights provided to a US carrier subsequent to the Bermuda II Treaty. However, the aftermath of the Gulf War and increased competition from low-cost carriers led to losses of USD $332M in 1991 and USD$ 957M in 1992.

aircraft at the gate at Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport.

In 1994, United's pilots, machinists, bag handlers and non-contract employees agreed to acquire 55% of company stock in exchange for 15% to 25% salary concessions. The flight attendants were not included in the deal, and at the beginning some wore buttons saying "we just work here." The Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) made United the largest employee-owned corporation in the world. United used the opportunity to create a low-cost subsidiary, Shuttle by United, in an attempt to compete with low-cost carriers.

United made substantial use of its employee-ownership in its marketing communications, with slogans such as "the employee-owners of United invite you to come fly the friendly skies," "we don't just work here," and "thank you for calling United Airlines; please hold and one of our owner-representatives will be with you shortly."

The financial outcomes of the ESOP were decidedly uneven for different players. As part of ESOP agreement, United CEO Stephen Wolf resigned and took a consulting job with Lazard Freres, the very investment company he had hired to advise United's board during the ESOP buyout process. Stewart Oran, the key legal advisor to the pilots' union, received a $5.5 million package to join the management of the new employee-owned company as legal counsel after the ESOP was formed. USA Today, "Workers took pay cut while others got rich," July 12, 1995 United's unions, having larger voice in running the company, later successfully bargained for significant pay increases, but the effect was only short-term. The rank and file employees were locked in to their stock, which got wiped out in the eventual bankruptcy.

It was around this period (in 1993) that United introduced its grey and blue color scheme. It had been criticized that the color scheme blended with the darkness during nighttime operations.http://dir.salon.com/story/tech/col/smith/2003/05/09/askthepilot40/index.html?pn=2

Take off at Schiphol, Amsterdam, in the 1993-2004 livery.

Turn of the century developments In 1997, United founded the Star Alliance with Air Canada, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines System and Thai Airways International. That same year, United opened a major hub at Los Angeles International Airport.

United was a launch customer of the Boeing 777 and had significant input on its design. It was also the first airline to introduce the twin-jet in commercial service.

In 1998, Delta Air Lines and United introduced a marketing partnership that included a reciprocal redemption agreement between SkyMiles and Mileage Plus programs and shared lounges.http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CWU/is_2003_July_29/ai_105988602 This scheme allowed members of either frequent flier program to earn miles on both carriers and utilize both carriers' lounges.http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CWU/is_2003_July_29/ai_105988602 Delta and United attempted to form an even cozier codeshare relationship, but this was deal was effectively killed by ALPA.http://www.frequentflier.com/ffc-0905.htm The marketing partnership ended in divorce in 2003, but paved the way for a future alliance with US Airways.

In May 2000, United announced plans to acquire competitor US Airways in a complex deal valued at $11.6 billion. The offer drew immediate scorn from consumer groups and employees of both airlines. By the following year, regulatory sentiment was against the deal, and United withdrew the offer just before the United States Department of Justice barred the merger on antitrust grounds in July. The two airlines subsequently formed an amicable partnership that led to US Airways' entrance into the Star Alliance.

landing

May 2000 also saw a bitter contract dispute between United and its pilots' union. Planning for the busy summer season, United had counted on its pilots flying overtime. However, the pilots could not be forced to work overtime, and most pilots refused to fly the extra hours. Although United knew they would have to cancel numerous flights if this were to happen, they did not hire new pilots to make up for the potential shortage. Over the summer, United had to cancel a large portion of its schedule at its major hubs. Eventually, CEO Jim Goodwin and the rest of the management had to get the pilots back in the cockpits and quickly offered the pilots a 48% increase over four years with up to 28% upfront.

September 11 As part of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, two United Airlines planes were hijacked by terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda. One aircraft was a Boeing 757 (United Airlines Flight 175) that crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, and the other was a Boeing 757 (United Airlines Flight 93) that crashed in rural Pennsylvania. The latter was suspected to have been directed towards either the White House or the United States Capitol building.

===Bankruptcy and reorganization===United, with a strong presence on the West coast, benefited from the Dot-com company boom, which boosted traffic (especially premium traffic) to its San Francisco hub. This increase was only temporary and when the 'bubble' finally burst United was in a worse position than before because it had failed to keep costs under control. Coupled with a battered network (after the dot-com bust), the September 11 attacks, and to a significant extent, skyrocketing oil prices, the company lost $2.14 billion in 2001 on revenues of $16.14 billion. In the same year United applied for a $1.5 billion loan guarantee from the federal Air Transportation Stabilization Board established in the wake of the September 11 attacks. When the mechanics union failed to approve the loan guarantee (while all other unions approved the loan guarantee), the application was rejected in late 2002, the company was forced to seek Debtor in possession financing from commercial sources to cover the expected future losses.

Unable to secure additional capital, UAL Corporation filed for Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code bankruptcy protection in December. The ESOP was terminated, although by then its shares had become virtually worthless. Blame for the bankruptcy has fallen on the events of September 11, which triggered financial crisis in all the major North American airlines. However, the rise of low-cost carriers, labor disputes, and problems within the management structure of the company also contributed significantly.

United continued operations during its bankruptcy, but was forced to cut its costs drastically. Tens of thousands of workers were furloughed, and all city ticket offices in the US closed. The airline canceled several existing and planned routes, and eliminated its entire Latin American gateway and flight crew base at Miami International Airport after March 1, 2004. In 2003, United abandoned its maintenance hubs in Oakland and Indianapolis, and transferred work to its San Francisco Maintenance Operations Center. Furthermore, they reduced their mainline (flight) fleet from 557 (before 9/11) to 460 aircraft.

At the same time, the airline continued to invest in new projects. On November 12, 2003, it launched a new low-cost carrier, Ted (airline), to compete with other low-cost airlines. In 2004 it launched its luxury United p.s. (for "premium service") service on re-configured 757s from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to Los Angeles and San Francisco. The service was targeted to business customers and high-end leisure customers in the coast-to-coast market.

Financial pressure on the airline was heavy. The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome epidemic in 2003 depressed traffic on United's extensive Pacific network. The soaring cost of jet fuel ate away remaining profits United made. United implemented several fare hikes on overseas routes, citing rising fuel costs, in 2004 and 2005. Two days after its triumphant first flight to Vietnam, United announced that it would cut U.S. flight capacity by 14% after the holidays and add more international flights, which were more profitable.

United took advantage of its Chapter 11 status to negotiate hard-to-cut costs with employees, suppliers, and contractors, including cancellation of feeder contracts with United Express Atlantic Coast Airlines (which became Independence Air) and Air Wisconsin (which became a US Airways Express carrier).

Most controversial of all, however, was the 2005 cancellation of its pension plan, the largest such default in U.S. corporate history. It renegotiated its contracts with the pilots' and mechanics' unions for lower pay; however, the Association of Flight Attendants resisted until the bankruptcy court ruled in United's favor. Criticism was also leveled at the CEO, Glenn Tilton, for demanding pay cuts from employees while receiving the highest salary of any major U.S. airline CEO.http://www.forbes.com/2005/04/20/05ceoland.html

Originally slated to exit bankruptcy protection after 2½ years in the third quarter of 2005, United requested yet another extension in light of record-high fuel prices. On August 26, 2005, the bankruptcy court extended the airline's exclusive right to file a reorganization plan to November 1, although it also stated firmly this extension would be the last. United announced at the same time it had raised $3 billion in exit financing and filed its Plan of Reorganization, as announced, on September 7, 2005.

The bankruptcy court approved the restructuring plan on January 20, 2006, clearing the way for United to exit bankruptcy on February 1, 2006, and finally return to normal operations. Its emergence as a smaller, much more efficient carrier has in turn put additional pressure on its competitors to reduce costs and capacity.

Beyond Chapter 11 On December 9, 2004, the airline made history when UA869 (747-400) landed at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The scheduled flight from San Francisco via Hong Kong (SFO-HKG-SGN) was the first by a U.S. airline since the end of the Vietnam War, when Pan American World Airways halted service shortly before the fall of Saigon.

On July 16, 2006, United Airlines announced that it would be moving its headquarters from suburban Elk Grove Village to the Chicago Loop. The Top 350 Executives were moved in the first half of 2007 to 77 West Wacker Drive. The Elk Grove Village campus was renamed an Operations Center.

United's current management have called for consolidation in the industry. The Wall Street Journal revealed on December 12, 2006 that Continental Airlines was in merger discussions with United. A deal was not "certain or imminent," with the talks being in a preliminary state." UAL, Continental Discuss Merger As AirTran Presses Bid for Midwest." Carey, S.; Trottman, M.; Berman, D. K. The Wall Street Journal. December 13, 2006." United and Continental Discussing Possible Merger." Sorkin, A. R. and Bailey, J. The New York Times. December 12, 2006 On April 04, 2007, United and British carrier Bmi (airline) announced that they would 'effectively merge their trans-Atlantic operations', which would involve strengthening their alliance to a level far more intimate than its current code-share alliance.http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/2007/04/unitedbmi_pact_.htmlhttp://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/bmi-united-airlines-reportedly-form/story.aspx?guid=%7B8096611D-B050-46CA-B8F4-2506CCEF9A8A%7D The merged operations would begin in March 2008, if approved. On May 3, 2007 United acquired an equity stake in its longtime partner Aloha Airlines United Airlines Takes Minority Stake in Aloha Airlines (Star Bulletin: May 4, 2007). On June 14, 2007, CFO Jake Brace said his company is still looking to tie the knot with a suitable merger partner. United Airlines Seeking Merger (USA Today: June 14, 2007)

Recent news On July 16, 2007 United announced its application for nonstop service between San Francisco and Guangzhou and between Los Angeles and Shanghai. If approved, the Guangzhou flight will commence in 2008 and will be flown daily with Boeing 777 aircraft, whereas the Shanghai flight will commence in 2009 and be flown daily with Boeing 747 aircraft. If the Los Angeles - Shanghai flight is not approved, then United's priority will be a nonstop flight to Shanghai from Washington, D.C. United Airlines' Formal Filing to U.S. Department of Transportation Focuses on Significant Unmet Demand in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Proposes Expanded Service to China from Washington, D.C.

On July 13, 2007, a federal judge ruled that the 9/11 damages lawsuit against United and American airlines would begin in September.http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1241057320070712

As of September 2007, United's largest owner was Bank of America, and Fidelity Investments became the second largest owner by acquiring an 11 percent stake in the company.http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_6852760

On September 25, 2007 United received permission from the FAA for non-stop service from SFO to Guangzhou, China starting in April of 2008.

Destinations United Airlines operates 3,600 flights a day to 210 destinations in 30 countries from hubs in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

Route network .United operates an extensive domestic route network concentrated in the Midwestern United States and Western United States. United is also prominent in Transcontinental flight, Atlantic Ocean, and Pacific Ocean service. It is by far the leading US carrier to Hawaii and largest to Asia and Australia, flying 26,152,441,000transpacific revenue passenger miles in 2006 or 306 weekly departures; from July 2005-June 2006, United carried 3.5 million passengers to/from the Hawaiian Islands.

United is the only US carrier which operates its own aircraft from the US Continental United States to Australia. (Hawaiian Airlines flies from Honolulu to Sydney and Continental Micronesia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines, maintains a route from Guam to Cairns, Queensland). United Airlines is the only US carrier to serve Vietnam (via Hong Kong) and Kuwait.

In 1988, the bilateral (though not reciprocal treaty) treaty with Japan was amended to allow additional routes between the two countries. United's application to fly from Chicago to Tokyo, a significant gap in its routes previously, was approved.

United operates a low-cost leisure brand called Ted (airline). The name is taken from the last three letters of its parent United. Ted serves leisure destinations within the United States and Mexico with 240+ daily flights utilizing 57 aircraft. Ted was created to compete with other low-cost airlines like Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines. After unsuccessful attempts by other U.S. airlines such as Delta with its "Song Airlines" and even United itself with its formerly defunct Shuttle by United to create a low-fare subsidiary, Ted is the only "airline-within-an-airline" left in the U.S.

United is focusing on its international presence, notably in the People's Republic of China (with nonstop flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong from its hubs in Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.). The airline also hopes to begin flying to Guangzhou from San Francisco in the near future.In September 2007 United was granted a route from San Francisco to Guangzhou. http://www.united.com/speech/detail/0,6862,53282,00.html These routes offer a higher proportion of premium fare passengers while being relatively insulated from the Cut-throat competition in the domestic market, especially from low-cost carriers. United competes vigorously with discount carriers on about 70 percent of its domestic market. United has also focused more on Latin America, a region from which it had largely retreated in the last decade, and added new destinations and frequencies to Mexico and the Caribbean and will continue to do so into the next decade.

Fleet As of September 2007, United operates 460 aircraft with average fleet age of 13.1 years http://www.airfleets.net/ageflotte/?file=calcop&opp=United%20Airlines.{| class="toccolours sortable" border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse"|+ United Airlines fleet|- bgcolor=lightgrey!Aircraft!Total!Passengers
(First/Business/Economy)!Routes|-|Airbus A320|55|120 (8/112)|Domestic/Canada, Mexico/Caribbean|-|Airbus A320|97|138 (12/126)
Ted 156 (156)|Domestic/Canada, Mexico/Caribbean|-|Boeing 737|63|120 (8/112)
128 (8/120)|Domestic/Canada|-|Boeing 737|29|104 (8/96)
110 (8/102)|Domestic/Canada|-|Boeing 747-400|97|[United p.s. 110 (12/26/72)
182 (24/158)|3-class JFK-LAX and JFK-SFO
2-class domestic/Canada, Hawaii and Caribbean|-|Boeing 767|35|193 (10/32/151)
244 (34/210)
183 (6/26/151) new configuration|3-class transatlantic, Latin America and some transcontinental (e.g., IAD-SEA)
2-class domestic and Hawaii|-|Boeing 777
Boeing 777|20
32|253 (10/45/198)
258 (12/49/197)
348 (36/312)
262 (8/40/214) new configuration
269 (8/40/221) new configuration|3-class transatlantic, transpacific and transarctic

2-class domestic and Hawaii|-|}Business Class available on select three class configurations.

Retired fleet {| class="toccolours" border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse"|+ United Airlines Retired fleet|- bgcolor=lightgrey!Aircraft!Year Retired!Replacement!Notes|-|Lockheed L-1011 Tristar|Bought from [Pan Am; Sold to Delta Air Lines|-|Douglas DC-8|Largest DC-8 operator in the world|-|[Boeing 727|1993|Boeing 727|Launch Customer|-|Boeing 747SP|Bought from Pan Am|-|[Boeing 747|1999|Boeing 777||-|McDonnell Douglas DC-10|Launch Customer along with American|-|[Boeing 747|2001|Boeing 747-400|2001|[Airbus A320||-|Boeing 737|2001|Boeing 737|Launch Customer|-|Boeing 767|2005|Boeing 767|Launch Customer|-|Boeing 40A||||-|[Boeing 247||||-|[Boeing 720||||-|[Convair 340||||-|[Douglas DC-6||||-|[Ford Tri-Motor||||-|[Swallow||||-|}

United was the launch customer for a number of aircraft types, including the [McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and several Boeing aircraft: the Boeing 727 the Boeing 737#737-200, the Boeing 767, and the Boeing 777. Although not a launch customer, jet aircraft operated by United has included the Lockheed L-1011 (received in the Pan Am Pacific Route purchase, later traded with Delta Air Lines for the DC-10 aircraft Delta received in their merger with Western Airlines), Douglas (later McDonnell Douglas) DC-8, and Sud (later Aerospatiale) Caravelle. In 1965, United placed an order for 6 BAC/Sud (now BAe and Aerospatiale) Concordes but the order was later canceled.

United is one of only two passenger airlines in the United States to operate the Boeing 747-400, currently the largest commercial passenger transport in service, with the other being Northwest Airlines. There are several cargo airlines in the United States operating 747s.

Cabin

United offers in-flight entertainment on all mainline aircraft, with music programming supplied by XM Satellite Radio. In mid-2007, United will feature docking capability for Apple Inc.'s iPod portable music and video player. This will allow the device's battery to be charged, but will also allow integration with United's In-flight Entertainment (IFE) system. United Airlines to Offer Docking Capability for Apple iPod (The Wall Street Journal: November 14, 2006)

UnitedFirst







UnitedBusiness





UnitedEconomy





Mileage Plus Frequent flier programs started in their current form in 1981. United began one week after American Airlines started the first program. United's program is called Mileage Plus.

Airlines who are part of the Star Alliance, such as Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Air Canada, and others participate in a program enabling passengers on these airlines to receive Mileage Plus credits.

Elite level membership, which has added benefits over the standard level membership, is a feature that was not initially part of the program.

Premier Associate (3P) is a new elite level created in 2006 that can be gifted by elite members as a reward for reaching certain plateaus. Privileges are much like Premier members and get access to Economy Plus seating, but does not include the 500-mile e-upgrades or the 25% mileage bonus on flown miles.

Premier (2P) members, who accumulate at least 25,000 Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) or fly 30 segments, are offered priority boarding, free access to Economy Plus seating, upgrade privileges from any fare, complimentary 500-mile e-upgrades and a 25% mileage bonus on flown miles.

Premier Executive (1P) members fly at least 50,000 EQM or 60 segments, and receive all Premier benefits plus a 100% mileage bonus, higher upgrade priority and access to exit row seating in advance of flight.

1K (also known as Premier Executive 1K) members fly at least 100,000 EQMs or 100 segments, and receive all Premier Executive benefits plus six complimentary System-wide Upgrades good for a one-class upgrade anywhere United flies, along with the ability to earn confirmable CR-1 upgrades valid across United's North and Latin American route system. 1K passengers are also granted accommodations and meals during flight delays and irregular operations caused by weather or air traffic control.

Global Services is a by-invitation-only program to recognize United's most valued high-yield customers. It accompanies either Premier Executive status (known as GP) or 1K status (known as GK). Invitation criteria is not published or made public by United. Benefits complement and expand upon those offered to 1K passengers, including: higher priority for upgrades and front-of-line access in premium security lines. UGS members are able to upgrade award flights using miles, systemwide upgrades and well as their confirmed regional upgrades (CR-1) and 500 mile upgrade certificates.

==Red Carpet Club==The Red Carpet Club is United Airlines airport lounge. It includes 40 lounges in 34 major airports around the world. Club membership is available to the public for an annual fee, and includes access to all Red Carpet Clubs along with reciprocal access to US Airways Clubs and Star Alliance Gold lounges when traveling on those carriers. Premier, Premier Executive and 1K members of Mileage Plus are offered discounted membership options. Despite the name, the carpeting in the Red Carpet Club lounges is not typically red. In SFO, for example, it's brown and blue.

, Florida, USA. Note the blue carpet.

Locations {||- valign="top"|| | | |}

Codeshare agreements In addition to its Star Alliance and United Express partnerships, United codeshares with the following airlines as of December 2006:{||- valign="top"|| |}

Some Star Alliance members codeshare with United.

United also has marketing agreements with the following airlines:{||- valign="top"|| | |}

Incidents and accidents {| class="wikitable"|-|1930s|United Airlines Chesterton Crash|||||||||-|1940s|United Airlines Flight 14|United Airlines Flight 28|United Airlines Flight 404|United Arilines Flight 521|United Airlines Flight 608|United Airlines Flight 624||||-|1950s|United Airlines Flight 129|United Airlines Flight 610|United Airlines Flight 615|United Airlines Flight 7030|United Airlines Flight 16|United Airlines Flight 409|United Airlines Flight 629|United Airlines Flight 718|United Airlines Flight 736|-|1960s|United Airlines Flight 826|United Airlines Flight 859|United Airlines Flight 297|United Airlines Flight 823|United Airlines Flight 389|United Airlines Flight 227|United Airlines Flight 266|||-|1970s|United Airlines Flight 553|United Airlines Flight 2860|United Airlines Flight 173|||||||-|1980s|United Airlines Flight 811|United Airlines Flight 232||||||||-|1990s|United Airlines Flight 585|United Airlines Flight 826|United Airlines Flight 863|||||||-|2000s|United Airlines Flight 175|United Airlines Flight 93|United Airlines Flight 858
United Airlines Finds Body in No {{Infobox_Airline |logo=United Airlines.svg|logo_size=300px|IATA=UA|ICAO=UAL|callsign=UNITED|parent=UAL Corporation, [Illinois ([CEO)
Jake Brace (CFO)]
Denver International Airport
Washington Dulles International Airport
San Francisco International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
[Honolulu International Airport
Hong Kong International Airport|lounge=[Red Carpet Club|fleet_size=460|destinations=210|company_slogan=It's Time to Fly|website= http://www.united.com/|Slogan= Fly with Us-->

United Airlines is a [major carrier of the United States.http://av-info.faa.gov/detail.asp?DSGN_CODE=UALA&OPER_FAR=121&OPER_NAME=UNITED+AIR+LINES+INC It is a subsidiary of UAL Corporation with corporate offices in Chicago, Illinois at 77 West Wacker Drive, and its operations base in nearby Elk Grove Village, Illinois. United's largest airline hub is O'Hare International Airport, where it has 650 daily departures. United also has hubs in Denver International Airport, Washington Dulles International Airport, San Francisco International Airport, and Los Angeles International Airport. Its largest maintenance facility is at San Francisco International Airport. The airline also maintains focus city operations at Narita International Airport, Honolulu International Airport, and Hong Kong International Airport.

As of July 31, 2006, United is the world's second-largest airline by revenue-passenger-miles (behind American Airlines), third-largest by total operating revenues (behind Air France-KLM and American Airlines), and fourth-largest by total passengers transported (behind American Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines). United has 56,000 employees United Airlines press release January 9, 2007 and operates 460 aircraft.

On February 1, 2006, United emerged from Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code bankruptcy protection under which it had operated since December 9, 2002, the largest and longest airline bankruptcy case in history.

History Beginnings UAL traces its claim to be the oldest commercial airline in the United States to the Varney Airlines air mail service of Walter Varney, who also founded Continental Airlines. Varney's chief pilot, Leon D. "Lee" Cuddeback, flew the first Contract Air Mail flight in a Swallow biplane from Varney's headquarters in Boise, Idaho to the railroad mail hub of Pasco, Washington on April 6, 1926 and returned the following day with 200 pounds of mail. April 6 is regarded in the United Airlines company history as both its own birthday and the date on which "true" airline service—operating on fixed routes and fixed schedules—began in the United States. Varney Airlines' original 1925 hangar served as a portion of the terminal building for the Boise Airport until 2003, when the structure was replaced.



In 1927, airplane pioneer William Boeing founded his own airline, Boeing Air Transport, and began buying other airmail carriers, including Varney's. Within four years, Boeing's holdings grew to include airlines, airplane and parts manufacturing companies, and several airports. In 1929, the company changed its name to United Aircraft - Transport Corp.In 1930, as the capacity of airplanes proved sufficient to carry not only mail but also passengers, Boeing Air Transport hired a registered nurse, Ellen Church, to assist passengers. United claims Church as the first airline stewardess The Original Eight: Genesis of the Modern Day Flight Attendant.

Following the Air Mail Scandal of 1930, the Air Mail Act of 1934 banned the common ownership of manufacturers and airlines. United Aircraft-Transport's President Philip G. Johnson was forced to resign and moved to Trans-Canada Airlines, the future Air Canada. William Boeing's company was broken into three: a parts supplier (the future United Technologies), an aircraft manufacturer (the Boeing Airplane Company), and an airline group—United Air Lines. The airline company's new president, hired to make a fresh start as airmail contracts were re-awarded in 1934, was William A. Patterson, who remained as president of United Airlines until 1963.

Expansion into a national carrier , on display at the Museum of Science and Industry (Chicago) in Chicago.United's early route system, formed by connecting air mail routes, operated north-and-south along the West Coast of the United States, and east-to-west along a transcontinental route from San Francisco via Denver, Colorado to Chicago in the Midwest and on to Washington, DC. The early interconnections during this era became the basis of major United Airline hub in these cities, and still exist today.

During World War II United-trained ground crews modified airplanes for use as bombers, and transported mail, material, and passengers in the war effort. Post-war United benefited from both the wartime development of new airplane technologies (like the Cabin pressurization which permitted planes to fly above the weather) and a boom in customer demand for air travel. This was also the period in which Pan American Airways established a Tokyo hub and revived its Pacific route system that would later be acquired by United.

On November 1, 1955, United Airlines Flight 629, which was flying from Stapleton Airport in Denver, Colorado to Portland, Oregon, was bombed, killing everyone on board. The bomb was planted by a man named Jack Graham who placed the bomb in his mother's luggage with the intent of collecting on her life insurance policy. Graham was executed a year after the explosion. http://www.crimelibrary.com/notorious_murders/mass/jack_graham/index.html] This incident led to the screening of all passenger luggage before boarding (one of many safety changes to be implemented on-going throughout the history of air travel).The company merged with Capital Airlines on June 1, 1961, making it the world's largest commercial airline and giving it a route network covering the entire United States.

In 1968 the company reorganized, creating UAL Corporation, with United Airlines as a wholly owned subsidiary.

United Airlines has the distinction of being the only commercial airline to have operated Executive One, the designation given to a civilian flight which the U.S. President is aboard. On December 23, 1973, then President Richard Nixon flew as a passenger aboard a United DC-10 flight from Washington Dulles to Los Angeles. It was explained by his staff that this was done in order to conserve fuel by not having to fly the usual Boeing 707 Air Force aircraft. http://openweb.tvnews.vanderbilt.edu/1973-12/1973-12-27-CBS-8.html . This however turned out not to be the case as 'Air Force One' flew behind in case of an emergency.

Deregulation United had begun to seek overseas routes in the 1960s, but the Transpacific Route Case (1969) denied them this expansion. It did not gain an overseas route until 1983, when they began flights to Tokyo from Portland, Oregon and Seattle. By the end of 1985, United had flights to 13 Pacific destinations, many of which were with route contracts purchased from the ailing Pan American World Airways.

Economic turmoil, labor unrest, and the pressures of the 1978 Airline Deregulation Act greatly affected the company, which incurred losses and saw a greatly increased turnover in its senior management through the 1970s and early 1980s.

In May 1981, one week after rival American Airlines launched AAdvantage, the first frequent flyer program, United launched its Mileage Plus. The Wall Street Journal mistakenly reported United's program to be the first.

In 1982, United became the launch customer for the Boeing 767, taking its first delivery of 767-200s on August 19.

Strike of 1985 On May 17, 1985 United's pilots went on a 29-day strike claiming the CEO, Richard Ferris, was trying to "break the unions." They used management's proposed "B-scale" pilot pay rates as proof. American Airlines already had a B-scale for its pilots. Ferris insisted United had to have pilot costs no higher than American's, so he offered United pilots a "word-for-word" contract to match American's, or the same bottom line numbers. The United ALPA-MEC rejected that offer because it meant they would not get their deferred pay raise. The only choice left, to achieve parity with American's pilot costs, was to begin a B-scale for United's new-hire pilots.

Ferris wanted that B-scale to merge in the Pilot in command, which was more generous than American's B-scale, which never merged at all. In the final hours before the strike, nearly all issues had been resolved, except for the time length of the B-scale. It appeared that would be resolved too as negotiations continued. ALPA negotiators delivered a new counter-proposal at 12:20 A.M. in an effort to avoid the strike. However, MEC Chairman Roger Hall, who was hosting a national teleconference with F. Lee Bailey, declared the strike was on at 12:01 A.M., on May 17, without consulting the negotiators, who believed they were about to agree on all contract terms with United's management negotiators. This struggle cost the airline USD $1 billion, and provoked a long period of labor unrest and financial deterioration that culminated in bankruptcy nearly 20 years later.

Mr. Ferris changed United's parent company's name from UAL Corporation to Allegis in February, 1987 but the name change was short lived. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE5D9103EF934A15756C0A96E948260 http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964764-2,00.html Following Ferris' termination by the board, Allegis divested its non-airline properties in 1987 and reverted to the name UAL Corp. in May, 1988 http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE5D9103EF934A15756C0A96E948260 That helped clear the path for the United Pilots to do an ESOP takeover of United, which eventually did happen in 1994.

Record-setting flight In 1988, using a 747SP-21 purchased from Pan American World Airways, United flew a 2-stop around-the-world flight to raise money for the Friendship Foundation, to which the plane was 'loaned'. The flight made a very short-lived record for fastest flight around the globe; within a month, a Gulfstream IV business jet had broken Friendship One's record United Airlines Friendship One Sets Short-Lived World Record-Setting Flight

Employee Stock Ownership Plan The fall of Pan American World Airways offered new opportunities for United. In 1991 the company expanded dramatically, purchasing the routes to London Heathrow Airport, the Asia-Pacific routes, as well as Pan Am's Lockheed L-1011s and eleven Boeing 747SP-21s. In direct negotiations with the UK government, United also obtained rights to fly to Heathrow from Chicago--the only Heathrow rights provided to a US carrier subsequent to the Bermuda II Treaty. However, the aftermath of the Gulf War and increased competition from low-cost carriers led to losses of USD $332M in 1991 and USD$ 957M in 1992.

aircraft at the gate at Oklahoma City's Will Rogers World Airport.

In 1994, United's pilots, machinists, bag handlers and non-contract employees agreed to acquire 55% of company stock in exchange for 15% to 25% salary concessions. The flight attendants were not included in the deal, and at the beginning some wore buttons saying "we just work here." The Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) made United the largest employee-owned corporation in the world. United used the opportunity to create a low-cost subsidiary, Shuttle by United, in an attempt to compete with low-cost carriers.

United made substantial use of its employee-ownership in its marketing communications, with slogans such as "the employee-owners of United invite you to come fly the friendly skies," "we don't just work here," and "thank you for calling United Airlines; please hold and one of our owner-representatives will be with you shortly."

The financial outcomes of the ESOP were decidedly uneven for different players. As part of ESOP agreement, United CEO Stephen Wolf resigned and took a consulting job with Lazard Freres, the very investment company he had hired to advise United's board during the ESOP buyout process. Stewart Oran, the key legal advisor to the pilots' union, received a $5.5 million package to join the management of the new employee-owned company as legal counsel after the ESOP was formed. USA Today, "Workers took pay cut while others got rich," July 12, 1995 United's unions, having larger voice in running the company, later successfully bargained for significant pay increases, but the effect was only short-term. The rank and file employees were locked in to their stock, which got wiped out in the eventual bankruptcy.

It was around this period (in 1993) that United introduced its grey and blue color scheme. It had been criticized that the color scheme blended with the darkness during nighttime operations.http://dir.salon.com/story/tech/col/smith/2003/05/09/askthepilot40/index.html?pn=2

Take off at Schiphol, Amsterdam, in the 1993-2004 livery.

Turn of the century developments In 1997, United founded the Star Alliance with Air Canada, Lufthansa, Scandinavian Airlines System and Thai Airways International. That same year, United opened a major hub at Los Angeles International Airport.

United was a launch customer of the Boeing 777 and had significant input on its design. It was also the first airline to introduce the twin-jet in commercial service.

In 1998, Delta Air Lines and United introduced a marketing partnership that included a reciprocal redemption agreement between SkyMiles and Mileage Plus programs and shared lounges.http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CWU/is_2003_July_29/ai_105988602 This scheme allowed members of either frequent flier program to earn miles on both carriers and utilize both carriers' lounges.http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CWU/is_2003_July_29/ai_105988602 Delta and United attempted to form an even cozier codeshare relationship, but this was deal was effectively killed by ALPA.http://www.frequentflier.com/ffc-0905.htm The marketing partnership ended in divorce in 2003, but paved the way for a future alliance with US Airways.

In May 2000, United announced plans to acquire competitor US Airways in a complex deal valued at $11.6 billion. The offer drew immediate scorn from consumer groups and employees of both airlines. By the following year, regulatory sentiment was against the deal, and United withdrew the offer just before the United States Department of Justice barred the merger on antitrust grounds in July. The two airlines subsequently formed an amicable partnership that led to US Airways' entrance into the Star Alliance.

landing

May 2000 also saw a bitter contract dispute between United and its pilots' union. Planning for the busy summer season, United had counted on its pilots flying overtime. However, the pilots could not be forced to work overtime, and most pilots refused to fly the extra hours. Although United knew they would have to cancel numerous flights if this were to happen, they did not hire new pilots to make up for the potential shortage. Over the summer, United had to cancel a large portion of its schedule at its major hubs. Eventually, CEO Jim Goodwin and the rest of the management had to get the pilots back in the cockpits and quickly offered the pilots a 48% increase over four years with up to 28% upfront.

September 11 As part of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, two United Airlines planes were hijacked by terrorists affiliated with al-Qaeda. One aircraft was a Boeing 757 (United Airlines Flight 175) that crashed into the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City, and the other was a Boeing 757 (United Airlines Flight 93) that crashed in rural Pennsylvania. The latter was suspected to have been directed towards either the White House or the United States Capitol building.

===Bankruptcy and reorganization===United, with a strong presence on the West coast, benefited from the Dot-com company boom, which boosted traffic (especially premium traffic) to its San Francisco hub. This increase was only temporary and when the 'bubble' finally burst United was in a worse position than before because it had failed to keep costs under control. Coupled with a battered network (after the dot-com bust), the September 11 attacks, and to a significant extent, skyrocketing oil prices, the company lost $2.14 billion in 2001 on revenues of $16.14 billion. In the same year United applied for a $1.5 billion loan guarantee from the federal Air Transportation Stabilization Board established in the wake of the September 11 attacks. When the mechanics union failed to approve the loan guarantee (while all other unions approved the loan guarantee), the application was rejected in late 2002, the company was forced to seek Debtor in possession financing from commercial sources to cover the expected future losses.

Unable to secure additional capital, UAL Corporation filed for Chapter 11, Title 11, United States Code bankruptcy protection in December. The ESOP was terminated, although by then its shares had become virtually worthless. Blame for the bankruptcy has fallen on the events of September 11, which triggered financial crisis in all the major North American airlines. However, the rise of low-cost carriers, labor disputes, and problems within the management structure of the company also contributed significantly.

United continued operations during its bankruptcy, but was forced to cut its costs drastically. Tens of thousands of workers were furloughed, and all city ticket offices in the US closed. The airline canceled several existing and planned routes, and eliminated its entire Latin American gateway and flight crew base at Miami International Airport after March 1, 2004. In 2003, United abandoned its maintenance hubs in Oakland and Indianapolis, and transferred work to its San Francisco Maintenance Operations Center. Furthermore, they reduced their mainline (flight) fleet from 557 (before 9/11) to 460 aircraft.

At the same time, the airline continued to invest in new projects. On November 12, 2003, it launched a new low-cost carrier, Ted (airline), to compete with other low-cost airlines. In 2004 it launched its luxury United p.s. (for "premium service") service on re-configured 757s from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City to Los Angeles and San Francisco. The service was targeted to business customers and high-end leisure customers in the coast-to-coast market.

Financial pressure on the airline was heavy. The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome epidemic in 2003 depressed traffic on United's extensive Pacific network. The soaring cost of jet fuel ate away remaining profits United made. United implemented several fare hikes on overseas routes, citing rising fuel costs, in 2004 and 2005. Two days after its triumphant first flight to Vietnam, United announced that it would cut U.S. flight capacity by 14% after the holidays and add more international flights, which were more profitable.

United took advantage of its Chapter 11 status to negotiate hard-to-cut costs with employees, suppliers, and contractors, including cancellation of feeder contracts with United Express Atlantic Coast Airlines (which became Independence Air) and Air Wisconsin (which became a US Airways Express carrier).

Most controversial of all, however, was the 2005 cancellation of its pension plan, the largest such default in U.S. corporate history. It renegotiated its contracts with the pilots' and mechanics' unions for lower pay; however, the Association of Flight Attendants resisted until the bankruptcy court ruled in United's favor. Criticism was also leveled at the CEO, Glenn Tilton, for demanding pay cuts from employees while receiving the highest salary of any major U.S. airline CEO.http://www.forbes.com/2005/04/20/05ceoland.html

Originally slated to exit bankruptcy protection after 2½ years in the third quarter of 2005, United requested yet another extension in light of record-high fuel prices. On August 26, 2005, the bankruptcy court extended the airline's exclusive right to file a reorganization plan to November 1, although it also stated firmly this extension would be the last. United announced at the same time it had raised $3 billion in exit financing and filed its Plan of Reorganization, as announced, on September 7, 2005.

The bankruptcy court approved the restructuring plan on January 20, 2006, clearing the way for United to exit bankruptcy on February 1, 2006, and finally return to normal operations. Its emergence as a smaller, much more efficient carrier has in turn put additional pressure on its competitors to reduce costs and capacity.

Beyond Chapter 11 On December 9, 2004, the airline made history when UA869 (747-400) landed at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The scheduled flight from San Francisco via Hong Kong (SFO-HKG-SGN) was the first by a U.S. airline since the end of the Vietnam War, when Pan American World Airways halted service shortly before the fall of Saigon.

On July 16, 2006, United Airlines announced that it would be moving its headquarters from suburban Elk Grove Village to the Chicago Loop. The Top 350 Executives were moved in the first half of 2007 to 77 West Wacker Drive. The Elk Grove Village campus was renamed an Operations Center.

United's current management have called for consolidation in the industry. The Wall Street Journal revealed on December 12, 2006 that Continental Airlines was in merger discussions with United. A deal was not "certain or imminent," with the talks being in a preliminary state." UAL, Continental Discuss Merger As AirTran Presses Bid for Midwest." Carey, S.; Trottman, M.; Berman, D. K. The Wall Street Journal. December 13, 2006." United and Continental Discussing Possible Merger." Sorkin, A. R. and Bailey, J. The New York Times. December 12, 2006 On April 04, 2007, United and British carrier Bmi (airline) announced that they would 'effectively merge their trans-Atlantic operations', which would involve strengthening their alliance to a level far more intimate than its current code-share alliance.http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/2007/04/unitedbmi_pact_.htmlhttp://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/bmi-united-airlines-reportedly-form/story.aspx?guid=%7B8096611D-B050-46CA-B8F4-2506CCEF9A8A%7D The merged operations would begin in March 2008, if approved. On May 3, 2007 United acquired an equity stake in its longtime partner Aloha Airlines United Airlines Takes Minority Stake in Aloha Airlines (Star Bulletin: May 4, 2007). On June 14, 2007, CFO Jake Brace said his company is still looking to tie the knot with a suitable merger partner. United Airlines Seeking Merger (USA Today: June 14, 2007)

Recent news On July 16, 2007 United announced its application for nonstop service between San Francisco and Guangzhou and between Los Angeles and Shanghai. If approved, the Guangzhou flight will commence in 2008 and will be flown daily with Boeing 777 aircraft, whereas the Shanghai flight will commence in 2009 and be flown daily with Boeing 747 aircraft. If the Los Angeles - Shanghai flight is not approved, then United's priority will be a nonstop flight to Shanghai from Washington, D.C. United Airlines' Formal Filing to U.S. Department of Transportation Focuses on Significant Unmet Demand in San Francisco and Los Angeles, Proposes Expanded Service to China from Washington, D.C.

On July 13, 2007, a federal judge ruled that the 9/11 damages lawsuit against United and American airlines would begin in September.http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN1241057320070712

As of September 2007, United's largest owner was Bank of America, and Fidelity Investments became the second largest owner by acquiring an 11 percent stake in the company.http://www.denverpost.com/headlines/ci_6852760

On September 25, 2007 United received permission from the FAA for non-stop service from SFO to Guangzhou, China starting in April of 2008.

Destinations United Airlines operates 3,600 flights a day to 210 destinations in 30 countries from hubs in Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.

Route network .United operates an extensive domestic route network concentrated in the Midwestern United States and Western United States. United is also prominent in Transcontinental flight, Atlantic Ocean, and Pacific Ocean service. It is by far the leading US carrier to Hawaii and largest to Asia and Australia, flying 26,152,441,000transpacific revenue passenger miles in 2006 or 306 weekly departures; from July 2005-June 2006, United carried 3.5 million passengers to/from the Hawaiian Islands.

United is the only US carrier which operates its own aircraft from the US Continental United States to Australia. (Hawaiian Airlines flies from Honolulu to Sydney and Continental Micronesia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Airlines, maintains a route from Guam to Cairns, Queensland). United Airlines is the only US carrier to serve Vietnam (via Hong Kong) and Kuwait.

In 1988, the bilateral (though not reciprocal treaty) treaty with Japan was amended to allow additional routes between the two countries. United's application to fly from Chicago to Tokyo, a significant gap in its routes previously, was approved.

United operates a low-cost leisure brand called Ted (airline). The name is taken from the last three letters of its parent United. Ted serves leisure destinations within the United States and Mexico with 240+ daily flights utilizing 57 aircraft. Ted was created to compete with other low-cost airlines like Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines. After unsuccessful attempts by other U.S. airlines such as Delta with its "Song Airlines" and even United itself with its formerly defunct Shuttle by United to create a low-fare subsidiary, Ted is the only "airline-within-an-airline" left in the U.S.

United is focusing on its international presence, notably in the People's Republic of China (with nonstop flights to Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong from its hubs in Chicago, San Francisco and Washington, D.C.). The airline also hopes to begin flying to Guangzhou from San Francisco in the near future.In September 2007 United was granted a route from San Francisco to Guangzhou. http://www.united.com/speech/detail/0,6862,53282,00.html These routes offer a higher proportion of premium fare passengers while being relatively insulated from the Cut-throat competition in the domestic market, especially from low-cost carriers. United competes vigorously with discount carriers on about 70 percent of its domestic market. United has also focused more on Latin America, a region from which it had largely retreated in the last decade, and added new destinations and frequencies to Mexico and the Caribbean and will continue to do so into the next decade.

Fleet As of September 2007, United operates 460 aircraft with average fleet age of 13.1 years http://www.airfleets.net/ageflotte/?file=calcop&opp=United%20Airlines.{| class="toccolours sortable" border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse"|+ United Airlines fleet|- bgcolor=lightgrey!Aircraft!Total!Passengers
(First/Business/Economy)!Routes|-|Airbus A320|55|120 (8/112)|Domestic/Canada, Mexico/Caribbean|-|Airbus A320|97|138 (12/126)
Ted 156 (156)|Domestic/Canada, Mexico/Caribbean|-|Boeing 737|63|120 (8/112)
128 (8/120)|Domestic/Canada|-|Boeing 737|29|104 (8/96)
110 (8/102)|Domestic/Canada|-|Boeing 747-400|97|[United p.s. 110 (12/26/72)
182 (24/158)|3-class JFK-LAX and JFK-SFO
2-class domestic/Canada, Hawaii and Caribbean|-|Boeing 767|35|193 (10/32/151)
244 (34/210)
183 (6/26/151) new configuration|3-class transatlantic, Latin America and some transcontinental (e.g., IAD-SEA)
2-class domestic and Hawaii|-|Boeing 777
Boeing 777|20
32|253 (10/45/198)
258 (12/49/197)
348 (36/312)
262 (8/40/214) new configuration
269 (8/40/221) new configuration|3-class transatlantic, transpacific and transarctic

2-class domestic and Hawaii|-|}Business Class available on select three class configurations.

Retired fleet {| class="toccolours" border="1" cellpadding="3" style="border-collapse:collapse"|+ United Airlines Retired fleet|- bgcolor=lightgrey!Aircraft!Year Retired!Replacement!Notes|-|Lockheed L-1011 Tristar|Bought from [Pan Am; Sold to Delta Air Lines|-|Douglas DC-8|Largest DC-8 operator in the world|-|[Boeing 727|1993|Boeing 727|Launch Customer|-|Boeing 747SP|Bought from Pan Am|-|[Boeing 747|1999|Boeing 777||-|McDonnell Douglas DC-10|Launch Customer along with American|-|[Boeing 747|2001|Boeing 747-400|2001|[Airbus A320||-|Boeing 737|2001|Boeing 737|Launch Customer|-|Boeing 767|2005|Boeing 767|Launch Customer|-|Boeing 40A||||-|[Boeing 247||||-|[Boeing 720||||-|[Convair 340||||-|[Douglas DC-6||||-|[Ford Tri-Motor||||-|[Swallow||||-|}

United was the launch customer for a number of aircraft types, including the [McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and several Boeing aircraft: the Boeing 727 the Boeing 737#737-200, the Boeing 767, and the Boeing 777. Although not a launch customer, jet aircraft operated by United has included the Lockheed L-1011 (received in the Pan Am Pacific Route purchase, later traded with Delta Air Lines for the DC-10 aircraft Delta received in their merger with Western Airlines), Douglas (later McDonnell Douglas) DC-8, and Sud (later Aerospatiale) Caravelle. In 1965, United placed an order for 6 BAC/Sud (now BAe and Aerospatiale) Concordes but the order was later canceled.

United is one of only two passenger airlines in the United States to operate the Boeing 747-400, currently the largest commercial passenger transport in service, with the other being Northwest Airlines. There are several cargo airlines in the United States operating 747s.

Cabin

United offers in-flight entertainment on all mainline aircraft, with music programming supplied by XM Satellite Radio. In mid-2007, United will feature docking capability for Apple Inc.'s iPod portable music and video player. This will allow the device's battery to be charged, but will also allow integration with United's In-flight Entertainment (IFE) system. United Airlines to Offer Docking Capability for Apple iPod (The Wall Street Journal: November 14, 2006)

UnitedFirst







UnitedBusiness





UnitedEconomy





Mileage Plus Frequent flier programs started in their current form in 1981. United began one week after American Airlines started the first program. United's program is called Mileage Plus.

Airlines who are part of the Star Alliance, such as Singapore Airlines, Lufthansa, Air Canada, and others participate in a program enabling passengers on these airlines to receive Mileage Plus credits.

Elite level membership, which has added benefits over the standard level membership, is a feature that was not initially part of the program.

Premier Associate (3P) is a new elite level created in 2006 that can be gifted by elite members as a reward for reaching certain plateaus. Privileges are much like Premier members and get access to Economy Plus seating, but does not include the 500-mile e-upgrades or the 25% mileage bonus on flown miles.

Premier (2P) members, who accumulate at least 25,000 Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM) or fly 30 segments, are offered priority boarding, free access to Economy Plus seating, upgrade privileges from any fare, complimentary 500-mile e-upgrades and a 25% mileage bonus on flown miles.

Premier Executive (1P) members fly at least 50,000 EQM or 60 segments, and receive all Premier benefits plus a 100% mileage bonus, higher upgrade priority and access to exit row seating in advance of flight.

1K (also known as Premier Executive 1K) members fly at least 100,000 EQMs or 100 segments, and receive all Premier Executive benefits plus six complimentary System-wide Upgrades good for a one-class upgrade anywhere United flies, along with the ability to earn confirmable CR-1 upgrades valid across United's North and Latin American route system. 1K passengers are also granted accommodations and meals during flight delays and irregular operations caused by weather or air traffic control.

Global Services is a by-invitation-only program to recognize United's most valued high-yield customers. It accompanies either Premier Executive status (known as GP) or 1K status (known as GK). Invitation criteria is not published or made public by United. Benefits complement and expand upon those offered to 1K passengers, including: higher priority for upgrades and front-of-line access in premium security lines. UGS members are able to upgrade award flights using miles, systemwide upgrades and well as their confirmed regional upgrades (CR-1) and 500 mile upgrade certificates.

==Red Carpet Club==The Red Carpet Club is United Airlines airport lounge. It includes 40 lounges in 34 major airports around the world. Club membership is available to the public for an annual fee, and includes access to all Red Carpet Clubs along with reciprocal access to US Airways Clubs and Star Alliance Gold lounges when traveling on those carriers. Premier, Premier Executive and 1K members of Mileage Plus are offered discounted membership options. Despite the name, the carpeting in the Red Carpet Club lounges is not typically red. In SFO, for example, it's brown and blue.

, Florida, USA. Note the blue carpet.

Locations {||- valign="top"|| | | |}

Codeshare agreements In addition to its Star Alliance and United Express partnerships, United codeshares with the following airlines as of December 2006:{||- valign="top"|| |}

Some Star Alliance members codeshare with United.

United also has marketing agreements with the following airlines:{||- valign="top"|| | |}

Incidents and accidents {| class="wikitable"|-|1930s|United Airlines Chesterton Crash|||||||||-|1940s|United Airlines Flight 14|United Airlines Flight 28|United Airlines Flight 404|United Arilines Flight 521|United Airlines Flight 608|United Airlines Flight 624||||-|1950s|United Airlines Flight 129|United Airlines Flight 610|United Airlines Flight 615|United Airlines Flight 7030|United Airlines Flight 16|United Airlines Flight 409|United Airlines Flight 629|United Airlines Flight 718|United Airlines Flight 736|-|1960s|United Airlines Flight 826|United Airlines Flight 859|United Airlines Flight 297|United Airlines Flight 823|United Airlines Flight 389|United Airlines Flight 227|United Airlines Flight 266|||-|1970s|United Airlines Flight 553|United Airlines Flight 2860|United Airlines Flight 173|||||||-|1980s|United Airlines Flight 811|United Airlines Flight 232||||||||-|1990s|United Airlines Flight 585|United Airlines Flight 826|United Airlines Flight 863|||||||-|2000s|United Airlines Flight 175|United Airlines Flight 93|United Airlines Flight 858
United Airlines Finds Body in No

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Member of the Star Alliance with major hubs in Chicago, Denver, Washington DC-Dulles, Seattle, San Francisco, Raleigh, Tokyo, and London-Heathrow.

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Book discounted United Airlines airfares from Travelbag. Fly United Airlines around Untied States or to destinations in the Far East and Asia.

BBC NEWS | Business | United Airlines cuts 100 planes
United Airlines is to cut 100 planes from its fleet and lay off between 900 and 1,100 members of its staff.

BBC NEWS | Business | United Airlines to axe 1,000 jobs
United Airlines says it will cut 1,000 jobs by the end of the year as part of plans to reduce costs by $400m.

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Domestic ... Below is the checked baggage policy for United Economy® travel within the 50 United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S.

United Airlines - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
United Air Lines, Inc., trading as United Airlines, is a major airline of the United States. [1] It is a subsidiary of UAL Corporation with corporate offices in Chicago at 77 West ...

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United Airlines to ground 100 aircraft - Travel Trade Gazette
United Airlines to ground 100 aircraft. Friday, June 06, 2008. Russell Parsons. United Airlines is to remove 100 aircraft from its fleet and cut up to 1,100 jobs in a bid to ...

 

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