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M O R E O N L I N E O N F LY I N G T O G E T H E R
F E B R UA RY 2 012
Inside
See how were investing in our product p3
Meet Bob Edwards and Leon Kinloch p2
PSS:
Three of our Boeing 787s in final assembly in Everett, Wash.
Were ready
I am a team player.
p3
Worth the wait: Our first 787s arrive later this year
It has been a long wait, but well be bringing home our first Boeing 787 Dreamliner later this year. Boeing has completed assembly on the first two of 50 Dreamliners we have on order and is finishing another three in Everett, Wash., right now. The 787 aircraft enhances our customers experience with bigger windows, improved lighting, larger overhead bins, improved cabin pressure and humidity and many other passenger-friendly features.
I F T H E Y R E N E A R LY D O N E , W H Y D O N T W E H AV E T H E M S O O N E R ?
Everybody is here for one goal: to make it all work for employees and customers and to make United a great company.
Mario Calvo ORD Customer Service Representative
Next steps on the assembled 787s that Boeing is about to complete include configuring the cabins, installing the engines and painting the exteriors before theyre ready for us.
Retirees, managers and training instructors will join airport service agents in participating on the SHARES Success Teams that will support our cutover to a single PSS. In January, more than 400 co-workers per day attended SHARES training. Read more on page 3.
Our aircraft are receiving changes as a result of minor improvements identified during flight test that are typical of new airplane programs. When done, our aircraft will benefit from all the knowledge and improvements Boeing has gained. Over the next several months, Boeing will complete the work on these initial production aircraft through a process called change incorporation. Some of this work includes installing electronic and mechanical equipment, completing software upgrades, testing functional systems and flight control surfaces, and removing and reworking wiring or equipment that needs to be updated to current configuration requirements.
D I D YO U K N OW ?
59 companies worldwide have ordered 860 787s The 787 is 20 percent more fuel efficient than similarly sized airplanes The cruise speed for the 787 is Mach .85, about the same as that of the 747 and 777 Half of the 787 is made from composite materials; only 12 percent of a 777 is made from composites Fewer than 10,000 drilled holes are needed to complete assembly on a 787; a 747 needs about a million
A word from
We are approaching our March 3 conversion to SHARES, which will be our combined passenger service system (PSS) at the new United. I want to take a moment to thank the thousands of you who are making this important conversion possible. Not only is this a significant system change at United, its one of the biggest technology and operations projects our company has ever undertaken. Many of you throughout the company are working tirelessly to ensure the conversion goes smoothly next month. This work is in addition to your regular jobs, and I appreciate your efforts. Our technology and business folks have already gone through their final dress rehearsal for the cutover, and we have the full resources of HP and Travelport assisting us as well. We have an army of Moving to a single PSS enables us to service our customers as one airline, to more rapidly bring to market new products and features that our customers want and are willing to pay for, and to launch a single website (united. com) and a single loyalty program (MileagePlus). It will also provide us with operational flexibility, as the technology at every gate will be able to service customers whether or not they are flying on Continental metal or United metal. The new system will permit us to earn more revenue than we could have with Apollo. We expect to roll out a user-friendly, point-andclick interface for SHARES by the end of 2012; however, we didnt want to wait for a new interface to begin capturing the customer benefits and revenue synergies that a single PSS will bring. This project involves an incredible amount of work from thousands of people, including our many co-workers who have been training on a new system, and I want to thank all of you. Achieving a single passenger service system will be a major milestone for the new United.
Were currently on pace to get five 787s from Boeing in 2012, and, while we have not yet finalized the first routes for the new airplanes, were gearing up to be the North American launch customer for Boeings first all-new airplane since the 777. For example, pilots are flying 787 simulators in Houston, and flight attendants train on a 787 mock-up at the flight attendant training facility near IAH.
It has been a long journey since we first ordered the 787 in 2004, but the 787 is a game-changing aircraft and worth the wait, said Fleet VP Ron Baur. The 787 will give us a competitive advantage since we will be the first U.S. airline to operate it.
instructors and mentors who are delivering training and classroom support. We have also assembled Success Teams, comprised of co-workers and retirees with significant SHARES experience, to serve in the field across the globe as we convert to a single PSS.
F E B R UA RY 2012
UNITED WORLD
Bob Edwards
Bob has spent more than 30 years in the airline industry and held management positions in Cargo, Airport Services, Flight Operations and Technology. He likes to play the guitar. Whats the biggest challenge youve faced with the integration of UA and CO? The biggest challenge is managing the entire scope and breadth of the integration. There is hardly an aspect of the technology or business system used at the airline that we arent touching. At the same time, were also developing and managing our relationships with our business partners.
Leon Kinloch
Leon was born in Harlem in New York. His first job in the industry was a part-time position in reservations. Today he is responsible for pricing, revenue forecasting and analysis, revenue systems development and revenue management. What attracted you to Continental and the airline industry? I had never been on a plane until I was 17 years old. I was scared to death, but I started talking to people and found out that each one of them sitting around me
Its humbling how dedicated the team is to ensuring we address every detail of our work.
had paid a different price for the same seat. I said to myself, I want to do that.
When people sense that youre genuinely concerned about them, they give you their best work, because you matter to them.
on the latest operating system from IBM How did we choose the systems to support the new airline? While its amazing that some of these systems built in the 1960s are still running the airlines operations, that is a testament to the Information Technology team. Were upgrading to the very latest Unisys platform in Flight Operations. The development language its written in may be mature, but we can modify and expand it. United recently upgraded the solution with some of the most advanced messaging capabilities available. In addition, the SHARES platform is currently running and applications are built in a way that facilitates the rapid development of our ecommerce vision. Our strategy is to innovate around these core systems and minimize system replacements. Whats your favorite part of the job? I love the size and complexity of this system integration puzzle and being directly engaged with the technical team working through the solution. I get the most satisfaction from seeing the talent and capabilities of this team. Its humbling how dedicated they are to addressing every detail of our work. Whats your favorite part of the job? I love interacting with people and getting to know them. Each morning when I get to work, I walk the floor and greet people by name. I get to know them as individuals versus knowing them by the jobs they do. When people sense that youre genuinely concerned about them, they give you their best work, because you matter to them.
Whats something that almost no one else at the airline knows about you? Im an ordained minister. The worst-kept secret about me is that Im a Star Wars fan [life-sized cardboard cutouts of Star Wars characters decorate Leons office]. Where do you like to travel? I speak French, so I enjoy traveling to Europe. As part of my work in the ministry, I reach out to people living in West Africa, where people commonly speak French as a second language.
Last month we launched the new United Learning Network (ULN). The ULN is an easy-to-use system that will be the primary training platform for most domestic and international co-workers. It offers easy access to training activities, course catalogs and learning transcripts. Find it on the Employee Services tab of Flying Together.
Certified Public Accountants Airline Industry Specialist for 20 years Per Diem Calculations Foreign Based and Contract Pilot Issues Corporate, Partnership and Estate Returns Year Round Service
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UNITED WORLD
F E B R UA RY 2012
I am connected.
I am collaborative.
Our preparations for SHARES cutover have finally made us feel United for the first time.
Larry Bretz ORD Airport Sales Agent
Plus on 131 of 314 aircraft, aiming to substantially complete installation on the fleet by year-end.
M O R E O V E R H E A D B I N S PAC E Beginning in April,
we will install overhead bins with approximately two-thirds more space on all 152 of our Airbus aircraft. Well also start to refresh the interiors of our Airbus fleet.
W I - F I This June, we plan to install Wi-Fi on our first
launch customer for the Boeing 787, the planes improved efficiencies will open exciting new long-haul markets to our customers while burning less fuel. We will also receive 19 new Boeing 737-900ERs with the new Boeing Sky Interior, including Januarys delivery and at least one later this month.
F L AT- B E D S E AT S O N I N T E R N AT I O N A L A I R C R A F T On
content and variety to our customers, with more new releases each month and more frequent updates. Customers in economy class on board our 767-400s will enjoy new 9-inch touchscreen seat-back monitors, with audio and video on demand and power ports throughout the cabin.
I N - F L I G H T F O O D Beginning in the first quarter of
long-haul international flights, comfort is key, and when we complete the installation, United will offer the most flat-bed seats of any U.S. carrier. Weve completed installation of flat-bed seats on all of the three-cabin Boeing 767-300s and all CO 757-200s as well as two-thirds of the 777 fleet. By the end of the year, we plan to install flat-bed seats in 767-400s and reconfigure the two-cabin 767-300s.
P. S . We will also begin a nose-to-tail renovation of the
2012, we will align our premium cabin North American menus for flights on both carriers. We have standardized premium cabin pre-departure services by offering customers more beverage options during boarding. Throughout the year, we will align international meal offerings.
L I V E RY In addition to our interior investment, we
p.s. 757 fleet in November, which serves the JFK-LAX and JFK-SFO markets.
E X PA N D E D E C O N O M Y P L U S S E AT I N G By the end of
continue to transition to our new brand on the outside. As of mid-January, we had painted 299 CO and 193 UA aircraft, plus 291 express aircraft. We expect to complete the CO fleet at the end of the first quarter of 2012 and the UA fleet in 2013.
F E B R UA RY 2012
UNITED WORLD
received storybooks outlining the airport experience to help the children get familiar with the processes. United then created a flight that would allow the families to check in, check baggage, search for the flight on airport display boards, proceed through security, and go through the boarding and flight experience and retrieve baggage at the end. The Transportation Security Administration guided the families through the security checkpoint. In addition to helping ease the travel experience for the families and children, the program also gave crew members an opportunity to learn about the challenges these families face in order to better serve the families in the future. United hopes to expand the travel experience programs to all the hubs.
Even more photos and stories from around the globe are available online! Read about whats happening at DCA, FRA, OGG and TPA.
L O V E T O T R AV E L?
Tell us about one of your favorite places in fewer than 300 words and be sure to send plenty of photos of you enjoying your trip to news@united.com
The crew of UA Flight 119 celebrates the second daily EWR-FRA service. // Customers see the other side of TPA.
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