RIP "Continental." You will be missed.
- Thread starter saxman
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Rocketman99
Frozen Guppy Manipulator
And sad. I hate United.
surreal1221
Well-Known Member
So much emotion attached to one's career...
bike21
9-5 Ruins Lives
Agreed.
Lot of hate for good ol' UAL. I've had bad experiences on just about every airline and UAL isn't exempt. I've also had awesome experiences with many UAL employees so don't despair folks. There are still good peeps left out there.
Aggiepilot
Well-Known Member
Flew United once... Not pleased but can't say I hate them off of one flight. I loved flying Continental, chose them over American every time. Sad to see CAL gone. I've worked with some of the charter coordinators with CAL for the last couple years and since UAL has taken over one has quit and the other is talking about it; said they hate all the stuff UAL is pushing.
frog_flyer
FredFlyer
First rule of flying for United is dropping the U.
"departure, Nited 853, 2.5 climbin 10 thousand"
"departure, Nited 853, 2.5 climbin 10 thousand"
little_cricket
Well-Known Member
I've always been upgraded on United, if there are open seats... Never on Continental. In the end, just happy for the ride. Thanks.
Captain_Bob
Well-Known Member
ProudPilot
Aeronautics Geek
I have a lot of great experiences growing up outside of Dulles. Granted most of my good experiences as of late have been with SkyWest. On mainline I like the channel 9 audio (ATC) and the food has been good. I had a lot of HORRIBLE meals on American and Northwest. Delta has been indifferent. I wish all the airlines were better. I flew with family with Continental 3 times and those were the last times we ever did. That was mid 90's and it was awful. For now Delta is my only really good option and United is their competition with fairly inflexible schedule for my cross country routes.
In the end I figure we'll have Global Express. One airline for everything. Like BNL from WALL-E
In the end I figure we'll have Global Express. One airline for everything. Like BNL from WALL-E
GaTechKid
Well-Known Member
It was funny listening to ATC. "United 1130 contact frequency 127.07.....United 1130 contact frequency 127.07.....Yesterday it was Continental 1130 but today it's United 1130 contact frequency 127.07." "127.07 United 1130."
I'm sure it's a bit difficult retraining yourself after 25-30 years.
I'm sure it's a bit difficult retraining yourself after 25-30 years.
skyw82
Well-Known Member
No kidding.
Before long they will literally all be the same airlines. They will all fly the same a/c to the same cities at the same time and will sell the same "buy on board" snacks. They will all have the same inflight perks (wifi, ect.) and will play the same unfunny sitcoms from last season from network x in coach. Worst of all they will all be pushing the same credit cards to their passangers inflight. Choosing an airline will be no more of a choice than deciding on shopping at staples, office depot, or office max to buy printer paper.
Corporate Pilot
Well-Known Member
October 1st was 41 years ago they went on strike; my dad was one of them.
"A Master Executive Council, with approval of the Executive Council, may authorize those members who have engaged in a strike against management of that MEC's airline to wear ALPA 'Battle Star' pins."
ALPA Administrative Manual, Section 35: Membership, Part 1.BB
Today, we commemorate the 41st anniversary of the Continental Strike of 1983. When researching this topic, we found the same commemorative MEC Updates the past five years.
“ALPA pilots at Continental Airlines took a stand against management to protect our careers. Brave ALPA members fought Frank Lorenzo in a strike that, for some pilots, lasted two excruciating years.”
That message stands true. We THANK our predecessors who sacrificed, worked, and fought to build the legacy we enjoy today. That message is incomplete. Yes, we honor those strikers who held the Line. To better honor them, it is important to understand “how” and “why” their actions benefit us today and why we must remain vigilant going forward.
ALPA lost that strike. Our adversary was the infamous and union-busting CEO of Continental, Frank Lorenzo. He bought Eastern Airlines (1985) and proceeded to strip it of its assets. Eastern Pilots and Flight Attendants went out on strike in sympathy of the Mechanic Strike. These actions by labor and lessons learned from the CAL and UAL Strikes compelled Lorenzo to bankrupt Continental (1989). Lorenzo's mismanagement of Eastern resulted in his court-ordered removal (1990), and finally liquidation (1991). This was the beginning of the end of Frank Lorenzo in the Aviation business. Legacy United aggressively hired many of these former Eastern pilots who had lost their jobs from that turmoil.
“On September 24, 1983, Continental filed a petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code. Immediately thereafter, with the approval of the Bankruptcy Court, Continental repudiated its collective-bargaining agreement with ALPA and unilaterally reduced its pilots' salaries and benefits by more than half. ALPA responded by calling a strike that lasted for over two years.
Of the approximately 2,000 pilots employed by Continental, all but about 200 supported the strike. By the time the strike ended, about 400 strikers had "crossed over" and been accepted for reemployment in order of reapplication.”1 The airline was able to operate through the strike that ended in terms very unfavorable to the striking pilots.
From Flying the Line II, “The Continental strike began in a welter of confusion and disarray. On the union side, nobody was ready for it, no plans had been made, no communications were established, and nobody knew what to do. Continental’s pilots had to immediately shift gears from thinking about how to make their airline work to thinking the unthinkable—how to stop it from working. It was a wrenching transition.”
“Lorenzo’s success in getting that first group of pilots to cross during the early days of the strike owed much to the skill that earned him the nickname “Frankie Smooth Talk.” Using a technique familiar to old TXI pilots, Lorenzo began to phone pilots personally. Armed with specific details about each pilot’s family situation, such as whether he had a wife or child who might be ill, Lorenzo could be a formidable salesman.”
These brief examples show that even in defeat, we learned several lessons. We better understand the reasons for informational picketing beyond publicly disapproving of the lack of negotiating progress. Picketing helps build unity. It exercises the logistics and operational structures needed to support the picket, including the communication foundation to build that unity and trust. Also, when management negotiates directly with individual pilots, it is not to the benefit of our pilot group. These lessons were among the many we used to conclude our most recent successful negotiations. From previous commemorations:
"The pilots who honored the picket line helped build the foundation for a more secure future for generations of airline pilots who followed."
We honor those who stood together against a foe determined to break the profession. We honor their unity and sacrifice. They fought even as losing became evident.
Read Flying the Line II for an account of the Continental pilot strike of 1983.
Wardogg
Meat Popsicle
This couldn’t have been any more accurate.