There’s a second, more difficult metric, however. To get an additional $50 a month, the airline will have to beat Southwest, American and Delta in on-time departure.

He earns a huge number of frequent flyer miles each year, usually between 200,000 and 350,000, mostly through United Airlines. With all that time away, he says, the last thing he wants to do when he has a break is to travel some more.

By Hugo Martin / Los Angeles Times

During the holidays, United Airlines gives flight attendants some leeway on accessorizing their uniforms.

But the Chicago-based airline apparently doesn’t want its crews to go overboard with extras that detract from the flight attendants’ professional image. That was the key takeaway from a United Airlines memo circulated last week.

“Accessories must be in good taste,” the memo read. “In the spirit of the holiday, and not detract from your professional image.”

The memo outlines what “adornments” flight attendants are permitted to add to their uniforms, such as a “conservative holiday scarf” and “conservative earrings” for women and “conservative holiday tie” and “one holiday pin” for men.

But the memo also makes clear what is prohibited: “Head adornments (i.e., antlers, Santa hats, halos, etc.; Holiday vests or sweaters; Holiday aprons: Holiday hosiery.”

A United Airlines spokeswoman said the memo is issued every year at this time to remind employees of the carrier’s standards but she said she didn’t know how many years it has been sent out and what prompted the original memo.

— Los Angeles Times

A last minute equipment swap for United flight 25 (UA25) pushed the inaugural flight for United’s 787-10 from January 7th, 2019 to December 20, 2018. UA25 was from LAX-EWR and UA275 was the return from EWR-LAX.

United’s 787-10 offers the new Polaris seat. The Polaris cabin is comprised of 44 lie-flat seats in a 1-2-1 configuration. This is a huge improvement over some of the carrier’s 777s which are arranged in a 2-4-2 business class!

Despite the branding, however, transcontinental Polaris tickets do not grant access to United’s Polaris Lounge. It does, however, grant access to the less exciting United Clubs.

While the rollout is exciting, the typical fanfare that comes with the inaugural flight of a new aircraft wasn’t offered per reports from those on the flight.

In addition, United heavily marketed the inaugural 787-10 flight and included a MileagePlus auction in which some people bidding almost 500,000 miles for a chance to try out the new Polaris seat.

UA25 and UA275 are normally flown by the smaller 787-8 series with 36 lie-flat business class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration.

United’s 787-10 also includes 21 premium economy seats branded as “Premium Plus”. Premium Plus is arranged in a 2-3-2 configuration and includes enhanced seating. Premium economy is starting to become more widely available on carriers across the globe.

Starting in January, the 787-10 will be available on transcontinental routes to San Francisco and Los Angeles from United’s hub in Newark. From March onwards, the 787-10 will be available on routes to Dublin, Tel Aviv, Barcelona, Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt.

One-way saver awards in Business Class run for 60,000 miles one-way while the steeper redemptions cost 119,000 miles. An economy seat can be found for as low as 30,000 miles or as high as 70,000 miles. Premium economy doesn’t have a published award chart, but a quick search on United found the lowest fare at 120,000 miles.

Are you planning on flying on United’s new 787-10? Were you on the last-minute inaugural flight? Let us know in the comments below!

As for the other imperfectly operating bathroom, they were allowed to perform all necessary bodily functions. With, presumably, all requirements of human tolerance.

United Airlines has revamped its employee bonus program to ensure all workers still will benefit when the airline hits key operational and customer service goals. The move comes roughly nine months after president Scott Kirby angered workers when he sought to swap the scheme for a lottery that would reward some workers with lavish prizes but shut out everyone else.

In changing the program, United is placing less of an emphasis on operational performance, such as on-time arrivals or the number of canceled flights, and slightly more on customer satisfaction. All eligible workers can earn $125 per month if United hits its new marks, similar to before.

“Based on employee feedback, we’re keeping the structure of the program the same but simplifying to focus on just two key metrics,” Kate Gebo, United’s executive vice president of human resources and labor relations, wrote in a note to employees.

Kirby’s plan, which would have awarded prizes including money (up to $100,000 per quarter to one employee) vacation packages and cars, was shelved in March, after employees complained. While some workers would receive exciting gifts — a Mercedes was dangled as a possible prize — many more would get nothing.

Kirby’s plan almost certainly would have saved the company considerable money, but with it set aside, Gebo was charged with formulating a new incentive plan more similar to the previous one.

The biggest changes come in the metrics United must meet before the airline will pay extra money. Employees had been receiving bonuses mainly for reaching important operational metrics, and as United has become a more reliable airline in recent years, they had been accustomed to receiving money in most quarters.

The new plan will place more of a focus on service, and employees will be able to earn the biggest extra chunk — $75 per month — if United raises its customer satisfaction scores by one point, year-over-year. United asks customers to rank the quality of their flights on a five-point scale, and it wants to have a certain percentage rank it above four. If United reaches its goal — Gebo did not share details on exactly how it will be calculated – it will pay bonuses.

“Our goal for 2019 is to achieve a [satisfaction] score that’s at least one point higher than in 2018, and we’ll share monthly goals as we go,” Gebo said.

Employees can also earn $50 if United tops its three main competitors — American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and Southwest Airlines on D0, an airline term for flights that depart exactly on-time or early. While all airlines like to depart on-time, some are more fanatical about it than others. Among large carriers, American has placed the biggest emphasis on it in recent years. (Some workers call American President Robert Isom, Capt. D0.)

“These are two metrics that we can all influence, whether we interface directly with the customer or support the operation behind the scenes, and they both reflect our commitment to serving our customers,” Gebo said.

Major Kerfuffle

United seemed to be caught off guard with the reaction to its March plan to begin holding a lottery.

“We want every United team member to picture themselves walking home with a grand prize, or driving home in a beautiful car that announces for all to see that you are committed to your success and ours,” Kirby said while announcing it.

But almost from the start, the new plan faced severe criticism from some employees, who accused United of cutting their pay to save money.

One employee created an online petition, and others more quietly criticized management. A pilot union spokesman even took a swipe at the airline to CNN.com, saying “This just puts a bad taste in our mouths.”

After the complaints, and media coverage that followed, United sent a note to workers putting the lottery plan on hold. “Our intention was to introduce a better, more exciting program, but we misjudged how these changes would be received by many of you,” Kirby told employees.

On Friday, Gebo said United met with employees in 33 locations and read emails from workers before formulating the new plan.

A United spokesman declined to comment on the new bonus structure, saying he would let Gebo’s note for employees speak for itself.