United Announces Policy Changes To Support Strategic Recovery Plan; Changes apply to upgrades, fare rules and corporate discount fares.Business Editors CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 29, 2002 United announced today several policy changes aligned with current market conditions and overall corporate objectives. "These changes are part of United's overall strategic plan to cut costs wherever possible, while maintaining a product that our customers have told us is important to them," said Chris Bowers Chris Bowers is a blogger for OpenLeft, and was until July 2007 a front-page blogger for MyDD. His focus is polling and analysis of the political blogosphere. He tends towards data-driven analysis, such as his partisan index, a ranking of how far each state in the United States , senior vice president-Marketing, Sales and Reservations. "At the same time, we must be sure that our products and services are priced appropriately for the value they offer." United's policy changes will apply to customer upgrades; fare rules; and discounts on sale, promotional and other already deeply discounted fares. Upgrades In the fall, a number of changes will be implemented for United's upgrade program. "Upgrades are a major motivator for our customers," Bowers Bowers is a surname, and may refer to
-- Requiring the traveler to pay the applicable fare differential; or
-- Issuing a debit memo to travel agencies for the fare difference and collecting the amount due in full.
Monetary purchase price:
Premiers, Premier Executives, 1Ks
Four, 500 Mile Upgrades -- $200
General Members and other customers
Four, 500 Mile Upgrades -- $325
Mileage Purchase Price:
Eight, 500-mile upgrades - 50,000 miles
Miles for North America Mileage Plus Award upgrades
Y/B Booking Codes - 8,000 miles
All other booking codes - 15,000 miles
Miles for International Mileage Plus award upgrades:
Y/B Booking Codes - 15,000 miles
C/M/H Booking Codes - 30,000 miles
Clearance Policies
1K 100 Hours before departure
Premier Exec 72
Premier 48 (an improvement over the
General member/Non-member 24 previous 24-hour policy)
Additional information regarding United's upgrade program will be available through future communications from Mileage MILEAGE. A compensation allowed by law to officers, for their trouble and expenses in travelling on public business. 2. The mileage allowed to members of congress, is eight dollars for every twenty miles of estimated distance, by the most usual roads, from his Plus and via the company's web site, www.united.com. Fare Rules Due to the dramatic reduction in published fare levels and in support of the company's recovery plan, United has a renewed commitment to the integrity of our fare rules. As a result, effective August 28, 2002, United will no longer allow waivers on fare rules, including, but not limited to: -- Requiring the traveler to pay the applicable fare differential; or -- Issuing a debit memo to travel agencies for the fare difference and collecting the amount due in full. United will be enforcing these rules internally and throughout the corporate and travel agency community. The company will no longer be granting Fare Rule Waivers on any fare. This applies to North America North America, third largest continent (1990 est. pop. 365,000,000), c.9,400,000 sq mi (24,346,000 sq km), the northern of the two continents of the Western Hemisphere. and all International markets. Discounts on Sale, Promotional and Other Deeply Discounted Fares Continuing with its cost-saving efforts, as previously announced, the company also is eliminating discounts on sale, promotional and other deeply discounted fares when negotiating contracts with corporate customers. This applies to North America and all International markets. "While we are doing all we can to maximize revenue, the growth of low-cost competitors and the soft economy are out of our control," says Bowers. "We believe even when the economy improves, the changes in air travelers' habits and attitudes, and the impact of low-cost carriers A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (also known as a no-frills or discount carrier / airline) is an airline that offers generally low fares in exchange for eliminating many traditional passenger services. , will keep revenues depressed. A continued focus on lower costs is vital to United's future." Other cost-saving initiatives include: Paper Tickets As United continues to leverage technology to better serve its customers, the company recently announced that it will move to full electronic ticketing. United will stop issuing paper tickets within the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. by July July: see month. 2003; the carrier plans to issue only electronic tickets for all eligible itineraries, at all locations - domestic and international - by January January: see month. 2004. Effective September September: see month. 1, 2002, United's $20.00 paper ticket fee will apply to all customer-requested paper tickets issued in the United States, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (pwār`tō rē`kō), island (2005 est. pop. 3,917,000), 3,508 sq mi (9,086 sq km), West Indies, c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) SE of Miami, Fla. for E-Ticket e-tick·et n. A reservation, as for a seat on an airplane, for which confirmation is granted electronically in lieu of a printed ticket. e-ticket n → billet m électronique eligible itineraries, including those issued by travel agencies. The fee applies for printing transactions, either at the time of original ticket issuance or upon request to convert existing electronic tickets to paper. Travel agents should collect this fee on a Miscellaneous Charges Order (MCO MCO Managed care organization, see there ). Corporate Solutions United announced in March that it is implementing Corporate Solutions, a contract management system for corporate sales agreements. Corporate Solutions provides the technological tools to develop, track, analyze and generate contracts tailored to the specific needs of a corporation. The system also will issue reports for improved contract financial performance, higher market share and better customer communications, therefore establishing a more collaborative relationship with customers. "Corporate Solutions is the centerpiece of a suite of enhancements to our way of doing business that will benefit our customers and us," Bowers explained. "We have a unique opportunity for positively changing the way this part of the business is done." Back-to-Back Ticketing As a result of an audit of tickets earlier this year, the company detected a sizeable number of transactions that involve violations of its tariff tariff, tax on imported and, more rarely, exported goods. It is also called a customs duty. Tariffs may be distinguished from other taxes in that their predominant purpose is not financial but economic—not to increase a nation's revenue but to protect domestic rules. The prohibited pro·hib·it tr.v. pro·hib·it·ed, pro·hib·it·ing, pro·hib·its 1. To forbid by authority: Smoking is prohibited in most theaters. See Synonyms at forbid. 2. practice is commonly referred to as "back-to-back ticketing." Flight coupons across tickets are used in an order other than that in which they were issued. Ultimately, it results in a wrongful wrongful Forensic medicine An adjective with considerable medico-legal currency, used in several contexts. See Negligence. Wrongful Wrongful death An event that is usually regarded as negligent. See Negligence. effort to obtain a discount to which the customer is not entitled en·ti·tle tr.v. en·ti·tled, en·ti·tling, en·ti·tles 1. To give a name or title to. 2. To furnish with a right or claim to something: . This resulted in travel agencies receiving formal notification in June of United's plan to enforce its ticketing rules, including suspending or terminating the agency's ticketing authority on United and taking action against the agency to recover the difference in fares by: -- Requiring the traveler to pay the applicable fare differential; or -- Issuing a debit memo to travel agencies for the fare difference and collecting the amount due in full. United Airlines operates more than 1,900 flights a day on a route network that spans the globe. News releases and other information about United Airlines can be found at the company's website at www.united.com. |
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