United Airlines Unveils Preview of New United.com

CHICAGO, May 12, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines today unveiled the beta version of the company's new homepage and flight booking features for united.com – encompassing everything from searching and sorting flight options to reserving and buying tickets. The site offers a sleek, modern and touch-friendly design, along with all-new personalized features and tools to help customers select the best flights and travel options to meet their needs.

Customers can browse and book on the preview site by visiting beta.united.com. The airline will officially launch the new united.com this summer after additional customer feedback and further refinements.  

The new flyer-friendly functionality includes:

1. Search, sort and filter your perfect flight: Customers can choose what's most important to them when booking a flight. Whether it's Wi-Fi availability, preferred connection cities, aircraft type, in-seat power or the inclusion of nearby cities, customers can sort, filter, include and exclude a variety of preferences to narrow or expand search results.
2. Quicker view of fare and date combinations: Search results automatically display pricing for a 15-day window (7 +/-) to show customers more options, and fares are displayed in "each way" increments to give customers added flexibility and clarity when building their travel itineraries.
3. Upgrade insight: Knowing if upgrades are available for purchase on a particular flight helps customers make more informed booking decisions. Customers can now view upgrade availability and redeem any MileagePlus upgrade prior to purchase on all eligible flights.
4. Widgets working for you: The new homepage features widgets customized to MileagePlus members' travel histories including a quick-view of upcoming trips, saved searches and alerts, to name a few. (Bonus: Users can select travel and aviation-themed photography for their homepage backgrounds.)
5. Touch-friendly: No matter the device style or device brand, customers will have a seamless, touch-friendly user experience.

To download screenshots of the new homepage and booking path, visit newsroom.united.com.

"We reimagined the flight booking experience from the ground up," said Scott Wilson, United's vice president of merchandising and eCommerce. "Much more than a facelift – we kept our customers' needs and preferences for personalized travel at the center of the design to offer an entirely new and improved experience altogether."

In redesigning the site, United also used feedback from customers to improve the features they valued most, making those tools cleaner and easier to use.

United.com by the Numbers:

• 2,000 visitors per minute
• More than $1 million in revenue every hour
• Offers flights on more than 100 airlines – the most of any U.S. carrier website
• More than 1,400 destinations available

With technology increasingly shaping every part of a customer's journey, the rebuilt united.com is a part of the airline's initiative to improve and grow all of its digital channels including its kiosks and industry-leading mobile app. Moving forward customers will have a cohesive, familiar and user-friendly digital experience with United no matter what platform they're using.

After fully launching the new homepage and booking path this summer, United will continue to phase-in additional updated pages and functionality to all of united.com. In the process, customers may be directed to existing pages that reflect the current design.

About United

United Airlines and United Express operate an average of 5,055 flights a day to 373 airports across six continents. In 2014, United and United Express operated nearly two million flights carrying 138 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates nearly 700 mainline aircraft, and this year, the airline anticipates taking delivery of 34 new Boeing aircraft, including the 787-9 and the 737-900ER. United is also welcoming 49 new Embraer E175 aircraft to United Express. The airline is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 countries via 27 member airlines. More than 84,000 United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around the world. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter or connect on Facebook. 

The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAL.

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SOURCE United Airlines