Glenn Tilton.com

When United exited Bankruptcy, its stock price was $40.83 a share.

On August 8th, its stock price was  $11.13 a share.

That’s a loss of 73% to shareholders. Over the same period, Continental’s share price declined 11% and Southwest’s share price dropped a mere 3%.

Instead of holding himself accountable, Glenn Tilton continues to blame external factors while creating additional wealth for himself.

 It’s time for Glenn Tilton to go.

The first thing management did in their “cash conservation mode” was to cancel $200 million worth of non-aircraft capital projects this year— in effect, to pay for last year’s $250 million dividend to shareholders.

This is, in a nutshell, everything that’s wrong with Glenn Tilton’s United Airlines. A one-time dividend payment to cause a brief increase in share value quite literally took the place of capital improvements that would have improved the passenger experience and provided real long-term value to shareholders.  

 If you’re as outraged as we are, why not send Glenn Tilton an email right now?

United Airlines’ top executives have a lot of reasons to do a merger—about 13 million of them—and another 17 million reasons not to stick around after the deal.

The five highest-paid execs at parent UAL Corp. would receive $13.3 million, mostly in stock, if they negotiate a deal that results in a change of control—meaning executives of a merger partner run the combined airline—figures provided by UAL show.

The Chicago airline’s execs would get about $30.5 million if they leave following a merger or acquisition. That’s possible, since the two most likely merger partners, Delta Air Lines and Continental Airlines, have indicated they intend to run the surviving airline.

United CEO Glenn Tilton, who steered the airline out of bankruptcy, would make the most: $6.6 million in a change of control in which he stayed on, or $12.8 million if he were replaced within two years.

Please click here to read the full story at FinancialWeek.com.  

The night before United Board of Director meetings, board members stay at:

A. The Hilton

B. The Westin

C. The Ritz Carlton

D. Home

If you answered C. The Ritz Carlton, you’re correct. Bonus points if you can answer how this is justified in an airline that is raising fares virtually weekly, adding fees and restrictions, slashing improvements and staff, and telling employees to do more with less.  

Were you or I forced to declare bankruptcy, there’d be little to celebrate. Not so for the Tilton regime at United.

When United exited bankruptcy in 2006, it’s safe to say that the retirees and pensioners holding United stock did not throw a party. They lost their entire investment. So did we working pilots, through loss of equity we had built, loss of pensions, and a new pay plan that was forced down our throats in bankruptcy court.

As customers, we doubt you have a lot of enthusiasm for “service enhancements” that include route cancellations, elimination of food from most flights (unless you wish to pay for it), reductions in frequency, deferral of replacement equipment, and much more. Leave a comment below, and help us recall the full list.

The corks from the champagne no longer available on your flights were popping in corporate headquarters, though, as senior managers feasted on tens of millions of dollars in bonuses on the exit from bankruptcy. Glenn Tilton alone received almost $40 million in bonus money. Senior managers protected the enhanced income of other senior managers, while telling us that the airline had to remain revenue neutral, and that our customers needed to bring $5 for a sandwich on a six hour flight. It’s amazing they could say it without blushing. By the way, most other airlines leaving bankruptcy managed to do so without writing big bonus checks to their senior managers.

Shared sacrifice was the company’s mantra in bankruptcy while shared reward was not. Both statements were lies.