United airlines has officially changed their name signaling the end of the Continental era.
United airlines merged with Continental airlines almost a decade ago in May of 2010. Continental was founded back in 1934 and was later based in Texas, and was also one of three launch customers of the Boeing 747 of which United retired just last year on a flight to Honolulu. They were also one of the first airlines to serve domestic routes with the aircraft.
United completed the merger back in 2010 and based the company in Chicago which is still United biggest hub. Despite the merger United still held the legendary globe on the tail of their aircraft and the trademark name “United Continental holdings inc”. That is until this morning as United has stripped the Continental name from their trademark and replaced it with the new name which is “United Airlines holding inc”. United has stated that the name change “reflects our desire to move our airline forward”. They’ve also mentioned to employees they want to become one team and provide the best service for their employees,customers,and everyone they serve.
Image by: Heather Charles
The merger wasn’t always a smooth one. Once commenced in 2010 United went through a fair share of problems involving transferring seniority with pilots,uniforms, and labor contracts. Flight attendants would also announce to passengers whether they were flying with a Continental or United crew in the early stages of the merger
This name change comes after United has began a campaign to repaint all of their aircraft in a different tone of blue and ditch the old Continental white and gold colors. Many have questioned the change as many don’t like the new look United is sporting. So far United has began repainting their 737 aircraft and their regional subsidiary “Skywest” has began the process on their E175 planes. As the news broke this morning many brought up the point that United is still sporting the globe on the tail of their aircraft even after the new paint has come out. Does this mean United isn’t fully removed from the Continental brand?
Image by: Tyler Mallory
Let us know what you think about the name change, is it a sign of changes that are yet to come to the United brand? Check out our United review to get a better look at the current United service!
Feature image courtesy of Andreas Hoppe
