United Moves to Win Back Fliers With Incentive Plan

United Airlines will offer a one-week, 50% cash rebate and other incentives to lure back passengers after a 29-day strike and should be back to near-normal operations as the nation’s largest air carrier by July, the airline said Monday.

United said its incentives also include deals for frequent fliers and passengers who buy “Ultra-Saver” tickets. It said they are not intended to spark a fare war.

“We don’t want to create a long-term price war,” United President Jim Hartigan said at a news conference. “We want our customers back very rapidly.”

Meanwhile, the dispute between United and the Air Line Pilots Assn. moved to U.S. District Court, where Judge Nicholas Bua is being asked to resolve issues not settled when leaders of the pilots union ratified an agreement late Friday night, ending the strike by 5,000 pilots.

One issue before Bua is the fate of about 570 pilot trainees, almost all of whom honored picket lines. United says it does not consider them company employees, but the union disagrees.

Another issue is the seniority status of pilots who worked during the strike. Strikers have expressed concern that pilots who crossed picket lines will be given preferential bidding assignments.

At the news conference, Hartigan said United should be operating more than 90% of its flights by July 1. He said the resumption of service will be done on a step-by-step basis, with about 550 flights operating by Friday. United will be operating all of its flights by the end of the summer, Hartigan added.

United operated about 217 of its 1,550 daily flights during the strike.

Hartigan also said that United has hired about 700 pilots since the strike began and that they are undergoing training. Some of them will be used for United’s expansion program, which includes the purchase of 30 airplanes and of Pan Am’s Pacific routes, he said.

Joe Hopkins, a United spokesman, said those 700 trainees will become United employees regardless of court action.

John Zeeman, United’s executive vice president-marketing and planning, said that, to gain the 50% rebate, a passenger flying between July 1 and July 7 must fill out a form distributed on board. Refunds will be mailed within eight weeks.

Other promotions include free upgrading from coach to first class, when seats are available, for members of United’s frequent-flier program.

That offer will be available through Aug. 15. Starting in mid-August, the first-class upgrade will be available on a standby basis, and the charge will be scaled by distance flown.

A third program offered until June 30 involves United Ultra-Saver fares. Instead of having the usual 30-day advance purchase, customers can buy tickets seven days in advance. The Ultra-Saver fares offer discounts of up to 70%.

Leaders of the pilots announced Friday that they had ratified a new, three-year contract. A few hours earlier, United flight attendants, who had honored the pilots’ picket lines, said they would return to work without a back-to-work agreement. The pilots had delayed final action on a settlement until the Assn. of Flight Attendants agreed to return to work.