United Airlines

United Airlines, Inc. measured by fleet size and the number of routes, is one of the largest airlines in the world, headquartered at Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

"It's time to fly" is the United Airline's slogan.

United Airline's logo features a stylized "U" slanted 68 degrees.

The company was established by amalgamating several airlines in the late 1920s. 

Walter T. Varney started Varney Air Lines in 1926 and Varney Speed Lines in 1934, airlines that would eventually become United Airlines and Continental Airlines.

At first, the airline served as an airmail carrier flying from New York to San Francisco via Chicago and Salt Lake City. In 1930, the company started carrying passengers and pioneered the notion of female flight attendants (at Ellen Church’s suggestion) creating a new profession for women. Including Church, all 8 of the first flight attendants were registered nurses.

 During the Second World War, United Airlines employees served in the armed forces, piloting bombers, transporting mail, and participating in various battles.

In 1962, upon its merger with Capital Airlines, the company became the world’s second-largest air carrier, being exceeded only by Aeroflot.

In 1991, due to the financial difficulties of Pan American World Airways, United Airlines decided to purchase its routes between the States and London Heathrow. After the bankruptcy of Pan Am, its Pacific route system was also acquired by United.

In the September 11th terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Al-Qaeda members hijacked two United Airlines airliners. Boeing 767-200ER crashed into the south tower while Boeing 757 – near Pennsylvania. As a result, the company reported a financial loss of nearly 2.1 billion dollars. However, thanks to the support of the U.S. government, it quickly returned to financial balance.

In 2010, United merged with Continental – both airlines continued to operate as subsidiaries of the newly created United Continental Holdings with a fleet of 692 aircraft and 370 airports in 59 countries served.

United operates 238 domestic destinations and 118 international destinations in 48 countries or regions across five continents. Since spring 2021, United flies once again regularly to all 6 inhabited continents following the reinstatement of scheduled year-round flights to Africa.

United has eight hubs, with Chicago–O'Hare being its largest in terms of passengers carried and the number of departures.

As of May 2021, United Airlines operated a fleet of 834 aircraft with an additional 49 aircraft planned or on order: all of which are either Boeing or Airbus.

 United Airlines offers Premium, Business and Economy classes. In the two former classes, there’s at least 120 cm of leg room and the leather seats recline into a fully flat bed. Passengers have access to individually adjustable reading lamps, seat-back screens, and video players. Sets of toiletries, pillows, and linens are also available to them. 

Economy class passengers are provided with complimentary beverages, including soft drinks, juice, tea, and freshly brewed coffee. Freshly made meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) can be chosen and purchased from the onboard menu. Beer, wine, and other alcoholic beverages are available on all routes. Business and premium class travelers can enjoy delicious meals, starters, ice cream and desserts, fruit, cheese, alcohol drinks, and freshly brewed coffee. Product rating includes seats, amenities, food & beverages, IFE, cleanliness etc, and service rating is for both cabin staff and ground staff.

In January 2021, Chief Executive Scott Kirby put forward the possibility for the company to mandate employees to receive the Covid-19 vaccine while cautioning against the potential difficulties in implementing the mandate, making United one of the first companies to attempt such an endeavour.

United Airlines is a founding member of the Star Alliance  (Air Canada, Lufthansa, SAS, and Thai Airways International), the world's largest airline alliance with a total of 28 member airlines.

Skytrax certified United Airlines as a 3-star airline for the quality of its airport and onboard products and staff service. Product rating includes seats, amenities, food & beverages, IFE, cleanliness etc, and service rating is for both cabin staff and ground staff.