United Airlines adds virtual gate and real-time baggage tracking

“Virtual Gate” gives customers real-time updates on which groups are boarding and a progress bar showing how many people are boarding.

United Club^SM The “nearest and best” feature recommends nearby United Club locations based on proximity to travelers’ gates and available capacity, with capacity information initially offered at ORD and rolling out to other airports in 2026.

The package delivery-style baggage tracking system displays real-time locations throughout the journey.

Personalized updates include advice on traveling with strollers or wheelchairs, travel document requirements and biometric boarding options as well as arrival information such as live weather data and local rideshare options.

CHICAGO, December 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — United today launched new features for its award-winning mobile app to save customers even more time and further improve the overall travel experience on the world’s largest airline*:

• “Virtual Gate” gives customers real-time updates on which groups are boarding and a progress bar showing how many people have boarded, eliminating the need to wait around the boarding gate.
• United Club’s “nearest and best” feature recommends nearby United Club locations based on proximity to travelers’ gates and available capacity, with capacity information initially proposed to ORD and rolling out to other airports in 2026.
• An enhanced mobile bag tracking feature includes a package delivery-style tracking tool that displays real-time locations throughout the journey.
• Personalized updates include advice on traveling with strollers or wheelchairs, reminders of required travel documents, and biometric boarding options.
• Arrival information features provide travelers with live local weather conditions, estimated local time of arrival, and instructions for connecting to rideshare services directly from the airport.

United has enhanced the industry’s best mobile app with AI-powered navigation tools that will predict which features will most benefit customers during their journey and personalize content for each traveler. These improvements come as the airline plans to welcome more than 10 million people during the winter holiday season**, the most ever for United during this period.

“The more information our customers have, the more confident they feel about their travel – and that’s especially important during the holidays,” said David Kinzelman, United’s chief customer officer. “The United app provides travelers with personalized, real-time updates throughout their journey, helping our customers feel like they have a personal assistant guiding them every step of the way.”

More than 84% of United customers use the app on the day of their flight, and since beta testing the app’s latest enhancements, the airline has found that customers appreciate the seamless communication, time savings and real-time updates.

For years, United has led the industry in adding groundbreaking innovations and policies across the airline to help customers self-serve and increase transparency, including:

• Personalized login experience: United has launched new personalized app features that make connecting flights easierincluding personalized step-by-step directions to connecting gates with estimated walking times, real-time flight status updates, guidance for longer layovers, and a warning if United is able to hold the plane for those with a very close connection.
• Bag tracking improvements: Integrated United Apple Share Item Location for AirTagso that customers around the world who travel with an AirTag or Find My network accessory can seamlessly share the accessory’s location with United’s customer service team to help them locate their luggage in the event of mishandling.
• Help with automatic rebooking: Rather than waiting in line to speak to an agent or manually searching for alternatives, United’s self-service tools automatically provide travelers custom booking modification optionsdetails of baggage tracking and, where applicable, meal and hotel vouchers if their flight is delayed or canceled.
• Real-time weather delay updates: United texts real-time radar maps to help customers understand how bad weather in one part of the country can impact a flight elsewhere. United are the first and only WE the airline currently provides its customers with these types of specific messages, and the airline sends them with the help of gen AI tools.

The new United app features are rolling out to customers and will be widely available ahead of the holiday season.

For more information, visit United.comand download the United app here. Visual resources can be found here.

*As measured by available seat miles

**Travel between December 18, 2025 and January 6, 2026

About United
At United, Good leads the way. With WE hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, new York/Newark, San Francisco And Washington, D.C.United operates the most comprehensive global route network among North American carriers and is now the world’s largest airline in terms of available seat miles. To find out more about how to join the United team, please visit www.united.com/careers and more information about the company is at www.united.com. United Airlines Holdings, Inc., the parent company of United Airlines, Inc., is listed on Nasdaq under the symbol “UAL“.

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SOURCE United Airlines