Denver-area leaders fed up with United's performance

In this story: Mayor wants nonstop Frankfurt service Politicians point fingers RELATED STORIES, SITES

DENVER (Reuters) -- After a summer of flight delays and cancellations caused by bad weather and labor problems, United Airlines has watched its control of the Denver market come under attack from local politicians, creating new headaches for the world's largest airline.

United controls about two-thirds of the Denver market, the sixth largest U.S. airport in terms of passengers, making the area vulnerable when delays pile up as they did this summer.

Other airlines also have experienced delays this summer because of unusually bad weather. But United was at the bottom nationwide for on-time performance in June, drawing criticism from the mayor and two members of Congress.

Chicago-based United has found itself putting out fires everywhere it turns. "There's no doubt they've set themselves up with a giant bull's-eye on their chest," aviation consultant Michael Boyd said of the Chicago-based carrier.

Earlier this week, Denver Mayor Wellington Webb accused United parent UAL Corp. of not cooperating with its alliance partner, Germany's Lufthansa, to establish nonstop service between Denver and Frankfurt.

"I am concerned that United management has told Lufthansa that they would neither support their nonstop service entry into the Denver market from Frankfurt nor work with them if they went ahead," Webb wrote UAL Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Goodwin.

Webb said that since United and Lufthansa are code-share partners, he would have expected the Chicago-based carrier to welcome its German partner in any Denver service.

Webb said he hoped United would tell Lufthansa's board it would support it when the board votes on Tuesday.

Late Thursday, United and Lufthansa pledged in a joint statement to "develop a plan to offer Denver-Frankfurt service in a way that successfully meets the needs of our mutual customers and our companies."

"The bottom line is that the citizens here need to see the airlines working cooperatively. This is of utmost importance to the city and the region," Webb's spokesman Andrew Hudson said after the two carriers said they would work out a plan.

Earlier this month, U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette, a Democrat who represents the Denver area in Congress, held a news conference in front of United's downtown Denver ticket office to call on the Clinton administration to help solve United's problems.

And a Colorado Republican congressman, Scott McInnis, has accused the Democratic mayor of being too "comfortable" with United management, leaving the mile-high city vulnerable.

"When you have a monopoly, this is exactly the result you get -- service goes down, prices go up," McInnis told local radio station KOA Thursday.

"We need to look at the relationship between the city of Denver and United, and it's a very comfortable relationship," McInnis charged.

The mayor denied the charge, saying the key was to help other airlines like Denver-based Frontier Airlines expand its business. "We do need to hold United's feet to the fire ... and push their United Express (feeder airline) to fly to many of our smaller towns and cities throughout the state," Webb said in rebuttal.

United, which just reached a tentative labour agreement with its pilots, is now negotiating with its mechanics union. The 15,000 mechanics, members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, are being courted by a rival union, the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association.

While the rival union has tried unsuccessfully to woo the mechanics before, the issue could affect the current talks.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Lufthansa
Frontier Airlines
International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers
Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association
United Airlines

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