United Airlines Reviews in Chicago, IL Area

Pros

Working at United Airlines is challenging, though rewarding. It is also nice to have free standby travel all over the world.

Cons

The airline industry in recent years has always been flirting with insolvency. When fuel prices spike (as they often do), the work load can increase significantly.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep doing what you are doing. United Airlines turned a profit last year and things are looking promising this year.

Pros

Good benefits, challenging work, exciting industry, dynamic company, some great people, located in the Loop (vs. Elk Grove Village or Houston)

Cons

Management team post-merger is not yet aligned creating groups working against each other, culture clash continues between United and Continental employees creating a lot of bureaucracy.

Advice to Senior Management

Align on common goals and communicate well with employees - this is not getting done. Continue to value employees and alignment of employee groups. This is a challenge, but United can truly be a great company.

Pros

benefits..insurance, flying,options.morning hours, public relationchip

Cons

contract issues, public support, life insurance

Advice to Senior Management

comunication

Pros

Employees are among the best in the industry. The management refuses to harness the employee potential. They insist on being the 'premier' airline of choice while expecting the employees to work with sub-standard pay, work rules and benefits.

Cons

Lowest pay among the major airlines. Employees are still woking with a bankruptcy contract long after the company exited bankruptcy and is now merging with Continental. It is criminal the way management treats the employees at United.

Advice to Senior Management

Management needs to LEAD and not just manage! Part of leading is to inspire and empower those that you lead. You also need to be FAIR with them. This management is either incapable or unwilling to do any of this. Management has taken their huge cut of the pie....long past time to share with those that did the sacrificing through bankruptcy. It is not business....it is basic human decency.

Pros

Great flying benefit and health insurance

Cons

Promotions are heavily based on management's personal preference

Advice to Senior Management

True talent recognition and selection needed

Pros

Work at one of the largest and most recognized companies in the US.

The flight benefits and easy work are the top reasons team members stick around.

Cons

The Ecommerce team has historically had bad managers who are motivated solely by self interest. Since the merger there have been multiple reorganizations, power plays, and jokeying for position.

Lost in all this is consideration for customers and employees. For example, half the team still does not have a permanent job yet, six months after the organization was supposed to be in place. Management has given many different excuses, including that they are "really busy". That tells you where their priorities are.

In this environment, you find directors and senior managers who are clearly intellectually impotent and simply unqualified for what they should be doing, yet they are in place because they have latched on to the right people and stuck around long enough without challenging their managers. We have seen so often that the squeaky wheel gets rolled away, so if you get a job here you must know that it is more important to play the political game rather than focus on doing what is best for the company, your team mates and for customers.

  It is so disappointing because United and it's customers deserve a great website. With the managers currently in place, that will never happen. Get used to a website that is 10 years behind.

Advice to Senior Management

Take an honest assessment of the ecommerce organization and decide to invest in hiring and retaining good people, and creating a superior websites and mobile applications.

Get feedback from everyone on effectiveness of directors and senior managers.

Move team leads who are focused on self promotion rather than results to somewhere they will be less harmful. I guarantee that if you try even a little bit, you will find at least one that is obvious to everyone.

Pros

The airline industry is very complex, if you enjoy working in an environment where there is always something new .

Cons

Layoffs, business model is very suspectible to the economy (layoffs), in some areas a punitive cuture is still strong

Advice to Senior Management

Look at the leaders that are not forming positive realationships with their piers and others.

Pros

Good Travel Benefits, Flexible work environment

Cons

Merger uncertainty Different technology then currently being used.

Pros

Free travel is best way to see the world

Cons

salary cuts are never too far away

Pros

senior leads very nice and helpful

Cons

management that just tries to fire everyone to hide thier lack of ability to do thier job

Advice to Senior Management

clean house