United Airlines

This article is about the airline based in the United States. For other uses, see United Airlines (disambiguation) and United Airways (disambiguation).

United Airlines, Inc.
IATA ICAO Call sign
UA UAL UNITED
FoundedApril 6, 1926 (98 years ago) (1926-04-06) as Varney Air Lines in Boise, Idaho[1]
Commenced operationsMarch 28, 1931 (93 years ago) (1931-03-28)[2]
AOC #CALA014A[3]
Hubs
Frequent-flyer programMileagePlus
AllianceStar Alliance
Fleet size977[4]
Destinations358[5]
Parent companyUnited Airlines Holdings
ISINUS9100471096
HeadquartersWillis Tower, Chicago, Illinois, United States
Key people
FounderWalter Varney
Employees103,300 (2023)[9]
Websiteunited.com

United Airlines, Inc. is a major airline in the United States headquartered at 233 South Wacker Drive in the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.[10][11][12] United operates an extensive domestic and international route network across the United States and all six inhabited continents[13] primarily out of its seven hubs, with Chicago–O'Hare having the largest number of daily flights[14] and Denver carrying the most passengers in 2023.[15] Regional service is operated by independent carriers under the brand name United Express.

United was formed by the amalgamation of several airlines in the late 1920s, the oldest of these being Varney Air Lines,[1] created in 1926 by Walter Varney who later co-founded the predecessor to Continental Airlines. In 1997, United became one of the five founding airlines of Star Alliance, of which it remains a member today. Since its merger with Continental in 2010,[16] United consistently ranks as one of the world's largest airlines; it is currently first by the number of destinations served and second in terms of revenue and fleet size.

  1. ^ a b Berryman, Marvin E. "A History of United Airlines". United Airlines Historical Foundation. Archived from the original on September 3, 2013. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  2. ^ "The Boeing Logbook: 1927–1932". Boeing. Archived from the original on January 7, 2015. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
  3. ^ "Airline Certificate Information – Detail View". av-info.faa.gov. Federal Aviation Administration. August 11, 1938. Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015. Certificate Number CALA014A
  4. ^ "United Airlines". flightradar24. Archived from the original on May 14, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  5. ^ "United Airlines". flight connnections. Archived from the original on January 8, 2024. Retrieved October 28, 2024.
  6. ^ "United's New CEO Eyes Union Cooperation to Avoid Staff Cuts in Pandemic Crisis". CNBC. May 20, 2020. Archived from the original on May 21, 2020. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  7. ^ "United Airlines Names Edward 'Ted' Philip as Non-Executive Chairman of Its Board of Directors". May 27, 2021. Archived from the original on October 29, 2022. Retrieved October 10, 2022.
  8. ^ "Brett J. Hart Named President of United Airlines". Archived from the original on June 1, 2020. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  9. ^ "United Airlines, Inc. 2022 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". sec.gov. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. February 16, 2023. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
  10. ^ "United Technical Operations". www.unitedtechops.com. Archived from the original on January 10, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2016.
  11. ^ "United Mainline Fleet – The United Airlines Fleet Website". google.com. Archived from the original on May 14, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2015.
  12. ^ Destinations Served Archived June 5, 2013, at the Wayback Machine. United Airlines Official Statistics.
  13. ^ "Star Alliance Facts and Figures" (PDF). Star Alliance. March 31, 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 16, 2015. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
  14. ^ "Chicago O'Hare Airport". Archived from the original on January 23, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  15. ^ "Denver International Airport". Archived from the original on April 8, 2024. Retrieved January 8, 2024.
  16. ^ "Continental Airlines and United merge in $8.5 billion all-stock merger of equals | Experience". Archived from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved February 8, 2022.