At some point today, you will probably hear someone thank you for traveling with United by saying, “We know you have a choice when you fly…” You already know about some of the good reasons to choose United, like our award-winning MileagePlus loyalty program, our best-in-class route network, and our industry-leading app, to name a few. Well, we’re working on another one.
As United’s chief communications officer, I, with my team, am charged with telling United’s story in a way that inspires pride in our customers and our employees. That story, about our perseverance through the pandemic, our values, and our future, doesn’t just set us apart from our competitors; it also offers a compelling reason for employees to choose to pursue a career at United and for our customers to choose to fly with us.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been the most disruptive crisis in aviation history. After moving quickly to keep people safe while they travel, protect the jobs of our employees, and use our planes to help communities around the world as they fought COVID-19, we turned our attention squarely to the future.
The pandemic could have been an excuse to put off hard decisions. Instead, we confronted the tough questions facing our business and our industry. To put it plainly, we didn’t fight our way through the crisis only to go back to the way things were before.
That’s why, even amid the depths of the pandemic, we made historic investments to fight climate change. We became the first major U.S. airline to eliminate change fees on most tickets. We ordered more new customer-friendly, single-aisle aircraft than any airline in a decade.
We opened the only pilot training academy operated by a major U.S. airline—and committed to a student body that was at least half women and people of color. And we were among the first large companies in the world to require our employees to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Each of these actions sent two unmistakable signals to anyone paying attention: 1) United is committed to doing the right thing, even when it is hard; 2) United is determined to lead—not just within our industry, but among the world’s largest and most recognizable brands.
So we’ve decided now is the time to tell this story in a new and compelling way. For the first time in nearly a decade, United is launching a national brand advertising campaign. Hopefully you have already seen it on TV, your favorite streaming platform, the airport terminal, your social media feeds, or even on this flight.
United’s story is defined by four simple words: “Good Leads the Way.” The heart of everything we do and say—every decision—is doing the right thing. This doesn’t mean we will always get things right (we won’t), but it means we’re always trying to make things better for you, your travel experience, our planet, and the communities we serve.
The best part of our story? It’s never finished. “Good Leads the Way” is our commitment to you to continually blaze trails and be a force for good.
Thanks again for choosing United.
Josh Earnest
Chief Communications Officer
