Tag Archives for united airlines.
United flight attendants appear close to finally getting a new contract after more than five years without a raise, but the price of that deal may be something unions almost never surrender: scope. A reported trade for pay on the ground could give United room to own a regional airline outright.
A United Airlines passenger is suing after her 4-year-old daughter was burned by 200-degree tea during a flight from Newark to Tel Aviv. The bigger story is that even when a young child is seriously hurt onboard, airline liability on international flights is often capped.
United Airlines is teaming up with Netflix’s Chef’s Table to launch 10 new long haul Polaris meals on August 1, curated by a roster of chefs from the airline’s hubs and international gateways. That is more than a menu refresh. It is a public signal that United knows its business class food has been underwhelming and now wants customers to expect something better.
Leaked United internal slides make the airline look like it has already won — with stronger hubs, a more premium fleet, and years of growth under Scott Kirby. The progress is real, but the deck repeatedly uses the most flattering baseline to make the turnaround look bigger, while leaving out context that matters.
United didn’t just cut MileagePlus flight earnings by as much as 40% for customers without a co-branded credit card — it’s now spending ad dollars to underline the message that cardholders matter more. The new ad makes the “no card, fewer miles” reality explicit, even though a huge share of United’s most valuable customers can’t or won’t get a Chase-issued card.
United spent the Biden years leaning hard into the corporate-left script — pronouns, DEI signaling, and even vaccine mandates — and now Scott Kirby is adopting the Trump-era posture with public defenses of tariffs and other priorities that track the new power center. The pivot is so obvious that the MAGA right is calling him a hypocrite, and the receipts they are circulating say more about modern corporate governance than about any one airline CEO.
United flight attendants haven’t had a raise in 5.5 years, and inflation has quietly taken a big bite out of what their pay is worth—so the tone shift this week is notable. The union says a final agreement is now close enough that it’s postponing a planned protest day, while United is telling crews the deal will deliver industry-leading pay, signing bonuses, and progress on “sit pay” and other long-running priorities.
A United Boeing 787-9 bound for Newark turned back to Los Angeles and was on the ground again just 36 minutes after takeoff, after its left engine began smoking. Fire crews met the jet on the runway, and passengers were sent down the evacuation slides onto a taxiway as LAX imposed a ground stop.
United just took delivery of its first premium-heavy Boeing 787-9 with the new long-haul interior—and internal cabin photos shared with employees are giving the first real look at what “United Elevated” actually means. The images show Polaris Studio, a self-serve snack bar, and a rebalanced 222-seat layout that shifts space from coach to premium cabins ahead of the jet’s March debut and long-haul rollout.
United Airlines quietly changed its rules to prohibit passengers from buying multiple tickets to lower costs, banned inflight video calls, and explicitly added rules against viewing “offensive” content—changes that affect nearly every traveler but haven’t been publicly announced.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
