CHICAGO, Dec. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- United Continental
Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: UAL) today announced that its Board of
Directors has named President and CEO Jeff
Smisek as Chairman of the Board effective Dec. 31, 2012.
Smisek replaces Glenn Tilton, who
has served as Chairman of the United Continental Holdings board
since October 2010, and who will
remain a member of the board. Tilton served as Chairman and CEO of
UAL Corporation from 2002 until October
2010.
Transition of the chairmanship at this time was part of the 2010
merger agreement between United Airlines and Continental
Airlines.
"I want to thank Glenn Tilton for
his many years of service to United Airlines," said Smisek. "Under
Glenn's leadership, United became a strong competitor and
sought-after partner."
In addition, United today announced a realignment of its senior
management team as the airline shifts to its post-integration
phase.
"Now is the time to begin the next phase for United, as we
continue on the path to becoming the world's leading airline,"
Smisek said. "This structure aligns our senior management
team to most effectively and efficiently meet the challenges and
opportunities of this next phase."
United is combining oversight of the airline's traditional
sources of revenue with oversight of operations that deliver the
product; combining oversight of IT, high margin products, strategy
and customer experience; combining marketing and MileagePlus into a
single marketing and loyalty organization and aligning it with IT;
and combining eCommerce and merchandising functions.
This realignment results in the following new leadership roles,
effective today:
- Jim Compton assumes the position
of vice chairman and chief revenue officer. Compton will oversee
operations and the traditional revenue side of United's business.
Pete McDonald, EVP and chief
operations officer, will report directly to Compton.
- Jeff Foland will oversee the
airline's marketing and loyalty, technology, strategy and customer
experience groups, as EVP marketing, technology and strategy.
About United
United Airlines and United Express
operate an average of 5,557 flights a day to 378 airports on six
continents from the airline's hubs in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Guam,
Houston, Los Angeles, New
York/Newark, San Francisco, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. In 2011, United carried more
traffic than any other airline in the world, and operated more than
two million flights carrying 142 million passengers. United is
upgrading its cabins with more flat-bed seats in first and business
class and more extra-legroom economy-class seating than any other
airline in North America. United
now has 180 airplanes featuring DIRECTV®, offering customers more
live television access than any other airline in the world. United
operates nearly 700 mainline aircraft and has orders for more than
270 new aircraft deliveries through 2022. In 2012, United was the
first North American airline to take delivery of new Boeing 787
Dreamliner aircraft. United was rated the world's most admired
airline on FORTUNE magazine's 2012 airline-industry list of the
World's Most Admired Companies. Readers of Global Traveler magazine
have voted United's MileagePlus program the best frequent flyer
program for eight consecutive years. United is a founding member of
Star Alliance, which provides
service to 193 countries via 27 member airlines. More than 85,000
United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around
the world. For more information, visit united.com or follow
United on Twitter and Facebook. The common stock of United's
parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE
under the symbol UAL.
SOURCE United Continental Holdings, Inc.