The World’s Air Travel In Numbers (List)

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Millions of people fly every day, but few know very much about the airline industry. Here are 17 impressive statistics about world air travel and aviation.



Australian air carrier Qantas was recently named the safest airline in the world, partly because it has not recorded a single fatality since the beginning of what is known as the jet age, over 60 years ago. The airline was founded in the State of Queensland in 1920, and its name is an acronym for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited.
**Airline Ratings is a reliable source quoted by CNN, Lonely Planet, etc.



According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), in 2014, there were 1,402 commercial airlines in the world. IATA represents 290 of these airlines (from 120 countries), accounting for 82 per cent of total scheduled air traffic.



According to IATA data, 6.5 billion passengers took to the skies in 2018. That number is predicted to go down slightly in 2019, to 5.8 billion.



It is surprisingly difficult to name the oldest airline in the world. For example, some, such as Lufthansa, share the names of airlines that no longer exist, while others, such as Delta, were at some point renamed.

The answer, however, is KLM, founded on October 7, 1919, in the Netherlands. Its name is an acronym for Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij. Its first flight was piloted by Captain Jerry Shaw, who flew a De Havilland DH-16 between Amsterdam Schipol and London in 1920.



Air travel has become very accessible. In fact, if you were looking to head to London from New York, you would be able to choose from over 30 daily flights. Both cities are served by five different airports.



While it’s easy to assume that the world’s busiest airline route serves the West, it is currently a route in South Korea that holds the title. The domestic route between Jeju and Seoul Gimpo (CJU-GMP) served 13,460,305 passengers in 2017, equal to 36,877 passengers per day on roughly 180 flights.



Although there is no law stating this, many airlines have a rule that pilots and co-pilots must eat two different meals to minimize the risk of illness. They are also encouraged to avoid certain foods, such as raw fish, before and during flights. However, there’s no word on who gets the business-class meal!



In October 2018, Singapore Airlines introduced its newest, and longest, route ever: a non-stop flight between Singapore and New York lasting 17 hours 52 minutes. The route is served three times a week by an Airbus A350-900ULR designed to help reduce jet lag.



Building planes is a very technical and complicated process. In fact, the famous Boeing 747 (the world’s longest aircraft) has over six million parts, beyond the wiring..



According to IATA, about 104,000 flights take off every day. Of those, 43,000 take place in the United States alone, carrying 2.6 million passengers across more than 75.1 million square kilometers (29 million square miles) of airspace. **This is a “fun fact” listed on their homepage



Plane distances are measured in nautical miles (nmi), one of which is equivalent to 1.852 kilometers (1.1508 miles). A Boeing 787-8 can fly 7,355 nmi, or 13,621 kilometers (8,464 miles), on a single tank of gas. To put that into perspective, the Earth’s circumference is 40,074 kilometers (24,901 miles).



American Airlines is considered the biggest airline in the world in all categories but one. It leads the way when it comes to revenue (US$41 billion in 2014/15), passengers carried (198,700,000 in 2016), fleet size (1,556) and destinations served (350). Turkish Airlines outranks it in terms of countries served.



It is hard to know exactly how many flights are in the sky at any given time, but estimates from different sources place the number between 9,000 and 16,000.



Not a fan of flying? You may want to skip this one. Since 1948, over 80 aircraft have vanished without ever being found. The most recent incident was Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which disappeared on March 8, 2014.



If you think the plane you are flying on looks a little old, you just might be right. Rather than being measured in years, aircraft longevity is measured in pressurization cycles. Every flight requires a plane to be pressurized, which stresses its fuselage and wings. Aircraft used for longer flights experience fewer pressurization cycles and therefore have a longer lifespan, sometimes up to 20, even 30 years.



As of September 2018, GoAir was the fastest-growing airline in the world. The Indian budget airline, founded in 2005, flies to over 20 cities and has bases in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Kolkata, and Kochi.



Quanzhou Jinjiang International, in the little-known Chinese city of Quanzhou, is the fastest-growing airline in the world. During the first six months of 2018, it received more than 4.3 million passengers and experienced a growth rate of 58.6 per cent.

Ready to get in the air? A visit to Costa Rica is always a great option. Click here for Things to do and Planning your Trip to Costa Rica

 

Houston-bound United Airlines flight makes emergency landing in Phoenix

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PHOENIX — A United Airlines flight that was heading to Houston from Las Vegas made an emergency landing in Phoenix on Tuesday due to a mechanical problem.

A spokesperson for the airline told KTAR News 92.3 FM in an email that flight 2276 made a safe landing and customers were able to deplane normally. There were no injuries reported.

“We are working to get our customers to their final destination as soon as possible,” the statement read.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor told KTAR News the Boeing 737 landed at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport around 8:10 a.m.

Airport spokesman Gregory E. Roybal told KTAR News that the emergency landing did not affect other flights.

According to FlightAware, the aircraft was set to take off from Sky Harbor to Houston around 10 a.m.

United Airlines Orders First-Class Regional Jets – But They’re Not For You

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What does it mean when an airline makes a $1.3 billion investment and immediately dumps a large portion of it in the garbage? A recent move by United Airlines to purchase brand new 76 seat regional jets but only use two-thirds of the seating capacity raises just that question. It’s a story that might not close with the airline on top – if you pay attention to factors like historical precedent.

United ushered in 2019 by touting a new era of premium luxury for customers. The airline backed up the claim this month by kitting out a new fleet of regional jets in style, with ten first-class seats, 20 extra -leg- room economy plus seats, and only 20 regular coach class seats in the back. In addition, each aircraft will have a snack station and four California-sized closets.

United’s move and artful communications strategy might make you think that the focus is on you, the beloved customer. It might be. But it bears another look. As one former United executive said to me years ago, “I’ve never met a closet who bought a ticket.” In other words: if you have an expensive asset, use it to maximum advantage.

Jet interior.www.aircraftinteriorsinternational.com

This aircraft, to be certified as the CRJ550, will be a new variant of Bombardier’s CRJ-700 series aircraft. Unlike the 70-to-76-seat CRJ-700, however, these aircraft will be modified to carry just 50 passengers and to weigh in under 75,000 pounds. The numbers might not mean much to customers, but they are magic for United.

The major airlines and their pilots have negotiated for years how many aircraft may be operated by so-called “regional” airlines. It matters greatly to the pilots unions, since starting salaries at the regional airlines can be as low as $30,000, less than half of typical pay at the Majors. Unsurprisingly, airline management would like regional airlines to fly more and larger jets. The pilots would like to see all but the smallest aircraft flown by the better-paid mainline pilots.

So far, there is no clear winner of the slow-motion sparring match.

Under the current contract, United has agreed to a “scope clause” that allows no more than 255 of the larger regional jets (70-76 seats) to be farmed out to the minor league. In this context, United’s new de-rated 76-seaters will masquerade as 50-seaters by the contract terms, allowing them to be operated by cheaper crews. For context, purpose-built 50-seat RJs are no longer manufactured, having fallen out of favor when fuel prices spiked eleven  years ago.

The CRJ550 may therefore be more of a chess move by United. On the one hand, it shows that United recognizes that labor will have the upper hand in the next round of contract negotiations, which has already started. Globally, the supply of pilots has been tightening for several years, pinched by rapid growth at Middle East and Asian airlines and regulatory changes in the U.S., among other factors. In the last round of negotiations, U.S. pilots scored pay raises of 18-23% at the Majors, and over 40% at Spirit and Hawaiian. United knows it will not achieve any relief from its current scope clauses in this round.

At the same time, the maneuver signals to pilots that United is not going to roll over. In a draw from Economics textbook chapters on game theory, the company is showing that it is effectively prepared to burn money rather than give in to labor. After all, United could have chosen to operate these routes with 126-seat mainline narrowbodies instead, perhaps scaling back the number of departures per day to match the number of total seats. Instead, United is prepared to throw away part of each new plane to show the pilots’ union that it has options.

In a similar game, American purchased a special variant of the common 50-seat Embraer regional jet to skirt scope clauses in the late 1990s. With only 37 seats, the Embraer 135 allowed American to increase the number of aircraft that could be subcontracted to its regional partner. Like most shortened aircraft variants, this model had higher costs per seat-mile than the more common 50-seater and American retired them early, though they are still in use at some other airlines.

There is also precedent for under-configuring aircraft. In 2000, American Airlines outfitted a fleet of Fokker 100s with just 56 seats to combat the upstart Legend Airlines. American’s normal Fokker 100s carried 87 seats. At the time, flights out of Dallas Love Field with over 56 seats were limited to Texas’ seven neighboring states under the Wright Amendment. Upsetting the status quo, Legend launched with an exclusive new terminal and 56-seat aircraft to establish a new market. American, feeling a threat to its hub at nearby Dallas Fort Worth, fought back hard both in the courtroom and at the airport. Legend capitulated in eight months.

Another case was Midwest Express Airlines. This outgrowth of Kimberly Clark’s corporate flight department operated luxurious two-by-two seating on a fleet of DC-9s (normally with two-by-three seating) out of Milwaukee in the 1980s and 90s. Midwest’s proposition was business class service at coach prices. The airline regularly obtained a fare premium over its competitors of 20 to 30 percent. Alas, what Northwest Airlines, Airtran and other competitors ultimately proved was that Midwest’s fare premium was a result of offering the only nonstop service on business-oriented routes rather than a product passengers were willing to pay extra for. Once it faced new nonstop competition, Midwest was quickly forced to add seats to its planes and reduce fares. The airline did not survive, eventually being merged with the ultra low cost carrier Frontier Airlines.

Also in the early 2000s, several entrepreneurs attempted to offer all-business-class service across the Atlantic, using less than half the potential capacity of Boeing 767s and 757s. These airlines, with names like MAXJet and EOS may be hard to remember because they did not last long. In the end, incumbents had better access to corporate customers for the front of the cabin, and extra revenue from economy passengers in the back. Putting 48 seats on a plane built for 185 (EOS’ 757-200s) gives you less flexibility in the market and fewer ways to earn revenue.

There are many examples of airlines under-configuring aircraft for strategic reasons. Each case seems like a good idea at the time. Some have even been good ideas over the long term, such as JetBlue’s decision in 2006 to reduce its all-coach A320s to just 150 seats from 156, obviating the need for a fourth flight attendant—although even JetBlue is currently in the process of reconfiguring its A320s with thinner slimline seats to bring the seat count up to 162. Outside that modest range, however, low-density aircraft have often been short-lived. A $40-million asset — or even more — is a costly way to make your point, whether signaling to competitors or tweaking labor.

As a customer, I hope United’s new bet is successful. After all, the trend toward higher density aircraft adds stress for all of us, even if we’re lucky in enough to sit in the front today. All the same, history is not on United’s side for this one – and it might not be until closets become paying customers.

United Airlines made a mistake and it cost me $1,550!

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Marcus DeGruttola says United Airlines’ mistake didn’t just cost him $1,550. It also left him and his wife, Holly, stuck in Africa. He needs some help unraveling a very complicated case and getting a refund.

DeGruttola was flying from Boston to Johannesburg on four different airlines; he used United Airlines frequent flyer miles to book the flights. Along the way, two airlines canceled his flights for various reasons. He had to pay an extra $1,550 to set things straight. Of course, the three airlines are now pointing the finger at each other, and they want DeGruttola to pay for their mistake.

I don’t know if there’s any lesson to be learned from this case, other than maybe to keep your flight itineraries simple and to never pay for your ticket with miles, which seem to be a second-rate currency. But if I said that, I would probably get run out of town with torches and pitchforks by airline apologists. So let’s just pretend I never said it and get on with the story.

A complicated flight — and a complicated problem

Here’s DeGruttola’s full itinerary:

Whoa, my head is spinning! But it gets even more complicated.

I’ll let him pick up the story:

When we arrived in Johannesburg Airport on Sept. 16 to fly to Cairo, we were told by EgyptAir that our tickets for both MS840 on that day and for MS787 had been canceled.

We had just arrived from Botswana earlier that day (on a separate airline ticket) and were stuck in the Johannesburg Airport international transfer desk area with no options so we ended up repurchasing our tickets for both MS840 and MS787 for 23,007.00 ZA Rand ($1,550 plus a $46.50 foreign transaction fee).

Despite having repurchased our tickets for MS787, we ran into the problem again when we arrived at Cairo airport on Sep 24 when we were told our tickets had again been canceled.

Though in this case, EgyptAir was willing to uncancel our tickets so we could get home.

Wow, that’s five airlines and flights booked with funny money. What could possibly go wrong?

How to fix this United Airlines’ mistake — if it even was United Airlines’ mistake

So, the question is, how do we get a refund of the $1,550 and the $46 foreign transaction fee he had to pay for the new tickets?

I’ll let DeGruttola explain what he did:

After several months of working with United to try to resolve the matter, we were told by United that we would need to seek our refund directly from EgyptAir.

On contacting EgyptAir, they told us that we needed to seek our refund from United. So we are not sure what to do at this point.

We suspect that our EgyptAir tickets were canceled because of an additional flight that was included on the EgyptAir itinerary on Sept. 5, 2018, on MS839. The Sept. 5th flight was never part of or shown on our United itinerary.

My wife and I were actually aware of and concerned about this extra flight on Sept. 5, so we contacted United before we started our trip to make sure this “ghost leg” would not be a problem. We were told by United that it should not be a problem.

When I challenged with “are you sure,” the agent checked with her supervisor and confirmed that it should not be a problem.

Wait, what’s a ghost leg? I’ve heard the term used only in the context of a hidden-city itinerary. If you want to go down a rabbit hole on ticketing ethics, check out this story on the legalities of travel hacking.

I’ll wait here.

DeGruttola just wants his money back.

“In addition, it took us hours to resolve the situation at both Johannesburg and Cairo airports, causing both my wife and me considerable stress,” he says. “It would be nice to have some kind of acknowledgment by EgyptAir or United that this should not have happened.”

How we straightened this one out

Here’s how I see it. United Airlines is happy to take DeGruttola’s money and to give him miles, points, or bottle caps. It will allow him to book a Frankenstein itinerary to Africa. But when it comes to standing behind that itinerary, it will defer to every partner airline rather than take responsibility. I think that’s wrong.

Our advocate Dwayne Coward recommended that DeGruttola contact executives at both United Airlines and EgyptAir.

He did, with mixed results. United called and left a message saying it would help with EgyptAir. But EgyptAir then said it had no record of his second ticket purchase in its system.

“I think they are suggesting I need to communicate with the EgyptAir South African office directly,” he told Dwayne.

After Dwayne contacted United, the airline had a change of heart and agreed to a partial refund of the miles (110,000 miles out of the 225,000 miles used for the tickets) plus $1,200 in travel vouchers.

“So finally a happy ending,” says DeGruttola. “I have no doubt that your advocacy helped.”

Perhaps. But this case was madness from start to finish. It shouldn’t matter which partner airline you’re flying. The airline that took your money should also take care of you. United left DeGruttola high and dry. Should he have been messing around with a “ghost leg”? Probably not. But that’s no way to treat a loyal customer.

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How the Kashmir crisis is causing chaos for air travel

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Escalating tensions in and around Kashmir between Pakistan and India has led to chaos in the skies with passenger services to Europe cancelled and flights diverted.

Numerous planes have been forced to avoid Pakistan following the closure of its airspace after two Indian military jets were shot down, meaning routes that would ordinarily take around two hours are now lasting longer than five.

British Airways, Air India and Singapore Airlines are among those airlines forced to reroute services that would normally fly over northern India, with many forced to make additional stops to refuel.

BA services stopped at Bucharest, while Singapore flights were operating via Dubai or Mumbai. Pakistan International Airlines has suspended all its flights.

Thai Airways made the decision to cancel all its flights to Europe, all of which it said would resume by Friday. On Thursday afternoon, a London-bound service took off from Bangkok, heading north over China.

On Wednesday, one Spicejet service from Kabul to Delhi that should have been in the air for an hour and 40 minutes, instead took five hours 40 minutes. Other major disruptions included an Air Canada flight from Toronto to Delhi on Tuesday that turned back over Sweden after seven hours in the air and returned to Canada. 

Eamonn Brennan, the director general of Euromonitor, which handles European airspace, said it was working with the airlines “to minimise the impact on European air traffic”. Euromonitor estimated 400 flights daily have been affected, with severe impact on services to Iran, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

There were hopes of a thaw in relations on Thursday when Pakistan said it would release a captured Indian pilot as a “peace gesture”, but the country’s air space is set to remain closed until Friday morning.

Other political incidents to have affected flight times in the past include the war in Ukraine in 2014, forcing carriers to go around much of the east of the country, and more recently the Qatari crisis when four of the country’s Middle Eastern neighbours banned its flag carrier from flying overhead.

What does the Foreign Office say?

The Foreign Office advice advice, updated this week, reiterated guidance against travel to Kashmir and surrounding areas.

It advised against all travel to “the immediate vicinity of the border with Pakistan [and India], other than at Wagah… Jammu and Kashmir, with the exception of travel within the city of Jammu, travel by air to the city of Jammu, and travel within the region of Ladakh”. It advised, too, against all travel to Manipur, except the state capital Imphal, where the FCO advises against all but essential travel.

Gulmarg is a popular ski destination

Credit:
istock

It added that the tourist destinations of Pahalgam, Gulmarg and Sonamarg are included within the prohibited areas.

“Following a terrorist attack in Pulwama on February 14,” the FCO said, “there are heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, particularly across the Line of Control.

“There may be disruption to air travel in Jammu and Kashmir and northern India at short notice. You should continue to exercise caution, monitor news reports and keep up to date with this travel advice and the advice of local authorities.”

The escalated tensions might be of some concern to British Airways which last year announced it would be returning to Pakistan for the first time in 11 years. From June, the airline will fly to Islamabad three times a week from London Heathrow.

Flights to and from Bangkok have been affected

Credit:
istock

Can I can claim compensation if my flight is cancelled?

If your flight is cancelled, you have a right to a refund or a seat on an alternative service.

A spokesperson for Thai Airways said that any passenger who hold tickets on affected routes may change their itineraries free of charge.

A spokesperson for Singapore Airlines said any passengers affected should email SQ_support@singaporeair.com.sg with their six-character booking reference number and contact details for any assistance.

If your flight has been delayed, then you are eligible for compensation as set out by EU law, providing you are departing an EU airport or arriving at an EU airport on an EU carrier.  

The airline must provide food and drink appropriate to the time of day (this is often in the form of a voucher) and a means of communicating your delay or a refund on the cost of essential calls.

Air Travel: Delta, Alaska Airlines Upgrade Aircraft

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Upgraded transpacific flights for Delta and newly renovated aircraft for Alaska Airlines lead this week’s air travel news. 

This week Delta announced a number of new transpacific options out of its Seattle gateway. The airline is expanding its premium seat products on flights to Shanghai, Seoul-Incheon and Tokyo-Narita, allowing customers to choose from 29 Delta One Suites, 28 Delta Premium Select seats, 56 Delta Comfort+ seats and 168 Main Cabin seats on new, widebody aircraft: the low-carbon-footprint Airbus A330-900neo. The new options will be available starting July 1 on flights to Shanghai; August 1 for flights to Seoul; and August 31 for flights to Tokyo. 

Delta also reports that it is investing in a new, state-of-the-art immigration and customs facility in Seattle, set to open in 2020. 

Luxury Travel Advisor’s ULTRA Summit

In other new aircraft news, this week Alaska Airlines’ newly retrofitted Airbus aircraft took flight. The revamped aircraft now have a newly upgraded cabin experience that the carrier says combines the best of the Alaska Airlines cabins with the best of those from recently acquired Virgin America. New cabin features include a refreshed color palette, ambient mood lighting, advanced high-speed satellite Wi-Fi, redesigned first class Recaro seats, ergonomically-friendly tablet holders, upgraded premium and main cabin seats, conveniently-placed power outlets at every seat and a curated onboard music program.

Alaska’s Airbus fleet of A319, A320 and A321 aircraft are in the process of being updated in phases this year and by early 2020, 36 percent of the mainline fleet – including the entire Airbus fleet, Boeing 737-700s and three new Boeing MAX 9 planes – will feature the new cabin interior, the airline said.

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MH370 ‘hidden and still intact’ claims United Airlines pilot | Daily Star

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He continued: “You get right down to it, with the exception of that piece of flap that they found in the water, I would say that it landed on land some place.”

However, Ryan admits the discovery of three pieces of debris investigators say is from the plane does “poke a pretty big hole” in his theory.

They are the flaperon and two other wing fragments that washed up in the Indian Ocean.

But he said his claim should not be ruled out because the plane wasn’t found during a four-year search.

After suggesting the plane may still be intact, he continued: “But, remember, they have found a part of the wing flap from that plane in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar.”

He said: “So far what little debris that has been found was all found on the westerly route I am suggesting it was flown.

“Yes, I know it sounds sinister and they did find a part of the wing that was damaged when, or if, it hit the water but remember where it was found (east of Madagascar).

“Again along the route I believe it was flown, and not to the southwest of Australia where they spent so much time searching.”

Some airlines have seat-back cameras: Here’s what you need to know

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CLOSE

Former ticket agent spills the beans on airlines’ ticket codes. Buzz60’s Tony Spitz has the details.
Buzz60

Smile! 

Several of the world’s biggest airlines – including American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Singapore Airlines – have cameras installed on screens on the backs of passenger seats.

All four airlines say they have no intentions of using the technology, though. 

American Airlines told USA TODAY that manufacturers of in-flight entertainment systems have “included cameras for possible future uses such as seat-to-seat video conferencing,” adding that the camera technology has “never been activated.”

Related: Couple found hidden camera in their Carnival Cruise bedroom: ‘Our privacy had been invaded’

Delta concurred, telling USA TODAY that “they are not functional and Delta does not have any plans to install the necessary software to use them,” while United added: “Our cameras have never been activated on United aircraft.”

A passenger on a Singapore Airlines flight called attention to the cameras on his seat-back entertainment system, sparking a debate over passengers’ privacy concerns. 

Related: Are passengers to blame for poor airline service?

“Just found this interesting sensor looking at me from the seat back on board of Singapore Airlines,” Vitaly Kamluk tweeted on Feb. 16. “Any expert opinion of whether this a camera? Perhaps @SingaporeAir could clarify how it is used?”

In response, Singapore Airlines tweeted that their “newer inflight entertainment systems provided by the original equipment manufacturers do have a camera embedded in the hardware.”

“These cameras have been disabled on our aircraft, and there are no plans to develop any features using the cameras,” the company added, echoing other air carriers. 

More: Stuck on a plane: American, Delta fined for lengthy tarmac delays

All four airlines stressed that they didn’t add the cameras – manufacturers embedded them in the entertainment systems. American’s systems are made by Panasonic, while Singapore uses Panasonic and Thales, according to airline representatives.

In a statement to USA TODAY, Panasonic said they “take airline passenger privacy very seriously.”

“Panasonic Avionics will never activate any feature or functionality within an (inflight entertainment) system without explicit direction from an airline customer,” the statement read. 

Kamluk offered an easy solution: “Keep security of your passengers up! It’s best to disable these cameras physically until you decide to use them, i.e. with a simple sticker.”

Contributing: The Associated Press

Related: Southwest Airlines gets FAA approval for Hawaii flights

United Airlines Taps Industry Veteran for Senior Role; Robert Rivkin Named SVP and General Counsel

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Rivkin is no stranger to the commercial aviation industry, having served as deputy general counsel for Delta Air Lines from 2013 to 2016. Prior to joining Delta, he served as general counsel for the DOT from 2009 to 2013, where he was sworn in following a unanimous confirmation by the U.S. Senate. Currently, Rivkin serves as the deputy mayor of the City of Chicago.  He has also worked in private law practice and as a federal prosecutor.

Rivkin graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, and received a juris doctorate degree from Stanford Law School, where he was an associate editor of the Stanford Law Review. Rivkin and his wife of more than 30 years have three children. Rivkin’s last day as Chicago’s deputy mayor will be February 28, and he will start his new role at United the week of March 18.

Every customer. Every flight. Every day.

In 2019, United is focusing more than ever on its commitment to its customers, looking at every aspect of its business to ensure that the carrier keeps customers’ best interests at the heart of its service. In addition to today’s announcement, United recently released a re-imagined version of the most downloaded app in the airline industry and made DIRECTV free for every passenger on 211 aircraft, offering more than 100 channels on seat back monitors on more than 30,000 seats. The multimillion-dollar investment in improving inflight entertainment options will benefit the more than 29 million people expected to fly United’s DIRECTV-enabled planes this year.

About United

United’s shared purpose is “Connecting People. Uniting the World.” We are more focused than ever on our commitment to customers through a series of innovations and improvements designed to help build a great experience: Every customer. Every flight. Every day. Together, United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,800 flights a day to 353 airports across five continents. In 2018, United and United Express operated more than 1.7 million flights carrying more than 158 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 770 mainline aircraft and the airline’s United Express carriers operate 559 regional aircraft. United is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter and Instagram or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United’s parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol “UAL”.

SOURCE United Airlines

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