United faces steep climb to fix reputation

New York

THE merger of Continental Airlines and United Airlines in 2010 was supposed to combine Continental's reputation for solid customer service with the broader reach of United's domestic and international network.

Instead, the five-year-old marriage has turned into an exercise in frustration for United fliers, with frequent delays, cancelled flights and lost bags. Like many fans of the former Continental, Paul Wigdor, a managing partner at Ascendant Advisors, an investment advisory firm based in Houston, still bemoans the loss of the airline. "Continental was probably the best airline in my opinion that you could travel on pre-United," said Mr Wigdor, a New Jersey resident who flies about twice a month to Houston from Newark on United. "I would say United is one of the lowest."