JOSECONLSCREW28

Forgot to mention sUA will also be opening up an Airbus pilot base in IAH to cover the airbus trips out of IAH.

JOSECONLSCREW28

AFAIK the sCO bases will remain in EWR, IAH, and CLE. We will just be flying more trips rather then transcon turns and mid-con turns.

UA767400

Yes and no. Everything is United. The co code on the website will be gone, the aircraft are all UA, and UA routes. But they are x CO aircraft and X co routes, but are considered UA. I hope that makes since. Really there are no major changes except that to customers it appears as a single airline. However SCo routes and Abe's still exist.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

sbm12

I actually would say that making this change is a very major deal. By finally consolidating everything into a single platform they can streamline all sorts of operational things. Strictly from a flight scheduling perspective there isn't much difference, other than that the CO code will no longer appear on schedules. But from an operational perspective many other things are changing.

Only one FF program, with all the associated rules and quirks and such rather than two.

Only one revenue management system.

Only one inventory management system.

Only one reservations system.

Only one FLIFO system.

Only one website.

Only one ticketing code.

I'm sure there are more.

jlemon

Glad to see one final salute to good old CO....and perhaps this just may be the last one on FT.

I've been flying on Continental since the late 60's. And I've flown on the following CO mainline equipment over the years (listed alphabetically and in numerical progression):

Airbus: A300

Boeing: 720B, 727-200, 737-300/500/700/800/900, 747-200, 757-200/300, 767-200/400, 777-200

Douglas: DC-9-30, DC-10-10/30

McDonnell Douglas: MD-80

Plus the usual suspects with regard to COEx RJs and COCo turboprops.

All in all, it's been a great experience with many flights in F domestically and BF internationally in addition to flights in F and C back when CO offered three class service on their larger aircraft primarily on international routes.

And I'm very glad I got to experience Continental back when Gordon and his team were turning things around and the airline was on the mend with dramatic improvements across the board. I think this may well have been the best time to fly on CO, at least during my time as an adult (meaning being of legal age in order to enjoy a suitable refreshment or two while on board or in the PC).

So long, Old Friend! You will be missed!

UA767400

You are right, it is a big deal! After 16 years of flying this airline, the biggest part to all this is that the Continental name will vanish into the history books about 12:45 PM on March 3.

You defiantly have many memories with CO! Thanks for sharing!

channa

This is going to be challenging for them with IRROPS at the hubs. While the legacy UA hubs will have legacy CO-operated flights out of them, these flights won't have the same degree of scheduling or service recovery flexibility if there's no FA base.

I wonder if there will be any reliability impact to scheduling this way.

TomA

Just to clarify: My CO79 flight on the 7th will be UA79 FOR SURE?

Have they already rooted out all of the duplicate flight numbers?

UA767400

Yes, as long as the switch over is a success.

Yes, they had to do this when they got there single operating certificate.

joshwex90

I understand, but many of these don't impact the customer. Unless the customer is a FF, one FFP doesn't impact a lot, especially when we're talking specifically about the flight. One revenue management means nothing to the customer. The fact that the code will no longer include CO means less to the average flyer than the fact the plane no longer says "Continental."
So I'm just curious if the customer will see major changes beginning March 3, or if the flights will seem like legacy CO flights, just with the UA code (and new UA livery).

UA767400

Besides the 2012 ff program changes and no more co signs then there really won't be many change as tere is no cross crewing yet. But later such as in April at iah, cross fleeting is occurring so more airbus aircraft are flying out of iah.

joshwex90

Will the on-board product (soft, obviously) change at all, beginning March 3?

UA767400

Not really...they have combined those such as food drinks etc. It is a bit different still with Ua have some 3 class aircraft, but from my understanding the onboard product is pretty much the same. However, Ua has renamed the classes such as United First, United BusinessFirst and United Global First

joshwex90

When is Global First being unveiled? Has it been already, and if not, will that happen on March 3?
Does the rebranding of Global First coincide with an increase and service, and same with United Business being rebranded as BusinessFirst?

TomA

All I know is that it sure would suck to be working in the UACO IT offices this weekend...