Third quarter 'Tremendous'
 

Take it with a grain of salt but this looks pretty positive:

Today's (Denver) Rocky Mountain News has a big article on Q3:

United Airlines has staged a "tremendous revenue turnaround" in the third quarter, marking a key breakthrough in its effort to return to financial health, a senior executive said Wednesday.

In one of the rosiest evaluations of the carrier since its December bankruptcy filing, John Tague, executive vice president for customers, said United will produce "a very good third-quarter (sales) report" and "there shouldn't be any doubt" that it will successfully emerge from Chapter 11.

Here's the link:

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drm...197793,00.html

I guess the numbers will tell the tale.

While I'd love it to be true, considering UA's financials since even before 9/11/01, I'll "believe it when I see it".

Oh I believe it! It's all those FT Flyers trying to earn the miles with the Great Offer!!! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

Amen. At this point, I would be content with UA breaking even, let alone an actual profit.

Besides, UAWHQ has still not executed a restructuring of UAL's operations after eight months in bankruptcy. Sure, UA costs less to run than it did in December 2002, but the company has not yet made changes to the way it does business that will allow for bankruptcy emergence. Not to mention that once the "tremendous" summer is over, UAL will have to contend with a harsh autumn and winter just like everyone else...


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All those who fly Continental Airlines, raise your hands.
The rest of you, raise your standards.

Unless they keep the promotions coming that contributed to their "tremendous" summer.

I know that summer is a high-traffic season, and with all the pent-up demand that waited for SARS and Iraq to settle down, UA (and the other Big Six) could keep "the pump primed" by continuing to offer special bonuses.

And it should only be a matter of hours before UA also recinds their "use it or lose it" policy, which should help steer higher-fare business customers back to them, which can also help keep one "cash-insulated" on those cold winter flights - er, nights...

You do realize that with that every airline that has survived for any length of time after a Chapter 11 filing has taken years to fundamentally change their business model. That includes your beloved CO. Cost savings is the name of the tune in BK. The second time CO did it all they did was fundamentally change the cost structure.

I'm also curious as to how anybody but somebody who actually works for UAL would know what happens inside WHQ on a regular basis. Since you profess not to fly UAL and you certainly don't work for UAL, I can only conclude that you are making this stuff up as you go along.

I tried, but my elbow hit the overhead in the RJ before I could even straighten out my arm.......

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Saving the world, one clue at a time.

Don't we all? I mean I fly 50K a year on UA, but I'll be darned if I know how they run. http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/wink.gif

But avek00 does have a point that UA has been very quiet on how they plan to make it out of C11. Yes, we know they have cut costs (anyone flying UA in the past year can see that), but WHQ has been essentially "mute" on how they will get out of C11 since the initial C11 filing.

As a customer of UA, that worries me. I only have 100,000 miles. Do I book a revenue flight to Tokyo this fall and use 60,000 to upgrade to Business, or do I spend the 90K for an XC ticket and save $1000? Or do I burn 120K for an XF ticket?

If UA will not make it past mid-2004, why save the miles? They're worthless when UA goes under. But if UA has policies that, at least in my mind, mean they will make it through 2004, then I need to conserve my miles for 2004 travel.

And while my Premiere Executive renewal is confirmed, do I make a play for 1K? As a leisure traveller, that's an extra 40,000 miles I need to make, but two SEA-LAX-NRT-SIN runs would take care of that (and I'd swap 120,000 miles for 6 SWUS - even H's - and the CNAU-1s).

I want UA to survive, both because I really like UA and because I don't want to be stuck with 757s and MD-80s flying AA.

But execs saying "We're doing tremendous!" while posting nine-figure losses every quarter is not convincing me that spending thousands more going for status or earning /saving miles is the absolute right thing to do right now...

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/biggrin.gif

basenji is back!!!! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

Wow, that H-fare I bought to BKK really helped ! http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/smile.gif

I thought it was the M/H fare I had to buy to LHR.

Seriously, I'm going to write my second round of "Thanks for the SweetSpots" letters, this time urging them to keep issuing SWUs for any published fare in 2004 and beyond. I'm going to let them know how much they got from me that they wouldn't have got otherwise because of the SweetSpots on lower fares (about $10,000 on Q, V, W, and T fares). This report willl give me something to cheer them on about.

Tigger,

I'm giving up on UAL. Too many problems. Just today I booked with Delta because the same flight from PDX - DCA was $400 more on UAL. I've had great difficulty navigating their website; I can never seem to use my FF. But most worrisome, seat availability and fare availability is superior on competing airlines.

The Delta/NW/CO alliance is just too attractive for me.

I hope to burn my remaining miles on a family trip to Hawaii next summer (of course I found it impossible to use miles this summer!) then it's most likely Delta for me.

The COEX ERJ beats the crap out of a rattle-trap Jetstream 41 departing from IAD's T14 anyday...


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All those who fly Continental Airlines, raise your hands.
The rest of you, raise your standards.

I am surprised. I don't think I have ever seen a domestic United fare $400 above a Delta fare. Usually the fares are within a few dollars. Current United and Delta PDX/DCA fares on Orbitz for October/November weekends are tied at $386 each.

If you want to save money, and particularly if you are heading for the north beltway, try BWI. It may be more convenient and $130 cheaper. I am traveling SEA/BWI Thurs/Sun Oct 30/Nov2 for $258 (Orbitz shows $254 from PDX on both UA and Delta).

Have no experience with seat availability on Delta. I hear a lot of horror stories about seat availability on UA, but have had good luck. Got FF tickets this summer BTV/SEA, BZN/SMF and HEL/SEA within a day or two of my preferred dates.

But my main objection to Delta, is that you only get half miles on low fares. That alone puts Delta at the bottom of my list.

About the web site - I agree, it is terrrible.

Bruce

Unfortunately, for those of us not "blessed" to live in EWR or IAH, one never sees anything but a COex flying sausage.

Not true of UA. You are far less likely (and, if the latest releases hold true) and will remain far less likely to get crammed into a hot dog with wings on UA that on CO.

Edited to add: I noticed that you did not address in any way, shape, or form your qualifications and/or authority of voice that was brought into question earlier. Care to take a swing at those?
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Saving the world, one clue at a time.

[This message has been edited by ClueByFour (edited 08-21-2003).]