United Airlines Launches Online Campaign for Hurricane Dorian Relief Efforts

Airline providing up to 5 million bonus miles for donations to disaster relief partners

News provided by

Sep 06, 2019, 18:24 ET

CHICAGO, Sept. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, United Airlines reaffirms its commitment to lifting up communities in need, launching a Crowdrise fundraising campaign for those affected by Hurricane Dorian. Donations will support the airline's relief partners that provide assistance in the United States and internationally: American Red Cross, Airlink, Americares and Global Giving.

United is working directly with these partner organizations, as well as engaging with community leaders to assess disaster impact and provide aid to rebuild affected communities. United will match the first $100,000 raised and provide up to a total of 5 million bonus miles to give to individuals who make donations of $50 or more.

"United has a long tradition of stepping forward to assist in supporting individuals and communities impacted by hurricanes, such as Harvey, Irma and Maria," said Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Brett Hart. "After natural disasters, our generous customers, employees and MileagePlus members step forward to ask how they can again support those in need, and we are proud and humbled to facilitate this critical work."

United also works with relief partner Airlink to connect with non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that respond quickly and efficiently in the wake of major disasters. This past week, United flew more than 25 relief workers, including a team of search and rescue experts from Empact Northwest, to the Bahamas to aid in the most pressing needs identified by the local government.

"We can't thank United enough for allowing us to jump out of the gate right away to aid people devastated by this storm," said Airlink CEO Steven J. Smith. "Search and rescue, medical care, temporary shelter, and access to potable water are among the most immediate and pressing needs identified in the region. United's assistance is critical in ensuring the right type of help quickly reaches those recovering."

United will continue to work directly with its partner organizations and engage with community leadership to properly address disaster impact and provide assistance to rebuild affected communities. The online campaign platform is currently scheduled to be available for donations through Sept. 30. As the level of impact on affected communities develops, United continues to evaluate how it can best provide assistance to those in need.

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, introduced ConnectionSaver, a new tool dedicated to improving the experience for customers connecting from one United flight to the next 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 356 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 783 mainline aircraft and the airline's United Express carriers operate 561 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 Airlines Holdings, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".

SOURCE United Airlines