United Continental Holdings received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approval for a single operating certificate, marking another significant achievement in the integration of United Airlines and Continental Airlines. This regulatory milestone, while significant from an operational policies and procedures perspective, does not change how customers interact with the airline.
The two carriers went through a rigorous 18-month process of aligning operating policies and procedures to obtain a single operating certificate from the FAA. A team of more than 500 employees from both carriers worked together to evaluate closely each pre-integration program, process and operating specification from both airlines to determine the best choice for the new United. The team streamlined more than 440 operational manuals, programs and procedures down to approximately 260 manuals for the new United – a process that involved roughly 2,000 changes.
Effective November 30th, air traffic control communications will refer to all United and Continental flights as “United.”
