• Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Award Expert
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Award Expert
Home » Airline Merger » Armageddon for United/Continental Passengers on 03 March?
Airline MergerContinental AirlinessharesUnited Airlines

Armageddon for United/Continental Passengers on 03 March?

Matthew March 1, 2012 Leave a Comment

At 0100 Central Time on Saturday, 03 March, United Airlines will flip the switch, transitioning from its Apollo Reservation System it has used for the last four decades to Continental’s in-house SHARES system. Will the transition be smooth? History suggests no.

To be blunt, the history of these kinds of data transitions is horrific. When US Airways and the old America West combined computers in March 2007, travelers were inconvenienced for weeks, and as many as 70 percent of the carrier’s planes ran late for days. Tiny Virgin America spent months trying to straighten out its operations after a transition to new software last fall. And despite United’s claim that it has done four full-scale dress rehearsals in anticipation of this weekend’s change, one usually compliant securities analyst used the airline’s recent earnings call to raise the specter of War Games, the 1983 Matthew Broderick movie about a new defense computer that almost starts a nuclear war.

There is really no use now in speculating how things will go, but I would urge you to take steps to prepare yourself for the worst. First, print out your mileage and upgrade balances from united.com before the transition. In case there are any hiccups in the transition of points or upgrades from one account to another, you want proof of what you had with pre-merger United (PMUA).

Second, if you are traveling, look into alternate routings on United/Continental to get you where you need to go. In case of delays, it always helps to have options ready to feed to the agent–at least on United, that can occasionally result in being booked into first class if economy class is full.

Last, avoid checking bags if you can–there are few things worse than lost or delayed luggage and the new luggage processing system may present issues for baggage handlers that at the very least delay delivery of bags.

I’ll have some thoughts on the end of United as we know it tomorrow or Friday, but look on the bright side tonight–there is no argument that at least when it comes to websites, Continental has a far better product. Particularly when it comes to booking award travel, the new system will be quite advanced and make it refreshingly easy for consumers to book flights on (and likely lead to a noticeable drop in Star Alliance award inventory).

Previous Article Kazakhstan Embassy: Take Two
Next Article United is Dead, Long Live UNITED

About Author

Matthew

Matthew is an avid traveler who calls Los Angeles home. Each year he travels more than 200,000 miles by air and has visited more than 120 countries over the last decade. Working both in the aviation industry and as a travel consultant, Matthew has been featured in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, BBC, Fox News, CNN, ABC, CBS, NBC, Al Jazeera, Toronto Star, and on NPR. Studying international relations, American government, and later obtaining a law degree, Matthew has a plethora of knowledge outside the travel industry that leads to a unique writing perspective. He has served in the United States Air Force, on Capitol Hill, and in the White House. His Live and Let's Fly blog shares the latest news in the airline industry, commentary on frequent flyer programs and promotions, and detailed reports of his worldwide travel. His writings on penandpassport.com offer more general musings on life from the eyes of a frequent traveler. He also founded awardexpert.com, a highly-personalized consulting service that aids clients in the effective use of their credit card points and frequent flyer miles. Clients range from retirees seeking to carefully use their nest egg of points to multinational corporations entrusting Matthew with the direction and coordination of company travel.

Related Posts

  • United CEO Turns Down Lucrative Bonus

    April 24, 2018
  • A380 Lufthansa Review

    Live and Let’s Fly Weekend Digest: April 22, 2018

    April 22, 2018
  • Leaked Seat Map for New United Airlines 787-10

    April 16, 2018

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

  • Popular
  • Recent
  • Thrown Off a United Airlines Flight for Taking Pictures! February 19, 2013
  • Turkish Airlines Safety
    Is it Safe to Fly Turkish Airlines? July 21, 2016
  • United Club
    5 Reasons to Purchase a United Club One-Time Pass May 16, 2013
  • How to Make the Most of an Airline Schedule Change August 25, 2015
  • Virgin America First Class Review
    Review: My Final Trip in Virgin America First Class April 25, 2018
  • Delta Wheelchair Scandal
    Passenger with Multiple Sclerosis Says Delta Tied Her to Wheelchair April 25, 2018
  • JetBlue Considers Los Angeles Expansion April 25, 2018
  • Would You Take a Quadruple Upgrade in Exchange for Early Checkout? April 24, 2018

Recent Posts

  • Virgin America First Class Review
    Review: My Final Trip in Virgin America First Class April 25, 2018
  • Delta Wheelchair Scandal
    Passenger with Multiple Sclerosis Says Delta Tied Her to Wheelchair April 25, 2018
  • JetBlue Considers Los Angeles Expansion April 25, 2018
  • Would You Take a Quadruple Upgrade in Exchange for Early Checkout? April 24, 2018

Categories

Instagram

No images found!
Try some other hashtag or username

Archives

March 2012
M T W T F S S
« Feb   Apr »
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
Facebook Twitter Instagram RSS