United Airlines delivers best on-time summer performance in company history

CHICAGO, IL – United Airlines continued its stretch of record-breaking operational performance by achieving its best on-time results for a summer travel season in company history. Beginning June 1 through Aug. 31, more than 76 percent of mainline and regional flights arrived on time, representing a five percent increase over summer 2015 and a nearly 10 percent increase over summer 2014.

“Our focus on delivering reliable, on-time service to our customers continues to result in record-breaking operational performance across our system,” said Greg Hart, United’s chief operations officer and executive vice president. “Thanks to the hard work of our entire team, we flew more customers to their destinations on time this summer, despite encountering more days of challenging weather than in the previous years.”

Key highlights of United’s ongoing operational improvements include:

• A company-best performance for flights arriving at or before their scheduled arrival time during the busy July 4 holiday travel period.

• Earning a first or second place ranking among peers in key arrival and departure measures in the three months between Memorial Day and Sept. 1, when United transported more than 53 million customers.

• A company-best start to a year from Jan. 1 through Aug. 31 for flights arriving on time.

United launched several key initiatives last year to improve reliability and enhance the customer experience, including making scheduling adjustments, increasing its focus on teamwork and equipping more employees with mobile technology to better serve customers. The airline has equipped its pilots and flight attendants with mobile devices and has begun deploying additional devices to other airport-based employees.

Additionally, United is utilizing innovative technology in the company’s state-of-the-art Network Operations Center in Chicago, enabling the airline to better predict and recover from weather-related operational challenges. As United stated earlier this year, the airline expects approximately $300 million of value by 2018 from running a more reliable airline.