Continental United Merger Will Do What Exactly?

[MikeUT00]

Does anyone have any information on the possible merger of Continental and United? Doesn't someone on here work at Continental?

Considering Continental is the 5th largest domestic carrier and United is the 2nd biggest, is it safe to assume that United would essentially swallow Continental and thus make Houston a United town? More importantly, what will the merger mean to the OnePass frequent flyer program? I have millions of OnePass miles, and regularly use Continental and/or its SkyTeam airline partners. Do OnePass members stand to lose said miles if a merger takes place? Do I have to go on a travel rampage soon so I don't lose those miles?

 

[Ignatius]

It means that there will suddenly be a lot more fatal crashes on Continental...

 

[HornBred]

Not sure if we have anyone from Continental on the board. We do have several with airline experience including LonghornLawayer, The_Dog, chuychanga, and myself.

In short, don't worry about OnePass. If the FF programs are joined, United would probably grant you some of their miles in proportion to how many miles you have on Continental. You would also likely be status-matched. The net effect should be positive since you'll have a bigger network at your disposal to redeem miles. There may be downsides as well, depending upon which of Continental FF perks go away when the two programs/policies are combined.

 

[Orangeblood]

I'm a member of both ff clubs. What will happen is that we'll end up paying more for flights. And the Continental category of "BusinessFirst" will disappear. Given that BF is usually the cheapest way to fly "1st class" overseas (by FAR), that will be a sad day. Also, the President's Clubs will be absorbed and probably start charging for drinks. That REALLY bites!!!!

 

[DieUCLA98]

Hasn't this proposed merger been in the talks for over a year now with nothing to show for it?

And IIRC, Northwest Airlines can and probably will stop the merger from happening anyways. Has some new developments come about that suggest the merger is going to happen?

 

[SullHorn]

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[Ralphie]

this will blow all around.

 

[bozo_casanova]

if you fly united a lot, your customer service will improve slightly. If you fly continental, your customer service will decline radically.

 

[The Dog]

and your fares will rise dramatically.

 

[EuroHorn]

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[1990txgirl]

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[MAROON]

most articles I've read speculate that Continental management would run the show, because they're considered pros as opposed to United's mgmt. Here's hoping that is true.

 

[gecko]

What bozo said......

also....upgrades on Continental will get tougher to come by.

 

[madscientist]

hey lets just cut to the chase and federalize the airlines in to one singular entity "US GVT Air".

that's allegedly the answer for healthcare so why not airlines as well?

 

[EuroHorn]

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[madscientist]

what a coincidence, i was born in late 1978.

 

[Tyler Durden]

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[EuroHorn]

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[MikeUT00]

any update on this? is it still happening?

 

[chuychanga]

Continental said, "Thanks, but no thanks..." awhile back.

United then started talking to US Airways again, but it sounds like even they are not so sure if it's a good idea. At this point, United looks like a sinking ship. They just announced they are parking 70 airplanes the other day. All the while, SWA is ramping up for a big expansion in Denver with United currently in the shitter and Frontier's recent bankruptcy filing.

Then just when it looked the worst for them, there were rumors of more talks with Continental the other day. So who knows?