Queen Ginger has flown Continental for many, many, years, and has never flown legacy United, but has never heard good things about them. The Queen has many friends and acquaintances who have worked at Continental on the ground here in Houston and in the air, and they have always spoken very highly of Continental as an employer. Former CEO Gordon Bethune is credited with turning Continental around by changing the culture, and current United CEO Jeff Smisek was, as I understand it, groomed by Bethune to take over the helm after his retirement. I see know reason to believe he can't create the same culture at the new United.
There's lots of buzz in Houston about what will happen to the service and reliability of air service from the new United in Houston. Truth be told, other than the United name and Chicago as headquarters, it all seems like Continental to Queen Ginger! The globe livery and blue and gold branding remain as it was at Continental, with only the name changed. They kept Continental's website (the best, by far, in the industry!) and changed the name there. They kept the service in the airport lounges (free booze!) and changed the names. The frequent flyer program, while called Mileage Plus, looks a lot more like One Pass than whatever United had. Honestly, the changes Queen G have seen have been cosmetic, and well-handled.
Boy Ginger is QUITE the expert on organizational change, having been through it several times in his long career. He's seen it handled badly, and he's seen it handled well, and it seems to him that the new United is doing it right! Give them a chance, Houston! You may be surprised! Any Chicagoan GingerSnaps have a different perspective on the new United?
Honestly, I'm not surprised by this turn of events- the programming on Logo was dreadful! How many repeats of that stupid "Queer as Folk" can a person watch?! Other than RuPaul's Drag Race and the long defunct "Big Gay Sketch Show", the programming on Logo, was, well, queer. There, I said it. Blast me in the comments if you wish.
Honestly, as the GLBTQ community continues to fight for more freedom, more rights, and more "normality", it's to be expected that there will be less and less need for things to be specifically labelled "gay". Gay bars will just be bars, Gay TV will just be TV, and Gay pride will just be a big celebration for everyone, like St. Patrick's Day!
Change is good! I hope my little blog helps make it happen, in some tiny little way, shape, or form!
3 comments:
Must be a North South thing, I have had better luck with United than Continental.
i like the idea of not having to identify a bar as anything else besides a swanky place or a dive....the clientele shouldn't make that designation either, it should be decided by a) what their definition of a 'top shelf' drink is and b) whether they serve PBR in the can or not.
xxalainaxx
I don't recall ever having any major problems with United. Where we've run into problems has been the flight between South Bend and O'Hare. Late flights often get canceled, leaving you stranded in Chicago overnight. Ken has had to take the bus back! We do our best to avoid going through O'Hare, and will usually connect through Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, or Atlanta. I hope the transition goes well...I read that they switched over their computer system recently, with no major problems.
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