A common flaw of company mergers is the failure to recognize the contributions from the past - the positive heritages the different companies have brought to the new corporation. Yes, the new must have its own identity to which all stakeholders can unite, but this should not come at the expense of recognizing what had been accomplished previously. Boeing, for example, following the acquisition of parts of Rockwell and merger with McDonnell Douglas had new organizations called Boeing North American, Douglas Aircraft, and Phantom Works. Each recognized the contribution of a component that had been merged into the new Boeing. Even employees associated with the Seattle jet maker were proud to have the connection with the series of incredible DC series of airliners. The corporation though did not tolerate such diversity long, and the Douglas name quickly disappeared, followed by North American, and almost Phantom Works.
Now the Proud Bird with the Golden Tail is Flying the Friendly Skies. A new United is coming into existence. There appears to be a recognition that both airlines have heritages to be recalled. United is planning to paint a Boeing 757 in a retro-United paint scheme. I hope they will paint one in a Continental scheme, too.
You have the opportunity to help decide which retro-United paint scheme the airline will use. Go to http://bit.ly/fxDndT and vote. I favor the DC-4 scheme even though the Mainliner scheme is what I most closely associate with the airline. Vote and let your voice be heard.
Kudos, too, American and US Airways, both of which have retro-painted airliners. Among transportation companies, though, no company has acknowledged its heritages as has Union Pacific, which has a small fleet of locomotives in heritage paint schemes.
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