United Airlines just announced it’s adding 1,600 premium seats to try and get more premium passengers. Buzz60’s Sean Dowling has more.
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Welcome aboard, Mx! United Airlines announced Friday that it is now offering new gender options to accommodate non-binary passengers during the booking process. It is the first airline to do so.
“Fly how you identify,” United tweeted.
Customers can now identify themselves as M (male), F (female), U (undisclosed) or X (unspecified), in addition to having the option to select the gender-neutral title “Mx.” instead of “Mr.,” “Mrs.” or “Ms.” during booking and in their customer profile. United Airlines issued a statement outlining the new choices. It said the option chosen by passengers must correspond with what is marked on their passports or other official form of identification.
Fly how you identify. Our new non-binary gender options are now available.
— United Airlines (@united) March 22, 2019
“United is determined to lead the industry in LGBT inclusivity, and we are so proud to be the first U.S. airline to offer these inclusive booking options for our customers,” United’s Chief Customer Officer Toby Enqvist said. “United is excited to share with our customers, whether they identify along the binary of male or female or not, that we are taking the steps to exhibit our care for them while also providing additional employee training to make us even more welcoming for all customers and employees.”
Booking options are not the only changes United is making when it comes to gender inclusivity. It worked with the Human Rights Campaign, one of the largest LGBTQ rights organizations in the U.S., and The Trevor Project, which provides crisis intervention and suicide prevention to the LGBTQ community, to build a new training program. Employees will now learn about preferred pronouns, persistent gender norms, LGBTQ competency in the workplace and building inclusive spaces for both customers and employees.
“At the Human Rights Campaign, we believe being acknowledged as the gender you identify with is part of treating everyone with dignity and respect,” said Beck Bailey, acting director of the Workplace Equality Program. “By providing non-binary gender selection for ticketing and the gender-inclusive honorific ‘Mx’ in user profiles, United Airlines is taking an important step forward for non-binary inclusion.”
“The Trevor Project is grateful for United Airlines’ support of our life-saving work on behalf of LGBTQ youth,” the group’s CEO and Executive Director Amit Paley said. “We are thrilled to bring Trevor’s expertise on the mental health of LGBTQ people to United to ensure its employees maintain safe and inclusive spaces for LGBTQ employees and guests.”
The move comes after industry trade groups Airlines for America and the International Air Transport Association recently approved a new international standard for non-binary passengers, effective June 1. However, implementation of the new gender options are up to each individual carrier. Delta, JetBlue, American Airlines and Southwest have all said that they are working on new gender options for the near future.
Did you know 50 percent of artists are women? (Woot, woot!) But only about 13 percent of art on display in galleries is by female artists. (Boo!)
In honor of Women’s History Month, United Airlines wants to take women in the arts to new heights, literally. #HerArtHere is a campaign and contest hosted by United to “find and uplift underrepresented women artists,” according to the official press release. How will United do that? By giving women artists a canvas 3,666 times larger than the average 18″ x 24″ canvas you can buy at your local art store: a Boeing 757 plane.
“As a company, we believe in the importance of equality of women in what has historically been a male-dominated field,” United’s New York and New Jersey President Jill Kaplan said. “When we heard the statistics about how underrepresented women are when it comes to displaying their art, we thought, ‘What better way to contribute to changing this narrative than by offering the biggest canvas we have access to — an aircraft?'”
The rules to enter are simple: you must live in the United States and identify as a woman (cisgender, transgender, woman-aligned, or nonbinary) — sorry, not sorry, boys! Using the Boeing 757 plane as your 11,000-square-foot canvas, you should create a design that reflects your own personal style and that represents United’s mission of “Connecting people. Uniting the world,” specifically as it pertains to the company’s two main hubs in the New York/New Jersey area and California.
The six finalists will each have their own open gallery show, have their art displayed in United terminals and be made available for purchase, and will receive 100,000 MileagePlus award miles. The two winners will also get $10,000 each and to work with famous (and female) artist Shantell Martin, who has worked with a range of artists from members of the New York City Ballet to Kenderick Lamar, before their designs take flight in the fall.
“We are thrilled to have the opportunity through this unique contest to bring visibility to the work of these exceptional female artists. We take pride in leveraging our global presence to showcase their great work to millions of people who see our planes on the ground and in the sky,” United’s California President Janet Lamkin said.
To enter, visit the #HerArtHere hub on United’s website
Using innovative construction technologies and Lean practices, Mortenson has completed three major new ground facilities for United Airlines at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. The $105 million, 180,000-square-foot project was turned over in less than a year to accommodate runway construction at the busy airport.
Completion of the United project is a critical milestone in O’Hare’s massive modernization of its runways, which includes adding and extending some while closing others. The runway work complements the planned $8.5 billion investment to upgrade terminals and other amenities and add the first new gates at the airport in nearly 25 years.
Mortenson broke ground on the project in the last week of December, 2017 and the airline received its occupancy certifications in November, 2018. The project, which also included 1.2 million square feet of airside paving, was fast-tracked because United Airlines needed to vacate its previous ground facilities ahead of the O’Hare modernization.
“I am extremely proud of the Mortenson team that successfully delivered the North Airfield project,” said MacAdam Glinn, Mortenson general manager of aviation. “It is a testament to our skill and dedication that we were able to complete these high-quality facilities in such an accelerated time frame. Just as importantly, we are honored that we were chosen to partner with industry leader United Airlines on this transformational project.”
Ghafari Associates served as architect, Ardmore Roderick as the lead project manager on the apron paving, Thornton Tomasetti as structural engineer, DB Sterlin as the civil engineer for the buildings, Burns McDonnell as civil engineer for the aprons and JLL as owner’s representative.
United uses the buildings for equipment maintenance and storage and to house its facility maintenance personnel, bussing operation, aircraft move team and aircraft provisioning/cleaning operations.
Adau Akui Atem Mornyang, 24, of Victoria, Australia was charged with assault and interference with flight crew.
(iStock)
An Australian woman was found guilty on assault charges for slapping and yelling at a United Airlines crew member while on an international flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles International Airport on January 21 of this year.
JETBLUE PILOTS DRUGGED, RAPED FEMALE CREW MEMBERS IN SICK ‘FANTASY’ ASSAULT, LAWSUIT CLAIMS
Adau Akui Atem Mornyang, 24, of Victoria, Australia was charged with felony interference with flight crew and one count of misdemeanor assault after becoming intoxicated while on the flight and verbally and physically abusing at least one crew member and other passengers, the United States Department of Justice reported in a press release.
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According to evidence shared at trial, Mornyang became disruptive several hours into the 14-hour flight, and began to flail her arms and yell obscenities including racial slurs. When approached by a flight attendant, Mornyang reportedly slapped him across his face while continuing to yell.
Mornyang was restrained by federal air marshals on board, who stayed with the woman in the rear galley of the plane until it landed safely at LAX.
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The woman’s sentencing is scheduled for June 24. She faces a maximum sentence of 21 years in federal prison based on the charges.
HOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Federal authorities say a United Airlines flight declared an emergency when an engine shut down as the plane descended at Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Flight 1168 was carrying 174 passengers and six crew members late Sunday when the engine trouble began near Houston. The Boeing 737-900 was traveling from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.
One passenger told Houston media outlets that he heard a loud bang, felt a strong vibration and saw a flash of light.
Another passenger says he saw flames coming from the engine, but a Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman says emergency responders found no evidence of fire or smoke.
Passengers evacuated down emergency slides and onto the tarmac and were later taken by bus to the United Club inside the airport.
FAA spokesman Lynn Lunsford says crews are investigating the aircraft Monday.
United spokeswoman Rachael Rivas says some people suffered minor injuries while evacuating the plane.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
A 24-year-old Australian woman is facing up to 21 years behind bars after being convicted of federal charges in an assault on a flight attendant during a trip from Melbourne to Los Angeles earlier this year, prosecutors said Monday.
Adau Akui Atem Mornyang, of Victoria, appeared to be intoxicated and was verbally and physically abusive to both staff and other passengers aboard a United Airlines flight on Jan. 21, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a news release.
Evidence presented at trial indicated that, after being in the air several hours, other passengers complained to a flight attendant about Mornyang, who was flailing her arms and shouting obscenities and racial slurs, officials said.
When the attendant then approached Mornyang to check on her, the defendant allegedly yelled at him then slapped him across the face.
The flight attendant tried to restrain Mornyang until federal air marshals could respond. The marshals then had to stay with Mornyang in the plane’s rear galley for the rest of the trip, prosecutors said.
Last Thursday, a jury found Mornyang guilty of one felony count of interference with a flight crew and one misdemeanor count of assault.
She is scheduled to be sentenced June 24, when she’ll face a maximum possible penalty of 21 years in federal prison.
Mortenson used innovative construction technologies and Lean practices to build three major new ground facilities totaling 180,000 square feet for United Airlines at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport in less than a year. Mortenson fast-tracked the project because United Airlines needed to vacate its previous ground facilities to make way for runway construction at O’Hare.
Completion of the United project is a critical milestone in O’Hare’s massive modernization of its runways, which includes adding and extending some while closing others. The runway work complements the planned $8.5 billion investment to upgrade terminals and other amenities and add the first new gates at the airport in nearly 25 years. “This is a game changer for the city of Chicago,” said Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, according to a Chicago Tribune story. “I made a pledge that the city of Chicago, O’Hare, will not be measured by the busiest, but by being the best.”
Mortenson broke ground on the $105 million United project, which also included 1.2 million square feet of airside paving, in the last week of December, 2017. The airline received its occupancy certifications for the new Ground Equipment Maintenance and Facilities Maintenance Stores in November, 2018. United uses the buildings for equipment maintenance and storage and to house its facility maintenance personnel, bussing operation, aircraft move team, and aircraft provisioning/cleaning operations.
Ghafari Associates served as architect, Ardmore Roderick as the lead project manager on the apron paving, Thornton Tomasetti as structural engineer, DB Sterlin as the civil engineer for the buildings, Burns McDonnell as civil engineer for the aprons and Jones Lang LaSalle as owner’s representative.
“I am extremely proud of the Mortenson team that successfully delivered the North Airfield project,” said MacAdam Glinn, Mortenson general manager of aviation. “It is a testament to our skill and dedication that we were able to complete these high-quality facilities in such an accelerated time frame. Just as importantly, we are honored that we were chosen to partner with industry leader United Airlines on this transformational project.”
Given the project’s tight turnaround and complexity, Mortenson and its partners relied on a range of Lean and other innovative tools and processes:
“Mortenson ran this project with an emphasis on collaboration, innovation, and flexibility, which was vital to coordinating and managing the detailed design and buildout under a very compressed time schedule. The new ground facilities have expanded United’s maintenance capacity and capabilities so it can service a wider array of equipment,” said Weston Parker, Vice President who heads up Ardmore Roderick’s Aviation Group.
The O’Hare ground facilities and apron work are the latest in a series of Mortenson projects for United Airlines. It built a massive data center for the airline and renovated its B18 club for frequent flyers at O’Hare. Mortenson also constructed a new flight training facility in Denver.
The just-completed O’Hare project consisted of:
Ground maintenance equipment facility
The two-story, 140,000 square foot building features single-story 38-foot bays, with 11 overhead bridge cranes, four different kinds of vehicle lifts, and 54 overhead doors. The building is equipped with paint booth, loading dock, battery storage area, an automated storage and retrieval system and pallet racks with an automated handling system. The GEM also houses two oil water separators, a fuel island for fuel tank storage, a fuel and hydraulic fluid distribution system and air compressor system. It includes administrative offices, conference and training rooms, and employee locker rooms and lounges.
Facilities Maintenance and Stores building
This single-story, 40,000 square foot facility provides storage space and maintenance shops for United’s facility maintenance teams. It includes five overhead doors, a loading dock, pallet rack storage system and secure cage. It also has conference and training rooms and employee break rooms and locker rooms.
Airport Operations Services building
This single story, 40,000 square foot building houses the airline’s operating services, move and positioning crews. It reaches 30 feet at its highest point to accommodate extensive storage for the provisioning teams. The pre-engineered building is equipped with 12 overhead doors, secure cage, and two semi-loading docks. It also has training rooms, break rooms and locker rooms.
Apron work
This significant civil and infrastructure project resulted in 1.2 million square feet of concrete paving including new taxi lanes, concrete aprons and plane and employee parking. The paving is multi-layered, including 15” Portland Cement Concrete Pavement (PCCP), 3/8” choke stone, 5” cement treated permeable base (CTPB), geotextile fabric, 8” P-154M blended aggregate, 12” lime stabilized subgrade and millings produced onsite using recycled materials from the airfield. THE PCCP and CTPB were produced at an onsite batch plant. The work included a new storm and sanitary system as well as electrical switchgear, transformers and switchboards. The team also installed a new duct bank to power new high-mast lighting and power planes on the apron for testing and maintenance.
United Airlines launched services between Denver and Santa Rosa on 8 March, with the Californian airport hosting a small gate celebration to herald the new service. The Star Alliance member will serve the route daily.
In a note to employees picked up by the Crain’s Chicago Business, which I’ve also had a chance to review, United Airlines has provided more insight on the process.
It all starts with hours upon hours of research. The Domestic and International Network Planning groups continually analyze passenger load and fare data for routes we don’t currently support before determining where opportunities for new service lie.
They’ll take 100 city combinations, for example, then slowly whittle that list down until they reach 10-15 that are viable for us based on customer demand and profitability forecasts. Then they measure the impact of introducing new service versus adding more flights between cities we already serve. It’s a constant negotiation between dozens of variables, and there’s a lot of consideration that goes into those decisions, since we never want to launch a route that ultimately fails.
There are practical matters as well—
Do we have existing capacity in the fleet to support it? If not, can we move equipment from an underperforming route? Or, would it be better served by United Express.
United is not a “point-to-point” airlines but a hub-and-spoke carrier. New routes are examined not simply on the basis of the new flight itself, but how that flight will feed connecting traffic throughout the network.
Before building a segment into the schedule, Network Planning estimates customer demand by evaluating connection options, the route’s popularity and what the competition offers, among other things. Finally, planners look at different aircraft capabilities, things like number of seats, range, and takeoff and landing limitations, then decide if the route should be flown with mainline or regional equipment.
But what about the high-demand leisure and business routes that United has simply abandoned? I’m talking about routes like Los Angeles (LAX) to Portland (PDX) or Dallas (DFW). LAX-PDX is a huge market for Alaska and Delta. LAX-DFW is a huge route for American and is also served by Delta. Why not at least a couple daily flights between these important cities?
The simple answer is, we can’t be everything to everyone, everywhere. No, we don’t have LAX-PDX (Portland, Oregon) like Delta (DL), for instance, but we do great with our LAX to IAH, IAD and ORD routes, which is why DL doesn’t offer those flights. As mentioned above, we operate within constraints. A new segment requires assets, like airport gates and airplanes, not to mention paying customers. We’re not going to cannibalize assets being used for more profitable routes just to compete with a competitor in places where we would be operating at a deficit.
And while I hear United President Scott Kirby loud and clear in that explanation, I wonder if he has fully learned the lesson of JFK. Kirby is often quick to point out that by pulling out of JFK, United lost several lucrative corporate contracts that primarily flew to other destinations. The hint, and the understandable rationale, is that United should have kept certain routes that were “losers” because they helped to make other routes much better “winners”.
Read More: United Airlines Regrets Leaving New York JFK
That seems easy enough to follow, yet it seems almost mind-boggling that United doesn’t serve Oakland, San Jose, Portland, or Dallas (effective in a few weeks) from its hub in Los Angeles.
United’s only retort is that Delta doesn’t offer nonstop flights between Los Angeles and Houston, Chicago, or Washington Dulles.
CONCLUSION
Our overall strategy is about leveraging the network in the right ways to ensure United’s long-term success.
Of course. And I’m not here to be the armchair CEO (too much). But wouldn’t United want to lose a little money on the LA to Dallas route simply to keep loyal customers on other United routes?
image: United Airlines
