Continental, UAL herald managers for merged airline

CHICAGO: UAL Corp and Continental Airlines Inc, which plan to merge this year to create the world's largest airline, announced a new management lineup on Tuesday that puts Continental executives in choice spots.
UAL, parent of United Airlines, and Continental, said they have proposed naming Continental Chief Financial Officer Zane Rowe as CFO of the combined company.
UAL Chief Administrative Officer Pete McDonald would be chief operations officer. Continental Chief Marketing Officer Jim Compton would keep that job title at the new company.
"The benches were deep on both sides," said William Swelbar, an airline researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The two airlines also announced on Tuesday the departure of two top UAL executives: President John Tague and CFO Kathryn Mikells.
"The Mikells change surprised me quite a bit just given the remarkable job that she's done at United over the last couple of years and dealing with some very difficult liquidity issues," Swelbar said.
Swelbar added: "Obviously Zane and his team have done a very good job -- that's hard to argue."
UAL announced plans to buy Continental in an all-stock deal worth $3.17 billion. Continental Chief Executive Jeff Smisek is slated to run the merged company.
If the deal wins government approval, the close is expected by year end and the new carrier will be known as United Airlines and be based in Chicago. The deal won regulatory approval from the European Commission on Tuesday.
Shares of UAL and Continental were up in early trade alongside other US airlines. At midday, UAL shares were down 1.8 per cent at $23.81 on Nasdaq. Continental was also down 1.8 per cent at $25.19 on the New York Stock Exchange.
The new leadership team needs board approval to become official.
The team will appoint other executives and select the remainder of the leadership team. Industry experts had expected departures among top executives and speculated on which company's leaders would claim the top jobs.
UAL CEO Glenn Tilton is to be the nonexecutive chairman of the new airline. "On the occasion of the proposed merger with Continental, this team that will leave the company following (the) close does so with the appreciation of our board, our colleagues and all our stakeholders, for their significant contributions," Tilton said in a statement. Other proposed appointments include Continental's Mike Bonds to lead human resources and labor relations. -Reuters