Beachfront beauty. Special adventures. Sun-soaked relaxation. If you can imagine it, you can find it at Dreams Resorts & Spas in Mexico or the Caribbean. It’s a family-friendly getaway destined to delight all types of travelers with Unlimited-Luxury^®. Count on 24-hour room service, endless gourmet dining, limitless top-shelf spirits and that pool you’ve been daydreaming of while kids ages 3-12 enjoy supervised fun in the Explorer’s Club and teens ages 13-17 live it up in the Core Zone. Enjoy a fantasy vacation made into reality. Your Dreams. Your Way.

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Citywide protests and strikes in Hong Kong may affect your travel plans. Please check your flight status at united.com or the United app before heading to Hong Kong International Airport (HKG). We also recommend leaving early to make sure you have plenty of time to travel to the airport and get through check-in and security.​​​

Apple has recalled some of its MacBook Pro Retina display 15-inch laptops manufactured between September 2015 and February 2017 that have defective batteries. If your MacBook Pro has a defective battery, your laptop will need to be turned off and unplugged during your flight. You also won’t be able to pack your laptop in a checked bag.

If you’re not sure if your MacBook Pro has a defective battery, please visit Apple’s website to check your serial number before your upcoming trip.

There have been some changes recently to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) applications and approvals are no longer processed instantly. If you don’t have a U.S. passport and require an ESTA, we recommend applying when you book your travel and no less than 72 hours prior to travel. ​​​​

https://www.united.com/CMS/en-US/travel/news/Pages/travelnotices.aspx

United Airlines sent out an email blast to select MileagePlus members this morning informing them about a new double dip offer with IHG Rewards Club for stays between September 20 – December 30, 2019.

Members that choose to earn miles with United for IHG stays will also earn 5 IHG Rewards Club points per USD spend (usually you don’t earn any).

You can access IHG here.

https://loyaltylobby.com/2019/09/20/ihg-rewards-club-united-airlines-mileageplus-double-dip-promo-september-20-december-30-2019/

United Airlines is set to fly one of their Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners all the way to New Zealand, replacing the older Boeing 777-300ER that currently flies on the route. Being a long-haul destination, the news that the journey will now be completed by a newer and far more comfortable Boeing 787-10 is exciting for United fans. United has made moves to replace its Boeing 777-300ER with a new Boeing 787-10 on its long-haul San Fransisco to Auckland, New Zealand route. United is actually the only US airline to use the Boeing 787-10, and likely the only airline to operate this particular aircraft to New Zealand. According to Boarding Area, the current Boeing 777-300ER is “very well-filled”. With 60 Bussiness class seats, 24 premium economy and 266 economy seats, the 777-300ER actually fits more passengers than the slightly smaller 787-10. In comparison, the 787-10 fits 44 business class seats, 21 premium economy, and 253 economy, passengers. The economy cabin is also only nine across compared to 10 on the 777-300ER.

Why United has reduced capacity on this route is unknown, but if the 777-300ER is regularly filled then likely the fares may increase on this route. It is also a bit concerning that they reduced the business class cabin as this would mean less award availability. The route will operate by a 787-10 once a day from December 3rd, 2019, as initially reported by Routesonline.

https://simpleflying.com/united-airlines-auckland-boeing-787-10/

A big shoutout to Captain Jeff Baum on my flight from Burbank to San Francisco last Friday. He modeled perfectly how pilots can quickly defuse anger over unexpected flight delays.

Morning fog is common in San Francisco during the summer. As lovely as that is to keep temperatures cool, it often leads to delays into San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

I was taking a mid-morning mainline A319 flight from Burbank to San Francisco last week. Although we boarded on time and were ready to pushback early, we received word of Air Traffic Control weather delay once onboard.

These are so common at SFO that I was not the least bit surprised. Other passengers, however, did not take to the initial announcement so kindly. Groans and cursing could be heard throughout the aircraft.

But rather than just hide in the flight deck, Captain Jeff Baum walked out, took the microphone, stepped into first class, and began talking.

He introduced himself, apologized for the delay, and carefully explained that it was weather-related. He explained that fog in SFO necessitates a “flow control program” in which landings are more spaced out than usual. That causes delays.

He promised to keep us updated and invited passengers to use the lavatories and their electronic devices while we waited. Our initial delay was 25 minutes.

25 minutes came and went. He returned and again provided an update. The fog had not lifted as anticipated and we’d need to wait another half hour. He apologized once again.

This time, there were no groans. In fact, everyone stayed calm.

Eventually we took off, made up some time (the schedule is always padded), and managed to land only about 40 minutes late.

United Airlines, hoping to get travelers thinking about next year’s vacations as the end of summer vacation season looms, announced several new international flights on Thursday.

The new service includes United’s first flights to Nice, France; Palermo, Italy; and Curacao, a Caribbean island popular with winter vacationers. All three will be offered from United’s hub in Newark, New Jersey.

United is also adding its first flights between its hub at Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Zurich, Switzerland, it’s seventh year-round European destination from Chicago. The airline already offers Zurich flights from other cities.

The other flight additions are additional daily flights or a switch from seasonal to year-round service on a handful of international flights from Newark, Denver and San Francisco. Tickets are on sale Thursday. 

Patrick Quayle, United’s vice president of international network, said the latest additions are part of United’s focus on international business and leisure markets over the past 2 ½ years, with the addition of 26 new markets.

In a play for premium travelers, three of the new destinations, Newark to Nice and Palermo, and Chicago-Zurich, will be served by United’s swank 767 300ER, a widebody jet with fewer seats than its traditional 767s, including a bunch in Polaris business class and premium economy. United’s new 767s have 167 seats versus 214 traditionally.

“The aircraft really has good segmentation in the sense that it’s a business (travel) heavy aircraft focused on business traffic and premium leisure traffic, giving people more choice there,” Quayle said.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/airline-news/2019/08/22/united-airlines-new-flights-to-france-italy-switzerland-on-tap/2081883001/

Pets are an important part of your family, and PetSafe^® is here to get your cat or dog where they need to be safely and comfortably. If your pet can’t travel in the cabin with you, you can use PetSafe to transport them to nearly 300 destinations. Our team loves animals as much as you do and will care for your pet throughout their entire journey.

Your pet’s safety is our top priority, so once you drop them off, we’ll load your pet on board the aircraft just before takeoff, and they’ll spend their journey in a climate-controlled, pressurized compartment.

After landing, we’ll unload your pet first to minimize their stress, and if they have a long journey or connection time, we’ll keep them in a safe place. Depending on their itinerary, your pet could stay at our terminal, an on-site kennel or off-site facility before the next step of their journey.

If you have any general questions about your pet’s travel, our specially trained team members at the PetSafe Customer Service Center are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

https://www.united.com/ual/en/us/fly/travel/animals/petsafe.html

Getting planes back in the air quickly between flights means money for an airline, which is what has United Airlines looking to the breakneck racing pits of NASCAR for tips.

NASCAR pit crews usually have just over 10 seconds to change tires, refuel and get their vehicles back on the racetrack. United saw these crews as a resource that could hone their team’s efficiency in de-icing, moving baggage and completing all the other time-consuming tasks needed to get a plane ready for flight.

So they sent their ramp service agent team leaders, or “ramp leads,” to pit crew training in Mooresville, North Carolina.

“Who wouldn’t like this?” asked Cody Turner of Denver. “I’m a ramp lead out there, and I’m just really excited to take these skills that I’ve learned here back home.”

Turner and the other ramp leads suited up May 22 to race the clock in six timed tire changes on United-branded race cars. While not exactly their typical workday overseeing luggage handling and aircraft servicing, they found similarities in pit crew workflow and priorities.

“This is very analogous work to what we do,” said Joni Teragawachi, director of training design for United. “They’re all about safety, efficiency, and speed in the box where the car is. Same thing for us.”

When United first sent employees to pit crew training in 2007, they found the lessons in communication, safety and work-space organization shaved five to seven valuable minutes off ramp employees’ turn time.(MORE: Airlines face record high summer travel season amid 737 MAX freeze)

“If you shorten turn time and you get the aircraft in the air flying more, that’s dollars in United’s pocket,” Teragawachi said. “I think last time we did this when we had about a seven minute turn-time shave-off they were saying it was equivalent to four or five additional aircraft in the air, which is huge.”

The racetrack experience is offered by Performance Instruction and Training (PIT), which specializes in preparing prospective pit crew members for NASCAR. PIT began helping corporations in 2001 after Coca-Cola approached them for help improving their assembly line process, according to Director of Corporate Programming Ben Cook.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/united-airlines-turns-nascar-pit-crews-quicker-turnover/story?id=63403177

United Airlines will start seasonal service this month from Newark Liberty International Airport to Naples, Italy.

Beginning May 22 and running through Oct. 4, there will be one daily round-trip flight. This will be the only airline to fly nonstop once the service begins.  

Choosing Naples as a destination for nonstop service is a brand new market, said a United Airlines spokesperson, which the company believes customers will want to travel to.  

“Naples is also another option for United customers traveling to Italy,” said Jonathan Guerin, a spokesperson for United. “From Newark, United serves Milan, Rome, Venice and Naples will be our newest way to access southern Italy.”

United previously said seasonal flights will be available from Newark to Porto, Portugal.

These seasonal roll outs come as Delta has already committed to having seasonal service from the Czech capital to John F Kennedy International Airport in New York. 

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2019/05/07/united-airlines-begins-flights-newark-naples-italy/1130315001/

United Airlines has had relationships with JPMorgan Chase and Expedia Group for years, but on Wednesday the airline’s executives suggested both companies may need to improve their offers to maintain the carrier’s business.

Simply put, it’s not 2009 anymore. Then, with airlines facing higher fuel costs and a recession, they would take cash anywhere they could find it, often by accepting mediocre deals with credit card issuers and online travel agencies.

After consolidation, and with a healthier economy, U.S. carriers are strong now. They consistently make money. In the first quarter, even as it wrestled with operational challenges, including the Boeing 737 Max grounding, United reported net income of $292 million, roughly double compared to last year.

Now, it can be more aggressive with its partners. On the credit card side, executives have been negotiating with JPMorgan Chase on a new contract, asking for terms as generous as Delta Air Lines received earlier this month from American Express. The United relationship is important to Chase, and eventually, the airline likely will get its own rich deal.

Expedia is another matter.

In February, United said it has been unable to reach a new agreement with the online travel agency, and on Wednesday executives confirmed they plan to pull their flights from the group’s consumer sites by Sept. 30. United executives said Expedia no longer provides enough value, given its cost.

“This is time to change,” said Andrew Nocella, United’s chief commercial officer, on the airline’s first quarter conference call. “Companies need to evolve and innovate, and we here at United changed a lot. We have invested in our own website and our app and continue to develop much more cost-effective and transparent and optimal sales abilities to distribute our content.”

As with Chase, United could be trying to force better terms from Expedia. But this could also be real, with United ready to have a closer relationship with customers.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/united-airlines-plays-hardball-expedia-183045109.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAFC2AQo5bVw5H-lsSAw1nka8bQJOeAtHprMqulSIz10rEcCdoeCi0JSJtDpXDxT7GfDyyVAEw8OYjr0WlGky9Ny6lScQqssE1K56yGUCCYfZBhtbGUcFl7HwGsdU-TtSUl4Ho-KMKuL7envCWJ_qb2H1lJwcTX1Q0yOsSDn_obcE