=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/chronicle/archive/2002/12= /12/BU217088.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday, December 12, 2002 (SF Chronicle) UNITED AIRLINES/Chapter 11/SFO to remain hub for United/CEO says California= is a 'core strength' for bankrupt airline David R. Baker, Chronicle Staff Writer Even as United Airlines scrutinizes its every route, facility and expense in Bankruptcy Court, Chief Executive Officer Glenn Tilton said Wednesday that San Francisco International Airport will remain one of its hubs. Tilton visited the airport Wednesday to meet with more than 400 United employees, people whose wages or jobs may soon be cut to keep the troubled airline flying. Although Tilton offered few details about the company's future shape, he told reporters before the employee meetings that California remains one of the airline's key assets, one that must be protected as United tries to transform itself. "We cannot allow our core strengths to deteriorate," Tilton said. "California is a core strength for United." Since filing the airline industry's largest bankruptcy case on Monday, Tilton has insisted that the immense carrier must examine the value and importance of each of its facilities. But in an interview Wednesday, he said San Francisco would remain one of United's five domestic hubs, a gateway for its prized transpacific routes. "It's certainly not in jeopardy as a hub," Tilton said. An airport spokesman welcomed Tilton's assurance. "I think everyone knew that, but it's nice hearing it," said SFO spokesm= an Mike McCarron. "It shows the importance of San Francisco to their operations." United, in turn, is important to SFO, accounting for about 51 percent of the airport's passengers and 27 percent ($113 million) of its annual revenue. Some 13,800 United employees work at San Francisco International or are stationed there. Those people were the focus of Tilton's visit. After United landed in bankruptcy court Monday, Tilton launched a tour of the airline's key facilities, briefing workers in Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles on the difficult path ahead. Wednesday morning, after stopping by SFO ticket counters to talk briefly with passengers, Tilton spoke to employees in closed-door sessions. "I think it's exactly what you would do if you were me," Tilton explained to reporters before the meetings. "The most important thing to United right now is to restore employee confidence." Captain Patrick Palazzolo, a spokesman for United pilots within the Air Line Pilots Association, attended one of the meetings. Before fielding questions from employees, Tilton insisted the crowd not cast blame on any one person or group for the carrier's financial problems, Palazzolo said. And the executive said that United management must reorganize the company in collaboration with its workers. "He emphasized over and over that the culture of the company has had severe flaws over the decades," Palazzolo said. "He said we will succeed, and we'll do it with trust and respect for each other -- that's how the culture will change." Although the meeting did not contain details of the new business plan United management is trying to hammer out with the unions, Palazzolo said the emphasis was on preserving much of the airline's vast network of flights while redesigning the company that runs them. Tilton, in an interview after the meetings, offered few details of the business plan taking shape. He declined to state the amount of money the company hopes to save in its reorganization or speculate on the number of employees who may lose their jobs. Tilton said, however, that the company would keep its international reac= h. The business travelers looking for flights to key destinations overseas are a core asset of the business, he said. "United is going to continue to be a global airline," he said. "But Unit= ed is going to be a much leaner airline than it is now." Whether the company would retain all of its many flights between Northern and Southern California, he said, would depend on consumer demand. Although much of the speculation about the company's future has centered on pay cuts and layoffs, Tilton said the company's reorganization also would demand getting more work from each employee. "The message here is a focus more on productivity rather than simple wage concessions," Tilton said. "Not that we won't have to look at both." E-mail David R. Baker at dbaker@sfchronicle.com. UAL BY THE BAY =20 San Francisco International Airport United is the dominant carrier at the airport, with 318 daily departures= =20 and arrivals. United accounts for 51 percent of the passenger traffic at th= e=20 airport and 27 percent of SFO's revenue. Its workforce:=20 13,800 total employees=20 1,500 pilots 3,400 flight attendants 1,400 public contact employees(x) 1,300 ramp employees 4,100 mechanics 2,100 others . Oakland International Airport United is the No. 2 carrier in Oakland, accounting for 10 percent of=20 passenger traffic and 32 daily arrivals and departures. Its workforce:=20 1,155 total employees=20 779 mechanics 83 public contact employees(x) 51 ramp employees 242 other . Mineta San Jose International Airport The No. 4 carrier at the airport, United schedules 48 daily arrivals and= =20 departures and accounts for 7 percent of the airport's passenger traffic. M= ost=20 of its workers are public contact employees.(x) 105 total employees=20 (x)Includes such positions as customer service representatives and=20 reservations clerks. Source: United Airlines, Chronicle research ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 SF Chronicle