With stunningly icy weather currently sweeping across the Midwestern and Northeastern US, in some cases dropping to negative 60 degrees Fahrenheit including wind chill (or -51 Celsius), travel delays and cancellations are reaching levels not seen in recent memory.

In the midst of the potential confusion and frustration of not knowing if your flight will actually take off, United Airlines has added a timely update to its mobile app (download for iOS or Android). It can now give you more information about a flight delay, including the cause of the issue, the new expected arrival time at your airport, the new estimated departure time and the new estimated time to arrive at your destination.

This comes as part of an overall redesign of the app to make it friendlier to use for customers who do not fly often.

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This info will be accessible from within the app’s Inbox section, indicated by an envelope icon at the bottom right corner of the app’s home screen. If there is a flight alert, you’ll be able to tell at a glance, because the envelope will go from gray to blue, and it will get a red dot in one corner. Then just tap the envelope to see your list of alerts.

If there are any gate changes, you’ll get a notification here as well, with the exact time when the alert was sent out. In either case, the Inbox will also tell you when it was last updated with new info, and you can swipe down from the middle of the screen to manually check for updates.

Independently of an app, you can also arrange to get alerts from United via email or SMS text message. Click this link to get started. We’d generally recommend multiple alert methods anyway, because text messages can sometimes fail to arrive, and the mobile app needs an internet connection that may not always be available on your way to the airport.

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If you just want to confirm the details of your United flight, tap the Flight Status icon to the right of the Inbox icon. This tool can actually look up any United flight that’s scheduled for the next several days, so if you’re preparing to receive guests, you can confirm their travel details here as well.

While delayed flight info is a helpful addition, it’s not the only important change to the United Airlines app. In addition to the new Inbox, you also now have a “My Profile” section where you can manage a MileagePlus account, and a “My Trips” section where you can look at the travel info for previous trips or look up a reservation for an upcoming flight.

If you’re wondering where you can find airport maps, get rideshare or lodging assistance, or check baggage fees, that’s available by tapping the hamburger menu icon in the upper left.

Takeaways

• United Airlines recently updated its mobile app to include more detailed information about flight delays. This info will appear in the app’s new Inbox section.
• You can still elect to receive flight alerts via email and SMS text message; we recommend doing so for redundancy.

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