United Airlines is making a promise to its largest corporate clients: The airline will be as reliable as American and Delta next year, or it will offer credits for upgrades and fees.
The guarantee is based on flight reliability rates that have improved from bottom of the industry to the top half of its peers, said Jim Compton, United’s chief revenue officer. Recent labor agreements with its unions also should help performance.
“If it were a short-term blip, we wouldn’t be making this commitment,” Compton said.
The offer, which follows a similar pledge by Delta last summer, marks a push to move beyond airfare discounts and available flights as the main reasons corporate travelers choose an airline. A key difference is that Delta’s credits can be used to pay fares, while United’s will be good only toward seat upgrades and other ancillary costs.
A spokesman for American didn’t immediately comment about whether that carrier is planning its own on-time commitment.
Parent company United Continental Holdings, the world’s second-largest airline, has struggled with operational shortcomings, poor labor relations and some bad luck since then-UAL Corp. merged with Continental Airlines in 2010. The carrier had been mired in 10th place among 13 carriers for on-time arrivals for the 12 months ended in September, with a rate of 76.5 percent, according to government data.
Former CEO Jeff Smisek resigned in September after the government started probing his dealings with the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey. His successor, Oscar Munoz, had a heart attack after just a month on the job. The airline has said he is expected back early next year.
The carrier’s monthly on-time arrival ranking jumped to fifth out of 13 in September, with a rate of 86.2 percent, according to government data.
Recent figures from aviation data provider FlightStats show it maintained similar rates in October and November.
“We’ve been having months from September to November that are some of the best in the last three years,” Compton said.
United is telling clients about its “global performance commitment” Tuesday, spokesman Jonathan Guerin said. The program has several key differences from Delta’s program.
United’s guarantee will cover domestic, international and regional flights next year.
