United Airlines

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The Boeing 777 is a key wide-body aircraft in United’s long-haul international fleet, used on transatlantic and transpacific routes.

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United Airlines is a major U.S. airline headquartered in Chicago. It is the principal subsidiary of United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (UAL), and operates an extensive domestic and international network throughout North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific.

United Airlines dates to 1929, when William E. Boeing (1881–1956), Frederick B. Rentschler (1887–1956), and their associates founded United Aircraft Transport Corporation, a conglomerate of both aircraft manufacturing and air transport. By 1930, it had acquired four mail carriers—Boeing Air Transport (formed in 1927), Pacific Air Transport (1926), Varney Air Lines (1926), and National Air Transport (1925)—and in 1931, established United Airlines, Inc., in Chicago as a holding company providing an umbrella management for the four operating divisions.

In 1934, under congressional pressure, aircraft conglomerates were forced to dissolve, separating the manufacture of aircraft from air transport. United Airlines, Inc., became an independent operating company, fully unifying all the transport divisions. (The Boeing (BA) and United Aircraft manufacturing companies also emerged from the dissolution.) William A. “Pat” Patterson (1899–1980), the new president, was the major influence on the company’s progress until his retirement in 1966.

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Lieutenant Ellen E. Church is credited with convincing officials that the nurses should be employed as stewardesses aboard transcontinental flights. She was United Airlines’ first stewardess.

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From 1930, the company had a network of routes from New York City to San Francisco and Seattle along with a number of north-south routes in the West. In that year the company’s—and the world’s—first stewardesses were trained and put into service on the Chicago–San Francisco flights. Transcontinental flights from New York followed. After World War II, United’s routes and services expanded greatly.

In 1961, United merged with Capital Airlines, then the fifth-largest U.S. carrier, with a strong East Coast and Midwest network. The merger made United the largest air carrier (in terms of number of passengers) in the Western world, exceeded globally only by the Soviet Union’s Aeroflot. United held that position through much of the 1960s and ’70s. By the late 20th century, however, it no longer ranked as the world’s largest airline, as rivals such as American Airlines (AAL) and Delta Air Lines (DAL) expanded rapidly following deregulation.

In 1968–69, United Airlines reorganized itself and also embarked on a number of corporate mergers. Its new parent and holding company, UAL, Inc., acquired the Western International (later Westin) Hotels (a large American hotel chain) in 1970, the Hertz Corporation (the largest car-rental business in the U.S.) in 1985, and Hilton International Co. (another large hotel chain) in early 1987.

In April 1987, UAL adopted the name Allegis Corporation as part of a strategy to brand itself as a full-service travel company. Allegis combined United Airlines with Hertz, Westin, and Hilton International under one umbrella, promoted by CEO Richard J. Ferris as a way to offer integrated air, hotel, and car rental services. The name was coined by consultants to suggest both allegiance and aegis, reflecting loyalty and protection for travelers.

But the strategy was met with strong shareholder opposition. Many investors argued the company’s holdings would be more valuable if sold separately rather than combined in a single group. By late 1987, it began selling off its nonairline businesses, and in 1988 the Allegis name was abandoned. The holding company was reorganized and renamed UAL Corporation, with United Airlines as its principal subsidiary.

In the late 1980s and early ’90s, United expanded further through the purchase of Pan American World Airways’ routes. In 1986, United acquired Pan Am’s trans-Pacific routes, connecting the United States with East Asia and the South Pacific. Four years later, United Airlines acquired Pan American’s routes between London and the U.S., and in 1991, it purchased Pan Am’s Latin American and Caribbean route systems after the airline declared bankruptcy.

In 1994, United employees purchased a controlling 55% share of the airline in return for $4.9 billion in wage and work-rule concessions, making United the largest employee-owned company in the U.S. The arrangement soon created friction rather than stability, as conflicts between management and United’s unions prevented the company from making the cost cuts needed to stay competitive.

In 1997, United and four other airlines founded Star Alliance, the world’s first global partnership of carriers. The alliance expanded United’s international reach through coordination with other airlines such as Lufthansa and Air Canada, allowing passengers to book connecting flights and earn or redeem frequent-flier miles. It also streamlined check-in and lounge access, making international travel more seamless for customers.

The early 2000s brought unprecedented upheaval for United and the broader U.S. airline industry. In 2001, the company reported a record annual loss of $2.1 billion, reflecting not only the steep decline in air travel after the September 11 attacks, but also long-standing structural and labor issues. Despite $5.2 billion in wage concessions from its unions and federal assistance extended to U.S. airlines after September 11, United remained financially unstable and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December 2002, just three months after Glenn Tilton became CEO. At the time, it was the largest airline insolvency in U.S. history. Thousands of employees were laid off, and the carrier implemented severe reductions in capacity and routes. It emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2006 with Tilton still at the helm.

During this period United also experimented with new operating models. In 2004, it launched Ted Airlines, a low-fare subsidiary meant to compete with budget carriers such as Southwest Airlines (LUV) and Frontier Airlines (ULCC) in the leisure-travel market. Ted was discontinued by 2009 as part of post-bankruptcy streamlining. In 2007, United acquired an equity stake in Aloha Airlines, giving it a seat on Aloha’s board and a link between United’s mainland-Hawaii flights and Aloha’s service between the Hawaiian islands.

In 2008, United partnered with Continental Airlines to expand its flight options and merged with Continental in 2010. Jeff Smisek, formerly Continental’s CEO, became chief executive of United Continental Holdings. The two airlines continued to operate separately—as subsidiaries of the newly combined company—while waiting for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue a single operating license, which was granted in late 2011. In March 2012, Continental’s operations were fully merged with United’s, and the combined airline began operating under the United name.

Smisek resigned as CEO of United Airlines in September 2015 following a federal investigation into dealings with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees Newark Liberty, LaGuardia, and John F. Kennedy airports. He was succeeded by Oscar Munoz, a United board member, who led United through the latter half of the 2010s and stepped down in 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the spread of a novel coronavirus beginning in 2019, led to a near shutdown of global air travel in 2020. United, like other carriers, sharply reduced capacity, grounded aircraft, and furloughed or laid off tens of thousands of employees. It reported heavy financial losses as passenger demand collapsed. By 2021–22, travel gradually resumed, and United began restoring routes, recalling employees, and adapting to new patterns of demand, such as increased domestic leisure travel alongside slower recovery in its international and business segments.

Scott Kirby, who succeeded Munoz as CEO in 2020, led United’s recovery from the pandemic. In 2021, the airline launched a strategy focused on renewing its fleet, upgrading cabins, and shifting to larger aircraft from small regional jets, while concentrating growth at its major hubs. Known as “United Next,” the plan included orders for new Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A321neo narrowbody aircraft, the retirement of hundreds of older regional jets, and extensive upgrades to aircraft cabins.

In 2025, United undertook its largest international expansion, adding routes from Newark, New Jersey, and Tokyo to new destinations such as Nuuk in Greenland, Palermo in Italy, and Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia, bringing its total to 147 international destinations.

The airline also returned to profitability during this period. In April 2025, United reported its strongest first-quarter performance in five years, with record revenue of $13.2 billion and a profit of $387 million. The momentum continued into the second quarter. The following July, the company posted record revenue of $15 billion and a net profit of $1 billion, driven by strong demand from both business and leisure travelers.

United Airlines began using sustainable aviation fuel in commercial operations in 2016, becoming the first major U.S. airline to use it in regular service. In the 2020s, it added more fuel-efficient aircraft and began upgrading interiors and technology with seat-back entertainment screens, larger overhead bins, improved lighting, and other features. United also started rolling out satellite-based Starlink Wi-Fi throughout its fleet to expand in-flight Internet connectivity.