United Airlines

United Airlines is one of the largest airlines in the United States, headquartered in Chicago (Willis Tower). Its parent company is United Airlines Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: UAL; part of the S&P 500 and DJTA indices). The airline's origins date to 1926 (Varney Air Lines, first cargo operations), and United Air Lines was formally established on March 28, 1931 by consolidating several carriers (Boeing Air Transport, National Air Transport, Pacific Air Transport, Varney). Its CEO is Scott Kirby. United operates a fleet of about 1,127 aircraft, serves 411 destinations across six continents and employs about 113,200 people (2025). FY2025 revenue was about $59.1B, with net income of about $3.4B. Major hubs include Chicago-O'Hare, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, Newark, San Francisco, Washington-Dulles and Guam; its loyalty program is MileagePlus, and United is a founding member of the Star Alliance. On the technology side, the airline - like most large carriers - uses artificial intelligence and machine learning for operations and network optimization, customer service (chatbots/assistants), personalization and predictive fleet maintenance, among others.