T
he completion of a long-term proj-
ect generally creates excitement.
But for Olga Hovland, an aircra
maintenance technician and inspector
at United’s San Francisco Maintenance
Center, the excitement of bringing a high-
profile three-year project to a close is also
tinged with a bit of nostalgia.
This spring, the last of United’s inter-
national three-class widebody aircraft
will enter a hangar at the San Francisco
facility to undergo extensive cabin
reconfiguration, with the Boeing 777s
ge ing all-new flat-bed seats in United
Global First and United BusinessFirst,
personal on-demand entertainment
systems, new seats and video monitors
in United Economy and in-seat power.
These modern aircra interiors—whose
premium-cabin elements were first
featured on the airline’s Boeing 767 and
747
aircra —have been a source of pride
for United employees since their debut
in the second half of the last decade. But
the B777 renovations in San Francisco are
particularly close to the hearts of United’s
Technical Operations employees.
“
It’s a bittersweet feeling,” says
Hovland, who, before the current B777
project, helped transform the interiors
of dozens of Airbus A320s from an all-
economy configuration into leather-clad
standouts. “In many ways this has been
the highlight of my career with United.
I’m a li le sad that this particular project
is coming to an end. But I’m also proud of
our accomplishments and excited about
our future opportunities.
“
We all knowhow important these new
cabins are to the success of our airline, and
when the customers rate United, they are
rating us: the technicians and others who
did the work.”
Technicians completed the first such
B777 cabin conversion in early 2010. Work
that requiredmore than twomonths back
then can now be done in half the time
or less—which is the kind of improve-
ment that depends on direct input from
employees like Hovland.
“
Everybody involved with this project
has contributed, but what makes Olga
special is how she combined the roles
of planner and executor,” says Jay Patel,
operating manager for the cabin retro-
fit project since the beginning. “There
is nothing about this project that she
cannot do.”
“
Shewas a big part of howwe improved
our performance, working smarter, faster
and be er, plane by plane,” addsHovland’s
supervisor, Myron Yorks.
Hovland, a native of San Francisco, once
dreamed of becoming a flight a endant.
But a er her brother Joaquin got a job at
the United maintenance center, he con-
vinced her to apply there because of the
variety of work and career opportunities.
“
By then, I was interested in doing some-
thing that was very hands-on,” Hovland
says. “And I was always interested in
proving to my brothers that I could do
anything they could do.”
Hovland joinedUnited in 1990 as a clerk
and held a number of positions over the
years—from production data controller
to maintenance planning analyst—while
working towards her mechanic’s license.
(
A third sibling, Guadalupe, also works at
the center now.)
Andwhile the B777 reconfigurationwill
soon come to an end, Hovland says, “the
great thing about United is that there will
always be interesting projects like this.”
On the best projects, Hovland adds, she
learns to appreciate the process as well as
the product.
“
This is about much more than just us
technicians,” Hovland says. “Therewere so
many others—storekeepers, supervisors,
planners, engineers, our cleaning crews—
I could go on and on. What I get to tell
my friends and family is that I am part
of the team that created this world-class
premium product for our customers.”
Trading Spaces
For United’s Olga Hovland, customer comfort is personal
BY PETE RAPALUS
14
JANUARY 2013
•
HEMISPHERESMAGAZINE.COM
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