United has had 2 furloughs since the 1970s. 9/11 and GFC. AA and CAL also furloughed for 9/11 and GFC as did other airlines. Also there is nothing inherently magical about United or any airline that "it" likes to furlough, etc. United last 2 furloughs were different management teams. I laugh when someone says "I don't want to go to United because I am likely to get furloughed. United has hired around 26,000 pilots since 1985 and only about 2,500 have been furloughed, yes some were furloughed twice. That means that the odds that a United pilot was furloughed was less than 10%. Some of the 9/11 furloughs were back after 18 months and that was their only furlough.