United's LCO to Launch from Denver
Executive Vice President Operations Pete MacDonald, and Senior Vice President LCO Sean Donohue, conducted a press conference at the Denver International Airport today to announce a February launch of United’s Low Cost Operation in Denver.
During the press conference, United confirmed that the LCO fleet will begin with 4 Airbus 320’s, and expand to a total of 40 by the end of 2004, 19 of which will be based in Denver. The airplanes will be configured with 156 seats, including a section of economy plus and will compete in leisure markets with initial destinations of Reno, Las Vegas, Phoenix, New Orleans, Tampa, Ontario, California, and Orlando.
Serving leisure markets with a simplified fare structure competitive with other Low Cost Carriers will allow the Company to provide distinct service in these markets as a supplement to our mainline flying. This will provide maximum value for our existing customer base and attract new customers who might not have considered flying mainline United.
As United confirmed in the press today, and as we have stated since the announcement of the Restructuring Agreement, flying on the LCO will be performed by Flight Attendants on our seniority list, and under our Collective Bargaining Agreement with the same wages, benefits, and working conditions as the mainline operation. The LCO will provide greater variety of flying for us. Considering how senior Shuttle flying was, we expect that this too will be premium flying for some among our ranks. Our experience with Shuttle may be very similar to the Flight Attendant job on the LCO, but key business changes and substantial cost reductions will allow the new LCO to succeed where the Shuttle failed.
United has clearly stated that it wants front-line employee feedback and insight for LCO business plan and work done on the project. The Company is organizing an employee advisory council composed of front-line employees from a variety of locations representing a cross-functional mix of work groups to provide United with guidance for the LCO. United also commits to working with AFA on issues that may arise from the creation of this new product.
The name of the LCO is yet to be determined, but we can all be glad that “Starfish” was discarded and cast to sea months ago!
