United Airlines has quietly launched one of the most useful app updates in years, especially if you have a connecting flight.
United Mobile App Gets Major Upgrade for Connections, With Turn-by-Turn Gate Directions and Real-Time Updates
The latest United app update now gives passengers real-time gate-to-gate directions, estimated walk times, and even alerts if United is holding your next flight for you.
This is more than a cosmetic change. The app now includes a full suite of tools designed specifically to help travelers with connections, whether they are comfortable, tight, or already missed. The update is live across United’s U.S. hub airports and integrates with the airline’s ConnectionSaver technology, a backend system that has already helped save more than 3 million customer connections since it debuted in 2019.
Customers can now access a dedicated connection section within the app, which includes:
- Turn-by-turn directions from your arrival gate to your connecting flight, including estimated walk time
- Countdown timer to boarding and departure
- Notifications if your connecting flight is being held
- Personalized tips for navigating the airport during layovers, including United Club locations (and certainly a potential advertising opportunity in the future…)
If a connection is missed, the app (in theory, at least) automatically provides rebooking options, including confirmed seats or standby alternatives. This means no more waiting in long customer service lines or scrambling to find a gate agent after a delay. I’ll wait to try it until I render a final verdict, but this appears to be a big win for both frequent flyers and occasional travelers who dread misconnecting.
The features were tested during a spring beta phase with over 350,000 users. United says the system helped 98% of those customers make their connections. With more than 20 million travelers booked on connecting itineraries this summer alone, this is a very timely rollout.
Future improvements will include additional languages, more detailed airport mapping with live positioning, and expanded text alerts. United will also begin sending real-time updates for all connecting flights, not just tight ones.
CONCLUSION
United has built one of the most functional mobile apps in the industry, and this latest update pushes it even further ahead. Giving passengers real-time, personalized information about their connections (including the peace of mind of knowing if the next flight is being held) is a practical move that solves real problems. In a summer where millions are traveling through crowded hubs, it is the kind of innovation that may quietly save your trip and built brand loyalty. In terms of technology, United has once again shown it understands what matters to travelers: less stress, more clarity, and smarter tools…that will hopefully work when it counts.
Could you suggest to your contacts at UA to include Netflix and Spotify feeds for pax waiting for delayed flights?
Use the internet much ? Try a book or a joke , which are much better than the internet .
Does it work if you’re transiting off of a UA flight in Europe or Asia?
Maybe they can add directions to the local bathhouse for you as well freak.
AA offers the walking times and directions but this is a big step above their app.
At least he would need directions… you know where they all are by heart.
His obsession with me has probably given him carpal tunnel syndrome. In both hands.
Turn-by-turn direction is a funny feature to me. I assume they direct you on the path that requires the least amount of walking, not necessarily the fastest route. At somewhere like DFW, you’re crazy to ever ride the train, but AA always directs you to it, I’m sure UA would as well. This also assumes people are capable of reading and following simple directions, which generally speaking, they are not.
@Jerry … _1 . And , if the gate is changed , then the pax will follow the directions to the former gate .
Far better to look at the airport display , which will have changed the gate to the appropriate one .
United also moved their pass travel from standard web to the app. A huge improvement.
They’ve always had gate to gate directions available on the airport maps on the app. I guess this just makes it more prominent? Anyway, I am usually looking for gate-to-lounge-to-gate directions.
I found it very convenient on a recent transfer at IAH, not an airport I usually travel through. I had extremely far to go both inbound and outbound and that airport can be complicated.
My United app doesn’t indicate an update for this feature. How do you include this on the app?