United Awards Free Flights for a Year to Winners of "Your Shot to Fly" Sweepstakes

Grand prize winners live in Bradenton, FL; Cleveland, OH; Goodyear, AZ; Oakland, CA and San Francisco, CA

More than one million people uploaded vaccine documents to United's app and website for their shot at winning a year of free travel anywhere in the world the airline flies, in any class of service

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United Airlines

Jul 29, 2021, 07:00 ET

CHICAGO, July 29, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines today announced the five lucky grand prize winners of its "Your Shot to Fly" sweepstakes, who will each get to fly anywhere in the world United flies with a companion over the course of the next year. The winners of the "Your Shot to Fly" sweepstakes are:

Ashley Cronkhite from Bradenton, FL
Robert Simicak from Cleveland, OH
Sean Husmoe from Goodyear, AZ
Lauren Aldredge from Oakland CA
Lauren M. from San Francisco, CA

Your Shot to Fly Grand Prize Winner Surprises

The sweepstakes was in support of the Biden administration's ongoing national effort to encourage more people to get their COVID-19 vaccination and encouraged United's MileagePlus^®loyalty members to upload their vaccine records to United. In less than a month, more than one million MileagePlus members uploaded their vaccine cards to the United app and website for a shot to win one of the grand prizes. In June the airline awarded 30 first prize winners with a pair of roundtrip tickets anywhere United flies.

"We were proud to do our part to encourage more Americans to get their shot and were thrilled by the overwhelming response we received. This prize clearly struck an emotional chord with our customers, as the opportunity to travel and connect with people and places that matter most is something that clearly has been missed during the pandemic," said United's CEO, Scott Kirby. "I'd like to extend my personal gratitude to everyone who entered the sweepstakes and more importantly, made the decision to get vaccinated."

United is the only U.S. airline to offer its own one-stop-shop where customers can conveniently get "travel-ready" by uploading and storing their COVID-19 test results and vaccination records directly through the airline's website and award-winning mobile app with the Travel-Ready Center. The airline's easy-to-use travel tool enables customers to reduce stress and save valuable time at the airport right from the palm of their hand.

All of the grand prize winners are already starting to plan out the adventures they and their families will have in the upcoming year thanks to United. Ashley Cronkhite is an advertising professional who began working at a grocery store during the pandemic. She plans to travel to European destinations including Ireland and Italy with her best friend – her mom. Robert Simicak plans to travel to national parks around the U.S. with his wife, who is a frontline healthcare worker in Cleveland. Lauren Aldredge will experience her first time flying in a premium cabin and will be traveling to celebrate her 30th birthday with her partner. Sean Husmoe plans to travel with his wife and daughters to check off the final two continents that they have not yet visited, including South America and Antarctica. Lauren M. plans to travel with her family, including a trip to Tahiti with her husband.

The rest of United's customers will have no shortage of opportunities to plan long-awaited getaways of their own, as the airline has continued to grow its schedule in response to increased travel demand. Since May, the airline has launched new flights to Greece, Iceland, South Africa, Ghana and Croatia, and has resumed service as countries like Italy, Portugal, Spain and France re-opened to vaccinated travelers or travelers with a negative COVID test. For those planning to stay closer to home, United is adding nearly 150 flights to warm-weather destinations across the U.S, just in time for the winter holiday season.

Travel-Ready Center

Since its launch, United customers have been able to easily access testing or vaccine requirements needed for travel destinations, upload country specific required forms, completed testing results and vaccination records as well as have them verified, all within United's award-winning mobile app and website with the Travel-Ready Center. The Travel-Ready Center is an industry-leading digital platform that offers customers the ability to choose from thousands of COVID-19 testing providers across the country, book appointments and receive confirmation whether their test results meet their destination's requirements. Once requirements are validated, customers will see a status indicator informing them that they are "travel-ready" and receive their mobile boarding pass. United is the only airline that offers its customers these services as part of an integrated experience within its own app and website. The airline was also the first to set up an easy way for international travelers to bring a CDC-approved test with them, self-administer while abroad, and return home through an innovative collaboration with Abbott.

Mileage Plus: A 40-Year Legacy

United introduced its MileagePlus loyalty program in 1981 and over the past four decades, it has continued to be a leading airline loyalty program, with a number of industry-first innovations designed to enhance the travel experience for members. United added its Premier® program in 1983 and then its first loyalty credit card in 1987. More recently, in 2019, United announced that MileagePlus award miles never expire, and introduced PlusPoints for MileagePlus Premier members, giving customers more flexibility in how they choose to fly. United has also proudly worked together with MileagePlus members to contribute to the communities it serves, most notably donating 3.4 billion miles to charity organizations since 2003.

MileagePlus was named the 2020 Best Frequent Flyer Program by Global Traveler for the 17^th consecutive year and was recently recognized as the Best Overall Frequent Flyer program by WalletHub.

About United

United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the World." 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