Question

Provide a lengthy overview of United Airlines. Be sure to go into full detail. Include background , history, locations, mission statement, and legal structure. Discuss the company's industry.

Answer 1

UNITED AIRLINES :-

United Airlines, Inc. is a major American airline headquartered at Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois. United operates a large domestic and international route network spanning cities large and small across the United States and all six continents.

CEO: Scott Kirby (May 2020)

Alliance: Star Alliance

Headquarters: Chicago, Illinois, United States

Bag information: In economy, within Canada and United States, 1st bag $30, 2nd bag $40. To other destinations, prices vary by itinerary.

Revenue: 4,325.9 crores USD (2019)

Hubs: Newark Liberty International Airport

HISTORY :-

United traces its roots to Varney Air Lines (VAL), which Walter Varney founded in 1926 in Boise, Idaho. Continental Airlines is the successor to Speed Lanes, which Varney had founded by 1932 and whose name changed to Varney Speed Lines in 1934. VAL flew the first privately contracted air mail flight in the U.S. on April 6, 1926.

In 1927, William Boeing founded Boeing Air Transport to operate air mail routes under contract with the United States Post Office Department.In 1929, Boeing merged his company with Pratt & Whitney to form the United Aircraft and Transport Corporation (UATC) which then set about buying, in the space of just 28 months, Pacific Air Transport, Stout Air Services, VAL, and National Air Transport, as well as numerous equipment manufacturers at the same time.On March 28, 1931, UATC formed United Air Lines, Inc. as a holding company for its airline subsidiaries.

In late 2006,Continental Airlines and United had preliminary merger discussions.On April 16, 2010, those discussions resumed.The board of directors of Continental and UAL Corporation agreed on May 2, 2010, to combine operations,contingent upon shareholder and regulatory approval. On October 1, 2010, the UAL Corporation changed its name to United Continental Holdings, Inc. The carriers planned to begin merging their operations in 2011.The merged airline began operating under a single air operator's certificate from the Federal Aviation Administration on November 30, 2011.On March 3, 2012, United and Continental merged their passenger service systems, frequent-flier programs, and websites, which virtually eliminated the Continental brand with the exception of its logo.On June 27, 2019, the parent company's name changed from United Continental Holdings to United Airlines Holdings.As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, in July 2020, United announced that will be sending lay-off notice warnings to 36,000 employees including, 15,100 flight attendants, 11,000 in airport operations and 2,250 pilots among others.On September 2, 2020, United Airlines, in a new memo to its employees, indicated that they planned to cut 16,370 jobs in nearly a month. The planned involuntary cuts included 6,920 flight attendants, 2,850 pilots, 1,400 management jobs, 2,010 mechanics and 2,260 in airport operations, among others.

LOCATIONS :-

Headquarters and other facilities:-

United Airlines Holdings World Headquarters, Willis Tower

United Airlines headquarters are located at the Willis Tower, 233 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois.

In 2007, United had moved its headquarters from Elk Grove Township, a suburb of Chicago, to 77 West Wacker Drive in the Chicago Loop after receiving US$5.5 million in incentives from the City of Chicago.

Then in 2010, United accepted the City of Chicago's offer of US$35 million in incentives, including a US$10 million grant, for United to move its remaining 2,500 employees out of Elk Grove Township to the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) in the Chicago Loop.On May 31, 2012, United opened its operations center, which occupied twelve floors there. In 2019 United renewed its lease at Willis Tower, originally ending in 2028 and now set to expire in 2033, and plans to construct a roof deck and a 30,000 sq ft (2,800 m²) dining hall on the fourth floor.

The former headquarters campus at Elk Grove Township was gradually annexed into the Village of Mount Prospect,and serves as an IT operations facility, with a new 172,000 sq ft (16,000 m²) data center constructed in 2013.

United maintains a large presence in downtown Houston, having leased 225,000 sq ft (20,900 m²) of space (seven floors) for occupancy in 2017.

United has training facilities for its flight crews in Denver and Houston, a major aircraft maintenance center in San Francisco, and call centers in Houston and Chicago.

On September 24, 2020, United Airlines announced that it will roll out a new COVID-19 testing program for passengers from October 15 that year. Initially, testing was only available for passengers traveling to Hawaii from San Francisco International Airport.

LOCATIONS :-

United operates to 238 domestic destinations and 118 international destinations in 48 countries or regions across five continents.By spring 2021, United will once again fly regularly to all 6 inhabited continents following the reinstatement of scheduled year-round flights to Africa (Accra, Johannesburg and Lagos).

Hubs :-

As part of its hub-and-spoke business model, United currently operates eight hubs within the United States and its territories.

• Chicago–O'Hare – United's hub for the Midwest and largest hub overall. United flies approximately 36 million passengers through ORD every year, which is about 99,000 people per day, making United also the busiest airline at the airport. United's corporate headquarters are also in Chicago.
• Denver – United's hub for the Rocky Mountain region of the United States.In 2017, United flew approximately 25.9 million passengers through DEN or about 71,000 people per day.As of December 2017, United has about 42% of the market share at DIA making it the airport's largest airline.
• Guam - Inherited through the merger with Continental Airlines, Guam serves as United's hub for flight routes in the Pacific region. United has about 98.8% of the market share at Guam International, making it by far the largest airline at the airport. About 313,000 passengers flew through GUM between June 2018 and May 2019 on United, which is about 858 people per day.
• Houston–Intercontinental – Inherited through the merger with Continental Airlines, Houston serves as United's hub for the Southern United States. IAH is the primary gateway to Latin America. About 33.5 million passengers fly through Houston on United every year, or about 91,000 people per day. United currently has about 78% of the seat share at IAH, making it the airport's largest tenant.
• Los Angeles – United's secondary hub for the West Coast and gateway to Asia and Australia. About 10 million passengers fly through LAX on United every year or about 28,000 people per day. United has 15% of the market share at LAX, making it the third-biggest carrier at the airport.
• Newark – Inherited through the merger with Continental Airlines, Newark is United's primary hub for the New York City market and the Eastern Coast of the United States. EWR is United's primary gateway to Europe while including other select flights to Latin America and Asia. About 28.5 million passengers fly on United through Newark every year, or about 78,000 people per day. United controls about 81% of the slots at Newark and carries about 68% of all passengers at the airport. United controls all of Terminal C and also uses part of Terminal A for United Express.
• San Francisco – United's primary hub for the West Coast and gateway to Asia and Australia. About 22 million passengers pass through SFO every year on United, which is about 60,000 people per day. United has about 46% of the market share at San Francisco International, making it the biggest airline at the airport.
• Washington–Dulles – United's hub for the capital of the United States. United has about 65% of the market share at Washington Dulles, making it the largest airline at the airport. About 14 million passengers fly through IAD every year on United, which is about 38,465 people per day.

As of 11 June 2020, its subsidiary, United Cargo, has expanded its cargo-only flights to include Dublin, Paris, Rome, Santiago and Zurich.

MISSION STATEMENT :- United Airlines Mission, Vision & Values :-

United Airlines Mission Statement -

Our approach is treating diversity and inclusion like a core leadership competency, taking diversity well beyond compliance. The goal is for leaders to create a culture where acceptance and appreciation of everyone is the norm and each employee is comfortable bringing their full selves to work. Our mission is to create an inclusive work environment, characterized by dignity and respect, that empowers every employee to serve the global marketplace and contribute to our success.

United Airlines Vision Statement -

Through our Diversity and Inclusion strategy, we find innovative and effective solutions to engage employees from diverse backgrounds and cultures in taking our flyer-friendly service around the globe. We are driving to become recognized as an airline where: leaders embrace diversity and inclusion as a business advantage employees feel highly valued, are actively engaged and are treated with dignity and respect customers value our inclusive approach to delivering flyer-friendly service

United Airlines Values - No one has added United Airlines' values yet.

LEGAL STRUCTURE :-

United Airlines is the largest airline company in the world and is the fourth largest airline in the United States. This particular airline has the highest number of destinations, compared to any other airlines of the other countries. United Airlines was rated as the world’s most admired airlines by the Fortune magazine.

In each and every business entity, the organizational architecture plays a vital role in deciding the success rate of the business. In this particular article, we will discuss about the United Airlines corporate hierarchy, which is one of the factors for the huge success of the company

United Airlines has the most extensive global route network including world class international gateways to Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, Latin America and Middle East.The company has a strong operational network and operates above 3,000 flights a day to over 230 destinations. The main hubs of the airlines are located in Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver and San Francisco airports. These hubs provide direct flights to various international organizations.

United Airlines is a multidivisional company with a tall hierarchy structure. The headquarter of the company is located in Chicago. A board of directors and a hierarchy of officials related to the different sections of the company, together contribute to the whole productivity of the company. The President Chief Executive Officer is the top level of the hierarchy.

United Airlines Corporate Hierarchy :-

The Board of Directors - The major role of the Board of Directors of United Airlines is to direct the company’s affairs in the appropriate way by meeting the interests of its shareholders and stakeholders. The role of the Board of Directors is to:

• Determine and review the company goals and policies at periodic intervals of time.
• Manage the organizational structure so as to ensure that the all the strategies are being implemented successfully.
• Delegate authority to the management and to evaluate the implementation of business plans and strategies.
• Monitor the relations with the shareholders and stakeholders by gathering appropriate information.

Chief Executive Officer - After the Board of Directors, the President or CEO is the highest position in the United Airlines corporate hierarchy. The role of a CEO is to develop high level strategies, take major corporate decisions and manage the overall operations and resources of the company.

Executive Vice President - HR and Labor Relations - The target of this professional is to meet the human capital needs of United Airlines.

Chief Revenue Officer - A CRO develops and manages a revenue strategy, so as to increase the productivity of the organization at low costs.

Executive Vice President :- Strategy and Business development - The professional leads the various business strategy and portfolio management initiatives.

Executive Vice President :- Communications and Government Affairs - The professional manages the media and government relations and handles the marketing and advertising aspects of the company.

In addition to the above professional positions, the United Airlines corporate hierarchy is composed of various other important positions such as Vice President- Technical Operations, Vice President- Network Operations, Vice President- Inflight Services, Vice President- Sales and Vice President- Customer Experience etc.