United adds new features to mobile app
United Airlines has enhanced its mobile app with a host of new features.
It aims to save customers even more time and further improve the overall travel experience:
It includes a ‘Virtual Gate’ with real-time updates about which groups are boarding and a progress bar that shows how many people have boarded, eliminating the need to wait around the gate area.
United Club ‘closest and best’ feature recommends nearby United Club locations based on proximity to travelers’ gates and available capacity, with capacity insights initially offered at ORD and rolling out to more airports in 2026.
New app features include an upgraded mobile bag tracking feature includes a package-delivery-style tracker that shows real-time locations throughout the journey.
The app’s personalized updates include guidance on traveling with strollers or wheelchairs, reminders for required travel documents and biometric boarding options.
United has improved it with AI-supported navigation tools that will predict what features would most benefit customers during their trip and personalize content to each traveler.
The upgrades come as the airline expects to welcome more than 10 million people during the winter holiday travel season, the most ever for United during that time.
“The more information our customers have, the more confident they feel about their trip – and that’s particularly important during the holidays,” said David Kinzelman, United’s Chief Customer Officer.
“The United app gives travelers personalized, real-time updates during their entire travel journey, helping our customers feel like they have a personal assistant guiding them.”
More than 84% of United customers use the app the day they fly, and since beta-testing the latest app enhancements, the airline found customers appreciated the transparent communication, time saved and real-time updates.
United’s new app features are rolling out to customers and will be widely available ahead of the holiday travel period.
Related News Stories: United adding 20% more flying at San Francisco hub United expands winter schedule United Invests in next-gen blended wing aircraft start-up United launching flights to new Europe destinations United adds SAF supply at three airports American Airlines adds 30th Mexico destination Vietnam adds more European countries for visa-free travel United Airlines hails Newark turnaround Glasgow and New York linked to each other again in 2026 Jet2 adds three new destinations for summer 2026
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