United Named Best Overall Airline in the World by Global Traveler Readers

CHICAGO, Dec. 17, 2020 – Readers from Global Traveler, a publication written for business and luxury travelers, named United Airlines the Best Overall Airline in the World as part of this year’s GT Trusted Reader Survey. Additionally, a select panel of Global Traveler employees and Advisory Board members named United Airline of the Year, an honor which is based on on-time arrivals and departures, safety, brand image and more. And for the 17th consecutive year, MileagePlus® was named best Loyalty Program by Global Traveler readers. The airline earned top scores from readers in ten categories across FXExpress Publications, Inc. awards, which include Global Traveler, The Trazees and the Wherever Awards.

“Throughout this challenging year United has continually demonstrated our commitment to doing the right thing for our customers and the communities we serve, both today and for the long-term. We lead the industry in numerous key initiatives including cleaning and safety measures, our commitment to sustainability and various improvements to the entire travel experience with United,” said Luc Bondar, Vice President of Marketing and Loyalty at United Airlines. “Having customers name United as the Best Overall Airline in the World is a testament to our employees around the world who strive every day to keep our customers safe and comfortable, while offering a best in class experience at every step of their journey when they fly with us.”

United received the following honors from Global Traveler, The Trazees and Wherever Awards this year:

GT Tested from Global Traveler:

• Airline of the Year
• Best Overall Airline in the World
• Best Overall Frequent-Flyer Program – United MileagePlus
• Best Frequent-Flyer Elite-Level Program – United MileagePlus Premier 1K
• Best Frequent-Flyer Bonus Program – United MileagePlus for the eighth consecutive year
• The Trazees
• Favorite International Airline
• Favorite Green Airline for the second consecutive year
• Favorite Frequent-Flyer Program – United MileagePlus for the third consecutive year
• Wherever Awards
• Best Family-Friendly Domestic Airline
• Best Family-Friendly Frequent-Flyer Program – United MileagePlus

This year, United made numerous enhancements to its business that improve the travel experience and make the airline a better company. The carrier eliminated most change fees, pledged to reduce its greenhouse gases 100% by 2050, as a part of United CleanPlus℠, teamed up with Clorox and the Cleveland Clinic to guide its cleaning and safety protocols, extended MileagePlus Premier® status to all customers through January 2022 and made earning status for the next two years easier for all MileagePlus members. United also announced this year that beginning in January, all customers will be able to fly standby on another flight to the same destination on the same day for free, and all MileagePlus Premier members will be able to confirm a new flight on the same day to the same destinations at check-in when space is available in the same fare class.

About United

United’s shared purpose is “Connecting People. Uniting the World.” For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter and Instagram or connect on Facebook. The common stock of UAL is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol “UAL”.