UA still there in April?
Feb 8th, 2003, 01:27 AM
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UA still there in April?
My family and I have flights booked with United in April - London Heathrow to JFK return.<BR><BR>Of course no-one knows what will happen but I wanted to poll opinions on the odds of them still flying that route come April. <BR><BR>I have seen the statement about liquidating if there is a hike in the oil price.<BR><BR>My guess would be there's a 90% chance of our flights being honoured. Does anyone else read it differently? <BR><BR>The reason for asking the question now is that I am booking accommodation etc and will need to decide whether to only go for things that I can easily cancel.<BR><BR>Thanks in advance <BR>Rick<BR><BR>
Feb 8th, 2003, 05:13 AM
#2
<BR>My guess is that there is a 100% certainty that you'll be able to fly UA to LHR in April. Maybe they will cancel a particular flight, but they will get you there and back. As I recall, they got new funding from their creditors in Dec. to continue ops for at least 6 months. <BR><BR>I think that there is 0% chance that they won't get me back from MUC on April Fool's Day.<BR>
Feb 8th, 2003, 07:16 AM
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Make your plans.You are wise to book a plan that is cancellable at some point in time.There's a million "gurus" out there,each one with the "right" answer.Not so,I say.They don't know,you and I dont know.And United doesnt know.Anything can happen.I'm not staying off any one airline becuz of what I read in the papers or hear on the TV.
Feb 12th, 2003, 05:02 AM
#4
<BR>Sure, nobody can predict the future. My point was that I made my bet on UA and I'm not worried about it. I chose not to book a hotel that I couldn't cancel, though. If I were you, I don't know what I would do about those Yankees tickets (or opera tickets, as the case may be).<BR>
Feb 17th, 2003, 03:51 PM
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You have to know that Chapter 11 bankruptcy-which is what UAL has declared, means that a business engages in a process of debt reorganization - and when it successfully emerges from Ch. 11, which is what UAL is expected to do, it comes out a leaner, meaner entity, in better financial shape than before. UAL's problems stem primarily from Sept. 11-and it is hoped that one day in the near future travelers will return to flying in the numbers they did before that date, otherwise, American air carriers may all have to declare Ch.11, due to the huge financial losses all of them are presently incurring. <BR><BR>UAL is a carrier that, all things considered, and in comparison to some of the other carriers, is relatively sound, and hopes to emerge from Ch. 11 in the not too distant future. <BR><BR>So, based on my many years in the aviation business, I can say, as much as anything is a certainty, that the first poster will have no problem whatsoever with flying UAL to JFK in April (now, I make no promises that other factors might not affect international flts. during that time, such as a war with Iraq-but that's a wholly different matter-one which we fervently hope will not come to pass- as, to say the least, it will be DEVASTATING for the airline industry!)<BR><BR>So, in the absence of war, I would say, rest easy, and enjoy your flt. in April on UAL-the issue of UAL's bankruptcy should be the least of your worries! (and UAL's internat'l service is really quite good!
Feb 17th, 2003, 07:32 PM
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Two comments: 1. I have reservations to fly cross-country in late April with UAL. They've already messed with my itinerary, which I wouldn't have known if I hadn't decided to go check on it. I recommend that "Rickus" keep checking, just to find out if there are changes. Apparently, UAL is so far under the fiscal weather that they don't make any effort to alert you to changes in your itinerary -- which could have been bad news in my case, since they changed me to a much earlier connection (on a prop plane, which I can't abide) to the transcontinental flight.<BR><BR>2. "... in the absence of war...." Not a good assumption, I've very sorry to say.
Feb 18th, 2003, 05:38 AM
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Goodness! I would hope pax wouldn't believe that there is somehow a connection between a carrier's financial health and the fact that they don't inform pax when they decide to make an equipment change on a particular domestic route, or even, in some cases, whether a flt. gets canceled at all! That's why they tell you to call and confirm a day or two before. I can't think of a carrier that hasn't done that to me at one time or another, -happened just last week on Delta, as a matter of fact. Sometimes they notify you, sometimes they don't. It's been my experience that certain carriers like AALA (American) are not as good at notification as others, but really depends on many combination of factors-none of which is linked to the fact that they may or may not be in Ch. 11, I assure you!
Feb 18th, 2003, 06:59 AM
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A gentle comment, AirLawGirl -- even though airlines have always made changes and been inconsistent about notification, the fact that UA is confronting the need to reconfigure, slim down, etc., as well as declining "ridership," means that lots more equipment and departures are being shuffled around. It also means there are fewer agents to work the phones. It also means there are fewer people to monitor website reservations programs, which are set up to "automatically" inform you (if you've signed up for that service) when they've had a change in your itinerary -- which was the case with my trip. <BR><BR>Sometimes there's a policy in place that says they won't inform you of a change until about 24 hrs. ahead, which I don't consider adequate notice -- but it's possible that UAL failed to inform me because I'm still several weeks away from leaving. <BR><BR>In the past, American has been better, at least to me, about informing about changes (and if you book through AmEx, you get flooded with notifications of even a minute's difference in departure time!). Continental is very good.
Feb 18th, 2003, 10:35 AM
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Thank you for the reassurance about UA's financial position AirLawGirl.<BR>War, of course, is another matter, and the general view on this side of the pond is that something will happen in March.<BR><BR>Having discovered the deep joys of Priceline I have actually taken the plunge and booked much of the accommodation for the trip. Trying to stay flexible on the start and end in case we get re-scheduled. <BR><BR> <BR>
Feb 18th, 2003, 03:21 PM
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It is recommended that anyone flying United go to their web site and register for notices of changes in their flights. You can set it up for email, telephone notification, etc. It has worked in the past for me. As far as April is concerned, I don't think there is any doubt that United will still be flying then.
Feb 18th, 2003, 04:06 PM
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I'm in the same boat as Rickus - flying late April LAX-LHR (cashed in my frequent flier miles - woo hoo!) <BR><BR>I'm signed up for UAL's web site notification thing that others mentioned... does that really work, or should I also be calling UAL to verify my itinerary? <BR>
Feb 18th, 2003, 06:35 PM
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As I said above, the notification process has worked for me, as recently as two months ago when I received an automated notice that my flight departure time had changed a total of 3 minutes. Anyway, in addition to signing up for automatic notification of schedule changes on the United web site, you can also check for any changes yourself at any time without having to call them. To do so, simply go to the United site and click on "My itineraries". You can get either reservations you booked online or any other pending reservation you have with them. Of course, the use of any of these tools applies only to flyers who have registered on their website with their frequent flyer membership.
Feb 18th, 2003, 07:34 PM
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You're welcome, rickus-and the view on your side of the pond has merit-something will happen in March-something very bad, and something no one in their right mind wants-my somewhat informed view is that it will happen no later than March 7-8, and could happen as early as the last week-end in Feb.
Feb 21st, 2003, 06:33 PM
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There is a small chance that in May, United will be liquidated by the creditors. My guess is 3%<BR><BR>The next worrisome point is that they will break up next winter when traffic declines for the winter. My guess is 4% in February 2004.<BR><BR>My guess is another 4% by Feb. 2005. So the chances of the airline staying intact between now and February 2005 is about 88% according to my estimate.<BR><BR>In contrast, my estimate that Northwest Airlines will stay intact is 99.99%
