Next year, United Airlines will offer corporate clients compensation
should it trail its top two competitors in operational performance.
Delta Air Lines launched a similar guarantee
this summer. United’s Global Performance Commitment will measure its on-time and
cancellation metrics against those of Delta and American Airlines. Should it
perform worse than both in both metrics, eligible corporate clients will receive
United Services Funds, which they can use the following year for certain
waivers and some amenities, including upgrades to Economy Plus. The funds do
not cover flight purchases and premium-cabin upgrades.
United deviates from Delta in how it measures those metrics
and who measures them, senior vice president of worldwide sales Dave Hilfman said.
“Clearly, there’s a value in making a significant commitment to operational
excellence and backing it up,” he said. “We thought to ourselves, ‘How do we
differentiate ourselves and make it more valuable to more of our customers?’”
For one, United will measure its full network, including
international flights and United Express regional flights. It also will not use
U.S. Department of Transportation metrics to gauge performances, as Delta does.
Instead, it will use “an independent third-party vendor,” whom Hilfman could
not disclose. That vendor will provide data monthly and will be “auditable and
transparent” to clients, he said.
As such, metrics defining on-time performance and
cancellations will vary, too. The DOT categorizes flights as on time when they
reach the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time. United will consider
any flight not at the gate by the posted arrival time to be late. Additionally,
it will include flights canceled by weather or other uncontrollable factors in
completion factors.
Participation, which begins Jan. 1, will be open to all
accounts participating in a United corporate share agreement for the full-year
2016 and to “select global, U.S.- or Canada-based accounts with U.S.
marketshare goals,” according to United. A client must have at least 95 percent
compliance with its contracted goals to qualify.
Compensation levels range from $1,000 for companies with 500
or fewer delayed or canceled flights to $250,000 for companies with more than
35,000 affected flights.
Delta's operational performance leads the market, but Hilfman
is confident United will not have to pay out on its guarantee, citing the
airline's operational improvement this year. Completions and on-time arrivals
in 2015, whether absolute or with the 15-minute grace period, are at their
highest levels in the four years since United and Continental have had a single
U.S. Federal Aviation Administration operating certificate, according to
United.
“Customers have noted the operational improvement, so it’s a
great time to stand behind it,” United vice president of sales for the Americas
Jake Cefolia said.