United Airlines

UNITED AIRLINES (UA)

  • HQ: Chicago (ORD) IL
  • Alliance Member: Star Alliance
  • Website: www.united.com
  • Contact: 1-800-864-8331
  • Baltimore: 301-576-0505

United Airlines was founded in 1931 and is one of the biggest airlines around the globe. It has its main headquarter located in Chicago, Illinoi. Considering its fleet size of 794 and 342 destinations, United Airlines stands in the third position as the largest airline in the world. On the other hand, United is also one of the most influential pioneers of the partnership “Star Alliance”.  The Airline has eight major hubs in the United States consisting of the following airports:

UNITED AIRLINES HUBS

AIRPORT AIRPORT CODE STATE
Chicago Ohare ORD IL
Denver DEN CO
Houston IAH TX
Los Angeles LAX CA
Newark EWR NJ
San Francisco SFO CA
Dulles IAS DC
Merger with Continental Airlines

In the year 2012, Continental Airlines merged with United Airlines, and the merger was a successful one as the market control reached many more destination. As a result, the merger gave way to compete with other airlines like American Airlines and Delta Airlines. It was a complete merger including frequent flyer program, websites and passenger service system. And all the airplanes were repainted.

Awards and Recognition

United has won multiple award and merits in its lifetime. However, United Airline also faces several set back in its reputation when its security had to forcefully pull out a passenger from an airplane as it was overbooked. United also became one of the victim of the hijacked plane in 9/11. Overtime, it has earned its pros and cons however United Airlines is growing by day and is not likely to slow down anytime soon.

UNITED AIRLINES BOOKING PROCESS

There are several ways that United Airlines can be booked. Some of which are online, Phone, Agency and Mobile App.

United Airline Check in Online

Here are the steps to book reservation online with United Airlines. Firstly, go to the official website, www.united.com. From the home page, select the departure, destination, one way, round trip, number of passenger, and cabin. Hit the search button and it will take you to the second page where you can get the flight options. There will be a different price option for the same plane, depending on the cabin and class of service. You can pick the flight of your choice from the option and click next. Review the flight and price from the next page. On that page you will get an option for add-on like hotel, car and insurance.

Once you select the options you will see the price changes as shown in the right hand corner. From there you can click next where it is the final payment page. Update the card information and click complete. You will get the confirmation number on the page, thus generating an automated email.

Reservation by Phone

You can also book ticket by calling the toll free number of United Airlines 1 800 864 8331. Once you dial the United Airlines number, you will first get options in the IVR. It will prompt if you have a mileage plus account, or for instance, details like new reservation or existing reservation (Cancel/re-book). However, simply ask for an agent if you wish to be connected directly.

United Airlines Call Center office is outsourced and is located round the globe. United Airlines customer service is available 24/7, so you can talk to them any time of the day or night. While the call is connected to a United Airlines Representative, they will prompt for the necessary information and they will book the reservation for you according to your requirement.

Meanwhile, make sure you keep your options open so that the agent can get you good rates. Once the reservation is booked you will be provided with the confirmation number or ticket number and an email will be sent out to you.

Mobile App Booking

For those of you have already has mobile app with United Flight, you can also make a selection of the flight that you wish to book from the app itself. The procedure is fairly simple, it’s a type click and select option and you will also be able to complete the payment on the app itself. There is an advantage of using mobile app, you will be able to check in for the flight from the mobile app too.

Authorized Travel Agency Booking

Around 70% of the tickets on United Airlines planes are booked by travel agency. United Airlines have very close connection with the travel agent and thus provided them with Net Fares, bulk fares and commissioned fares. These are discounted rates that United Airlines provided the Travel Agency. Agency bulk fare types of tickets are cheaper than the one available online (except for the basic economy). The Airline authorized discounted fares to the travel agency through the platform of ARC (Airline Reporting Corporation), IATA and the FAA guidelines. This is the reason why we recommend you to compare the prices around before you make the final booking because you could save a lot of money on your booking.

UNITED AIRLINES CHECK IN
  1. ONLINE CHECK IN: You can check in with United Airlines online. Online check in will open up within 24 hours of the flight departure. It is one of the smartest ways to check in. Check in can be done online by clicking this link: Add your confirmation number and last name and follow the steps > assign your seat > add your bags > make payment, if applicable. Once the check in is complete, you can print your boarding pass directly or you can send a printable boarding pass in your email.
  2. CHECK IN COUNTER AT THE AIRPORT: For those of you who do not have access to online check in. You can check in at the airport. Go straight to United Airlines counter and provide your confirmation/ticket number and your last name. United Airlines representative will help you check in and print the boarding pass. That is the one and only hard copy that you require to board the plane.
  3. AIRPORT KIOSK: United have integrated check in at the airport kiosk. You will also be able to check in for the United Airlines flight at the Kiosk. You simply need to add your ticket number and name. And follow the prompt given at the kiosk. After which, you can directly print your boarding pass from the Kiosk itself.
  4. MOBILE APP CHECK-IN: If you have installed United mobile app in your phone. You can also check in for the flight using the mobile app. Once the check in process is complete it will send a printable code to the email. And you can also print it out from any access including the airport.
UNITED AIRLINES BAGGAGE POLICY

The baggage policy of United Airlines is fairly standard as compared to all the other major airlines in the United States.

United Airlines Carry-on bags: You can carry one carry on plus a personal item (like a backpack, knapsack or a laptop bag) on-board the United Airlines plane (Except for basic Economy ticket). The carry on should not exceed 45 linear inches as it has to be stowed in the overhead bin or underneath the seat in front of you. In case you are travelling with a pet, then it will consequently replace the carry on.

United Airlines Checked baggage: All checked bags with United Airlines should be less than 62 linear inches and 50 pounds. Anything beyond the weight and size limit is chargeable. The cost of the first checked bag with United Airlines is $ 30.00 and the second bag is $ 40.00. Please be aware that the handles and wheels are included in the measurement. Finally, United does not encourage carrying extra bags although it is allowed with extra fees of $150.00 per bag till the 10th bag.

UNITED AIRLINES FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAM

United Airlines frequent flyer program is called MileagePlus. It is a loyalty program for travelers to earn miles each time a member fly with United. The program was started in 1979 as Mileage Plus but was changed to MileagePlus in 2011 after the merger with Continental Airlines.

Members can earn miles after every flight taken on United Airlines. Miles can also be earned by several allotted shopping and use of United MileagePlus credit card.

United Airlines MileagePlus miles can be redeemed to book flight tickets by paying only the basic taxes. Use the miles upgrade seats and cabin. Above all, redeem miles with United and United partners, Star Alliance which consist of 28 airline members.

Elite Status/Premier Status

There are 5 major status in the MileagePlus Program: Premier Silver, Premier gold, Premier Platinum and Premier 1k. On top of that there is another status called “Global Services” which is the highest status in the program.

Premier Silver is the lowest in the category, these are the members flying under 25,000 miles in a year. 1K is the status where a member has flown 1k miles in the previous year cycle.

Million Miler are those who have been a member of MileagePlus program for a long period of time.

Premier members of MileagePlus program are eligible for free upgrade to business class, where business class seats are available.

There are different ways to accrue miles apart from flying. Miles can be purchased from United Airlines, it can also be earned by purchasing from several shopping centers, United offers credit card where points can be earned for every dollar spent on the card. Finally, miles can be transferred from one account to another. However, such miles will not be counted for upgrading to elite status.

MileagePlus Ticket

There are different types of mileage ticket. The super-saver mileage ticket cost 25000 miles for a round trip + the basic government taxes and security fees. These types of tickets are more restrictive in terms of making change. As the number of seats allotted for super saver ticket is very less. In order to get more availability, passenger can opt to pay more miles. United Airlines have also made co-pay available to customers. In a co-pay reservation, passengers will pay half the miles and pay the rest with credit card.

BASIC ECONOMY FARE

In order to compete with the cheap price that the low cost carrier like Southwest Airlines and Spirit Airlines are delivering. Allegiant Air also provides competitive fares. So, United introduced the Basic Economy fare. Basic economy is a low cost ticket available online, over the phone and with the travel agencies associated with United. It has its setback, as the ticket is highly restricted. The basic economy ticket is non-refundable, non-changeable and carry on is not allowed. If passenger fails to fly on the designated flight no credit will be provided for further use. However, it comes with a silver lining. The Basic Economy Ticket is fully refundable within 24 hours of booking the reservation.