Pedaling for a Purpose? United Airlines Provides Discounted Fares and Free Checked Bikes for AIDS/LifeCycle Cyclists

United helps cyclists flying to California for bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles to raise awareness about the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic

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United Airlines

May 08, 2019, 10:03 ET

CHICAGO, May 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines announced today it is offering an airfare discount and free checked bikes for customers flying to ride in the AIDS/LifeCycle bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. Available for purchase now, the discount is valid for cyclists booking travel originating worldwide to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC) and out of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), John Wayne (SNA), and Burbank (BUR) airports, between May 26 to June 11.

For every 40 customers who fly with United's discounted fares, AIDS/LifeCycle will earn 400 dollars in funds which can be used for United products, including flight arrangements between San Francisco and Los Angeles for AIDS/LifeCycle staff.

"United's commitment to the AIDS/LifeCycle ride is about more than bringing together our two California hub cities, San Francisco and Los Angeles," said Janet Lamkin, United's president for California. "Our support for this ride is about deepening our commitment to the LGBT community, and by offering these discounts we hope to grow the number of participants, and in turn, activists who can together raise awareness and additional funding for services that address HIV/AIDS."

United supports the AIDS/LifeCycle mission to raise awareness about the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic and fund services such as HIV testing, prevention, care, and more. In addition to United employees cycling in the 7-day, 545-mile bike ride for Team United, the airline will supply support along the ride for all cyclists, providing bandanas, equipment changes and other support to help cyclists get to the finish line in Los Angeles. To purchase, cyclists can visit united.com/meetingtravel and enter "ZFWZ101320" in the offer code box.

"We are thrilled to have United Airlines as a member of the AIDS/LifeCycle community. United's generosity provides a great travel benefit for participants who come from all over the country to make the 7-day journey from San Francisco to Los Angeles," said Tracy Evans, ride director for AIDS/LifeCycle. "The access United provides means more people can join and fundraise through AIDS/LifeCycle, resulting in more programs and services being delivered to the ride's two beneficiaries: San Francisco AIDS Foundation and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Thank you, United."

Today's announcement builds on United's continued commitment to California and to the LGBT community. The airline most recently has been recognized with the "Best-of-the-Best" designation by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce and the National Business Inclusion Consortium and a perfect score of 100 percent on the 2019 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) foundation. These organizations recognize United's leading initiatives for equality including today's announcement and the recent announcement that United became the first U.S. airline to offer non-binary gender options throughout all booking channels in addition to providing the option to select the title "Mx." during booking and in a MileagePlus customer profile. United customers and employees have the option to identify themselves as M (male), F (female), U (undisclosed) or X (unspecified), corresponding with what is indicated on their passports or identification.

Every customer. Every flight. Every day.

In 2019, United is focusing more than ever on its commitment to its customers, looking at every aspect of its business to ensure that the carrier keeps customers' best interests at the heart of its service. In addition to today's announcement, United recently announced that luxury skincare line Sunday Riley will make products exclusively for United customers to experience in amenity kits, released a re-imagined version of the most downloaded app in the airline industry and made DIRECTV free for every passenger on 211 aircraft, offering more than 100 channels on seat back monitors on more than 30,000 seats.

About United

United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." We are more focused than ever on our commitment to customers through a series of innovations and improvements designed to help build a great experience: Every customer. Every flight. Every day. Together, United Airlines and United Express operate approximately 4,900 flights a day to 355 airports across five continents. In 2018, United and United Express operated more than 1.7 million flights carrying more than 158 million customers. United is proud to have the world's most comprehensive route network, including U.S. mainland hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. United operates 779 mainline aircraft and the airline's United Express carriers operate 569 regional aircraft. United is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 countries via 28 member airlines. For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on Twitter and Instagram or connect on Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".

About AIDS/LIFECYCLE

AIDS/LifeCycle is a fully-supported, seven-day bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles. It's a life-changing ride—not a race—through some of California's most beautiful countryside. AIDS/LifeCycle is co-produced by the Los Angeles LGBT Center and San Francisco AIDS Foundation and is designed to advance their shared interest to reduce new HIV infections and improve the quality of life for people living with HIV.

SOURCE United Airlines