United Airlines Takes Home CIO 100 Award for Innovative Customer Volunteer Program

United receives recognition for industry-leading tool that improves rebooking process for overbooked flights

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May 02, 2019, 11:55 ET

CHICAGO, May 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- IDG's CIO announced United Airlines as a recipient of a 2019 CIO 100 award for its innovative volunteer solicitation program. United is the first airline to implement a fully automated tool that enables customers to volunteer their seat, confirm a new flight itinerary and receive compensation without additional steps at the gate which also helps make boarding more streamlined and less stressful for customers and employees alike. With this tool, available during check-in at united.com, the mobile app, and at kiosks at the airport, customers can elect from options including free schedule changes or bid to exchange a confirmed seat, all at the time of check-in. This is the airline's third consecutive year receiving this award, recognizing United as exemplifying the highest level of operational and strategic excellence in information technology (IT).

"Our journey in putting the customer at the center of everything we do is about identifying and solving issues with the travel experience, and that is exactly what this program does," said Linda Jojo, executive vice president of technology and chief digital officer at United Airlines. "We saw an opportunity to not only remove the stress by preventing potential overbooked flights before they occur, but to also offer an opportunity for customers. This is the latest step in our plan to provide our customers with industry-leading transparency and control."

"Across the business landscape, companies everywhere recognize the vital role that an innovative, value-driven approach to information technology plays in their success," said Maryfran Johnson, IDG's Executive Director of CIO Programs. "This year's CIO 100 winning companies are inspiring examples of how IT leadership, business collaboration and digital transformation will drive future growth."

This recognition of United's investment in cutting-edge technologies follows the airline's recent honor from the "People's Voice" Webby Award in the "Business and Finance" category for the reimagined United app. United's app was also a nominee in the "Best Practices" category. Over the past few years, United has invested heavily in mobility and technology, empowering a large percentage of their workforce and enabling them to better perform their duties on the move while providing customers best-in-class technology to improve the travel experience.

United will be recognized at The CIO 100 Symposium & Awards Ceremony, to be held Wednesday evening, Aug. 21, at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

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".

SOURCE United Airlines