Last updated on November 2nd, 2022 at 11:39 am

United Airlines Overview

United Airlines is one of the most prominent airlines operating in the United States of America. It is also the third largest fleet around the globe, operating on all the continents (except Antarctica). Commencing its operations in the year 1931, United operates on major routes both inside and outside of the U.S.

Destinations Covered by United Airlines

A fleet of more than 800 aircraft allows United to perform operations on a vast number of routes. That is to say; United Airlines currently operates on a total of 190 routes – 79 Domestic Routes & 111 International Routes.

The destinations range from within North America to every other continent globally.

Popular Destinations

Being the third largest airline in the world, it’s expected of United to provide travel to some of the most popular travel destinations in the world. The list, however, is quite extensive, so here are some of the top popular destinations that United Airlines Operate on.

United Airlines Cabin Classes & Their Features

Like almost any airline, United categorizes its cabin seats into separate classes, all with different seats & services that passengers can avail of. This is done in order to allow a vast financially demographics of passengers can afford airfares.

Keep in mind that every Cabin Class will include all the services of its preceding cabin class.

Below is a list of all the cabin classes that passengers can select from while booking their United airfare and their features:

Basic Economy

As the name suggests, this is the most elementary cabin class available on United Airlines. It is the cheapest fare class on United, although that doesn’t mean that you don’t get access to any service. The passengers traveling in the Basic Economy class on United have access to:

• Carry-On Baggage (Only on international flights)
• 1-Personal Item (not exceeding 9x10x17 inches)
• Paid Seat Selection
• Certain United Mileage Benefits
• FareLock℠

Economy (Non-Refundable/Refundable)—

This cabin class is one level above the Basic Economy Class; this fare provides passengers with some additional services in addition to Economy, like:

• Complimentary Advanced Seat Selection
• Cabin Class Upgrade
• Free Flight Change
• Carry-On Baggage

Also, this fare can be further divided into two classes-

1. Refundable Economy Fare
2. Non-Refundable Economy Fare

Economy Plus—

Economy Plus, also known as Premium Economy, is the most valued class of Economy Fare. Although passengers of this fare get most of the services & luxuries that United provides, this fare also costs significantly more than the rest of the Economy Fares.

The passengers traveling on an Economy Plus fare enjoy:

• Extra Legroom
• Complimentary Seat Selection
• Cabin Class Upgrade
• Complimentary Flight Change
• Carry-On Baggage
• Refundable Fare

First Class—

This is by far the most luxurious airfare that is available to United Passengers. The First-Class cabin fares are the most expensive airfares passengers can buy for the ultimate air travel experience onboard United. Passengers traveling using this fare get to enjoy:

• Extra-Spacious Seats
• Free Seat Selection
• Free Flight Change
• Carry-On Baggage
• 2 Checked-In Baggage
• Personal Item

Also, this fare can also be divided into two further categories – Refundable & Non-Refundable.

So, now you know the basic differences between the cabin classes onboard United Airlines. Let’s talk about all the inflight services available to passengers & how their availability depends on the fare classes.

United Airlines Inflight Services—

Aside from all the pre-flight services, United provides a whole host of in-flight services that passengers can avail off of. However, the availability of these services for passengers depends on their fare classes.

Note:

• Dining Service for Economy classes is a paid service unless the flight distance is more than 800 miles.
• Economy passengers only have access to complimentary Non-Alcoholic beverages.
• Inflight Wi-Fi costs $10 for regular passengers and $8 for passengers with mileage membership.

United Airlines Miles Program

To ensure that its frequent customer feel appreciated, United has a special miles program that offers its members the opportunity to earn miles with every purchase they make with United Airlines. These miles can then be used to purchase additional services or flight fares (reward flights) in the future.

This is called the United MileagePlus Program.

Using the MileagePlus miles, passengers can purchase:

• Hotel Reservations
• Rental Cars
• Merchandise
• Apple Products
• Gift Cards
• Event Awards
• Broadway Shows
• Gift Gourmet
• Newspaper
• Airport Dining Facility

Mileage members can also attain specific ranks, like – Explorer, Quest & Club. These provide passengers with additional benefits.

United Airlines Contact Information

In order to make the airline more approachable, United has several ways through which passengers can get in touch with their highly professional customer assistance representatives, to solve their queries.

Below is the contact information through which passengers can contact United Airlines.

United Airlines Policies

In order to ensure smooth and efficient day-to-day functioning, United Airlines has implemented strict guidelines. These guidelines dictate every services & amenity that the airline provides, from booking a fare to baggage operations.

Baggage

United has specific policies for their baggage; let’s go through them, one-by-one:

• Personalized Item – 9x10x17 inches
• Carry-On – 9x14x22 inches
• Checked-In Baggage

• Depending on the fare class & type of trip (domestic & international), Checked-In Baggage costs may differ.
• United Airlines have specific guidelines for carrying items like –
  • Electronic Items
  • Perishable Items
  • Sporting Goods
  • Dangerous Goods

Cancelation

The cancelation process is dictated by very strict guidelines-

• United Airlines has a 24-hour flexible booking policy, under which, regardless of the fare class, passengers can cancel their fares for free (completely refundable) within 24-hours of booking.
• Only passengers with Economy/First-Class Fully Refundable fare can cancel their fares and get the complete amount back.
• In case a passenger with a non-refundable fare cancels their ticket, they can come back and change their flight date. However, this is only possible if they make the changes up to a year after the original booking date.
• Passengers with non-refundable fares will get Future Flight Credits if they cancel their tickets.

Rebooking

• There is no specific rebooking procedure available for United Airlines passengers. However, passengers with refundable tickets can just cancel their reservations & receive the entire amount back. Then, use that to rebook a flight with United in the future.
• Passengers with non-refundable fares can cancel their tickets and use the future flight credits to book another reservation with United Airlines. However, United will charge a cancelation fee from the total fare amount for non-refundable fares.
• Although it’s not possible to transfer fare ownership to another person, passengers can cancel their flight and use the refund/future flight credits to book another ticket in someone else’s name.

Flight Change

• In light of recent events, United Airlines has removed flight change fees from routes:
  • Withing the U.S.
  • Between the U.S. and Mexico
  • U.S. and Caribbean
  • International flight from the U.S.
• However, on flights that are not eligible for the above-stated criteria, United will charge passengers a fee for changing their flight date & time.

Name Change

• Passengers who are members of the Mileage Club can change their names by signing into their account through the official United website.
• There are two types on name amendments that passengers can apply for:
  • Name Correction
  • Name Change
• In case there is a minor error, like – first/last name spelling error, prefix, etc. Passengers can apply for the name correction through the official website.
• If the passenger has to make major changes, like – completely changing the name. Then, they will have to apply for a name change. However, passengers are only eligible for a name change if their name is legally changed after the booking. In order to apply for a name change, passengers must provide legal documents, like:
  • Marriage Certificate
  • Divorce Decree
  • Court Order