United
Airlines
The beginning of commercial
air travel started when Walter T Varney began an airmail service
in 1926. This also marked the beginning
of United Airlines since he was a predecessor. During World
War II United found themselves serving the US military. They
modified warplanes and trained ground crews.
After the war, there was
a higher demand for air travel and so United Airlines’
workforce was expanded. They also bought their first jet aircraft
and acquired new routes. United started using new fleets of
state-of-the art equipment. They were able to start their
first travel flight service to Hawaii.
UAL Inc, a holding company
for United Airlines was formed in 1968. United Airlines could
now diversify. From 1959-1969, United began using jet propulsion
instead of propellers and reciprocating engines. During this
time United Airlines also merged with Capital Airlines. This
made them the world’s largest commercial airline.
United Airlines fell on hard
times starting in 1970 when they posted a loss of $46 million.
Between 1970 and 1989, they had six different presidents of
the travel company. United Airlines began to stretch beyond
the US borders. Starting in 1990, United Airlines began to
serve Paris from Chicago and Washington, D.C. Then they added
the Newark-Tokyo travel service. They purchased Pan American’s
routes to London in 1990. The government then approved United
Airlines’ application so serve Tokyo from Chicago.
Between 1991 and 1992
United Airlines began serving many other locations including,
Amsterdam, Berlin, Madrid, Munich, and South American cities.
In 1994, United Airlines introduced “Shuttle by United.”
These were low-cost, no frills flights on the West Coast of
the US. United really established their “Round the World”
service when they introduced their service to New Delhi, India.
Around the year 2000,
when the economy was a bit weak, United Airlines saw a drop
in the number of business travelers. That same year several
problems caused United to cut 7000 flights scheduled through
September. Their earnings fell substantially that year. In
2001 United Airlines invested more in technology. They wanted
to make travel easier and more convenient for customers. The
same year they furloughed 20,000 employees because there was
a decline in air travel.
United Airlines continued
to lose money in 2002. They wanted wage cuts from their employees.
Also, they applied for and were denied a loan from the US
government. United then filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Shortly
thereafter they received debtor-in-possession financing and
could continue business.
United Airlines really
started from a partnership between four U.S. mail carriers.
Their history dates back to the early 1900’s. They grew
into the worldwide airline carrier of today. They server around
110 destinations. They serve 26 countries as well as two territories.
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