Pride in London 2023 has appointed United Airlines as headline sponsor and official airline. Airline employees will participate in this year's Pride in London parade on Saturday 1 July 2023. United is also entering a float in the parade. This is the second year United has been the official airline for Pride in London. United has previously marched together in parades and attended festivals in the UK and globally. "At United Airlines, we have a dynamic and diverse group of employees and believe in equality for everyone," said Mike Henning, United's EQUAL President. "To be the official airline for Pride in London is an amazing moment for United." EQUAL is United's employee-run Business Resource Group promoting an inclusive organization that benefits all LGBTQ+ coworkers and allies. This summer, United operates up to 23 daily flights from London Heathrow to the US. It has nonstop daily services to Chicago, New York/Newark, Washington/Dulles, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston.

United Airlines has appointed its first Chief Trash Officer. Sesame Street's Oscar the Grouch has been named due to his love of rubbish. United Airlines'  consumer campaign will promote the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) more broadly. The new campaign featuring Oscar includes video, digital, and social ads. It follows the character's journey from job listing to C-suite office starring alongside real United employees. In a first among U.S. airlines, United now shows an estimate of each flight's carbon footprint on a per economy seat passenger basis. Travelers have the option to contribute to supplement United's investment in the UAV Sustainable Flight Fund. This a first-of-its-kind investment vehicle designed to support start-ups focused on decarbonizing air travel. "United has invested in more sustainable aviation fuel production than any airline in the world, by far," said United Chief Communications Officer Josh Earnest. As a part of the collaboration, United  is supporting Sesame Workshop through a donation to the nonprofit educational organization's Welcome Sesame initiative.

United Airlines has joined hands with Virgin Australia to connect American travelers to the world's largest Pride event. It welcomed travelers to Sydney WorldPride with a special flight staffed entirely by members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community. The flight departed February 22 from San Francisco with festivities at the gate, giveaways onboard and a welcome party in Sydney. Virgin Australia has offered special domestic flights in Australia for Pride since 2021. It is the first time United is joining this effort. "United is thrilled to join the party and help people celebrate Pride in Sydney," said Lori Augustine, Operations VP for United in San Francisco. "At United, we recognize, embrace and celebrate the differences that make our customers and employees unique." United was the first U.S. airline to offer non-binary gender options throughout all its booking channels in 2019.

United Airlines has launched the United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund.^. It is a first-of-its-kind investment vehicle to support start-ups focused on decarbonizing air travel. The fund starts with more than $100 million in investments from United and its  partners. These are Air Canada, Boeing, GE Aerospace, JPMorgan Chase, and Honeywell. Through the fund, corporate participants will invest alongside United in SAF technology and production start-ups. In the past two years alone, United Airlines Ventures has invested in sustainable flight start-ups such as Cemvita, Dimensional Energy, and NEXT Renewable Fuels. Anyone who buys a ticket on the United website or app now has the option to contribute to supplement United's investment in the fund. The first 10,000 people who choose to contribute will each receive 500 MileagePlus Miles. United CEO Scott Kirby said: "We're creating a system that drives investment to build a new industry around sustainable aviation fuel."

United Airlines has revised its family seating policy making it easier to seat kids with adults for free. It includes customers who purchase Basic Economy tickets. United's new policy is made possible by a new seat map feature that finds available adjacent seats at the time of booking. The online seat engine first reviews all available free Economy seats and then opens complimentary upgrades. Customers traveling with children under 12 will start to see more adjacent seat options immediately. The complete family seating policy change becomes effective in early March. When adjacent seats are not available prior to travel, United's new policy also lets customers switch for free to another flight. Customers also won't be charged if there is a difference in fare price. Linda Jojo, CCO for United said, "We're focused on delivering a great experience for our younger passengers and their parents." Since last summer, the airline has worked to improve its ability to seat families together more easily by optimizing the airline's seat engine.  

United Airlines has appointed Karolien De Hertogh as new UK sales director. De Hertogh takes over on 15 February 2023. She brings more than 15 years of industry experience and replaces Bob Schumacher. De Hertogh reports to Managing Director International Sales, Marcel Fuchs She will be responsible for spearheading United's overall sales strategy in the .UK and Ireland. It comes as United expands with a second daily flight between London Heathrow and Los Angeles, starting 26 March 2023. United is introducing a new daily nonstop seasonal service between Shannon and Chicago O’Hare,. “Karolien brings expertise to our team as we build on our success in the UK and Ireland,” Fuchs said." Joining United in 2007 as Regional Sales Manager for the UK Ireland and Belgium, she was later appointed as Head of Corporate Sales, UK.

United Airlines is exploring an alternative source of sustainable aviation fuel. It teamed up with Tallgrass and Green Plains Inc to form a new joint venture called Blue Blade Energy. The JV hopes to develop SAF technology that uses ethanol. If successful, Blue Blade is expected to build a pilot facility in 2024. A full-scale facility could begin commercial operations by 2028. It could provide for enough SAF to fly more than 50,000 flights annually. Blue Blade's SAF technology was developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory . "The use of SAF is the most effective and scalable tool the airline industry has to reduce carbon emissions," said United Airlines Ventures President Michael Leskinen. United, Tallgrass, and Green Plains will each provide their industry expertise to help develop the joint venture. Tallgrass will manage research and development and Green Plains will supply the low-carbon ethanol feedstock. Blue Blade Energy is one of the largest direct investments from United Airlines Ventures.  

Another severe air turbulence incident took place on a US flight. It sent at least five people to hospital. The United Airlines flight landed safely in Houston after arriving from Río de Janeiro. The two passengers and three crew members sent to hospital suffered minor injuries. On Sunday, 36 people on a Hawaiian Airlines flight were injured after encountering heavy turbulence. Some had serious injuries.

United Airlines announced the largest ever aircraft order for widebody jets of any US carrier. United ordered 100 Boeing 787 Dreamliners with options to buy 100 more. It is part of the ambitious United Next operational plan. United expects to take delivery of the new planes between 2024 and 2032. United exercised options to purchase 44 Boeing 737 Max aircraft for delivery between 2024 and 2026. United now expects to take delivery of about 700 new narrow and widebody aircraft by the end of 2032. Approximately 100 planes of the new widebody order will replace older Boeing 767 and Boeing 777 aircraft, with all 767 aircraft removed from the United fleet by 2030. “The 737 MAX and 787 will help United accelerate its fleet modernization and global growth strategy," said Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

United Airlines is bringing back kids' in-flight meals in time for holiday travel. Children will enjoy both breakfast and lunch/dinner menus on select United flights where complimentary meals are served. To request a kids' meal, customers can choose the ‘Children's Special Meals’ option when booking a ticket or add a request to an existing reservation using the United mobile app. Starting next year, kids' meals will be available for pre-order to customers traveling in eligible cabins on select United flights. "We're committed to providing a great onboard experience for all and offer our youngest flyers new, kid-friendly food options on select routes," said Aaron McMillan, United's managing director of hospitality and planning. "We hope this helps to put parents' minds at ease as they prepare for travel with us." Kids' meals are available now on flights greater than 2,000 miles, in cabins where complimentary meal service is offered, and include kid-friendly breakfast and lunch/dinner options. For select domestic flights (including Hawaii) and international flights departing the US, the children's menu includes French toast with sausage, fruit and a croissant for breakfast, and chicken tenders with fruit, a dinner roll and dessert for lunch and dinner.

United Airlines has kicked off its largest ever transatlantic expansion. In total, United will launch or resume 30 transatlantic flights from mid-April through early June. This includes adding new nonstop flights to five leisure destinations not served by other North American airlines These include Amman, Jordan; Bergen; Azores, Portugal; Palma de Mallorca, and Tenerife. The airline is also launching five new nonstop flights to London, Milan, Zurich, Munich and Nice. United is also resuming fourteen Atlantic routes the airline has historically served and adding frequencies in six others. The transatlantic route network will be more than 25% larger than in 2019. "We have long anticipated a strong demand recovery, and we're proud to offer our customers more options and access than ever before," said Patrick Quayle, senior vice president of international network and alliances at United. United is also launching new service between Boston and London Heathrow, Denver and Munich and between Chicago and Milan. In addition, United is also growing its presence in Africa. On May 8, United will increase its service to offer daily flights between Washington/Dulles and Accra, Ghana. The airline will also extend its existing seasonal service to Cape Town to year-round, with nonstop flights from New York/Newark resuming June 5.