CHICAGO, Sept. 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, United
Airlines is expanding enhancements to its boarding at gates in
airports around the world. The updated better boarding process
gives customers more space at the gate, less time waiting in line
and improved boarding information to create a less stressful
environment.
"The boarding process was one of the top areas customers told us
they wanted improved," said Sarah
Murphy, vice president of Global Operations Strategy,
Planning and Design at United. "We listened to customers and
employees as we tested a variety of processes on thousands of
flights until we found a better boarding process that results in
less time spent waiting in lines, improved communication and a
better way to recognize our Premier® customers while balancing out
the number of passengers in each boarding group."
The improvements start with reducing the number of boarding
lanes from five to two, giving customers added space, more time to
relax and less time spent in line. With more time, passengers can
enjoy a nearby United Club or lounge or airport restaurants and
shops before their flight. United app users will also receive a new
alert when boarding has begun for their flight, making it easier to
know when to make their way to the gate. In the future, United will
expand these notifications to text messages. Digital displays in
the gate area also keep customers informed with updated helpful
boarding information.
United's enhanced boarding also provides an upgraded experience
for some of the airline's top MileagePlus members. United's
MileagePlus Premier 1K customers who
previously boarded in group one, will now be invited to pre-board,
and United's MileagePlus Premier Gold customers will also move up
in the boarding process from group two to group one. These changes
not only give these customers more time to settle into their seats,
but also help balance out the number of customers in each of the
airline's five boarding groups. United is also expanding its
military pre-boarding group from uniformed military members to also
include all active duty military members to even better recognize
those serving our country. Qualifying United credit card holders
will continue to receive priority boarding in group two.
United started testing a variety of boarding concepts in the
fall of 2017, soliciting feedback from customers and employees
along the way. After testing these changes at numerous airports,
United received overwhelmingly positive feedback from customers and
employees who experienced the better boarding process. United began
rolling out aspects of this process, including updated signage at
select airports across its network earlier this year, and putting
it into effect at all gates at Los
Angeles International Airport in February. Beginning
September 18, the better boarding
will appear at over 1,000 gates across the globe.
For more information on better boarding, including a video
tutorial, visit the United Hub.
About United
United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,600
flights a day to 357 airports across five continents. In 2017,
United and United Express operated more than 1.6 million flights
carrying more than 148 million customers. United is proud to have
the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S.
mainland hubs in Chicago,
Denver, Houston, Los
Angeles, Newark/New York,
San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 757 mainline
aircraft and the airline's United Express carriers operate 551
regional aircraft. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193
countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit
united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. The
common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc.,
is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".
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SOURCE United Airlines