We recently launched our first brand campaign in nearly a decade, Good Leads The Way. It celebrates our employees who work hard to do the right thing for our customers and the communities we serve. The four words in the campaign are powerful because they are more than a slogan. Good Leads The Way is United’s determination and aspiration to be a genuine force for good.
For example, United has committed to going 100% Green by 2050 without relying on carbon offsets. We’re making critical investments in carbon sequestration projects and electric and hydrogen-powered aircraft technology. Perhaps most importantly, we’ve invested more in sustainable aviation fuel than the rest of the world’s airlines combined. We’ve also embarked on a plan to train, by the end of the decade, 5,000 pilots at our Aviate Academy—more than half of them women and people of color.
We’re a force for good for our customers, too. Our United Next plan, which we unveiled last year, will add 500 new aircraft to our fleet, equipped with customer-friendly features like larger overhead bins with enough space for everyone’s carry-on bags and seatback entertainment and power outlets to make every seat on the plane better. We’re also retrofitting our existing fleet to the same standard, transforming the experience of every United customer on a mainline flight.
Throughout the pandemic, United used our aircraft and unique capabilities to help communities struggling the most to fight COVID: from flying medical professionals for free to carrying thousands of tons of medical cargo around the world, we did our part to be a force for good in especially trying times. The most recent example of our Good Leads the Way commitment may be the response that we have mobilized in response to the war in Ukraine.
Partnering with Airlink, we’ve flown first responders to Europe so they can travel to Ukraine and other areas where help is urgently needed. We’ve also transported 60 tons of critical cargo, including food and medical supplies, bound for Ukraine, Poland, Moldova, and Romania to help those in need. The funds United has helped raise have also empowered some of the other costs of the response, including passenger flights and logistics related to first- and last-mile trucking for many shipments. And we continue to support organizations like World Central Kitchen, American Red Cross, and Americares that are on the front lines of this response.
We’re proud that we’re not doing this work alone. Members of our Mileage Plus community have stepped up and—together with United—have donated a total of 47.5 million frequent flyer miles and nearly a half million dollars in cash to support this lifesaving work. This response from our most loyal customers is inspiring, and it’s evidence to me that Good Leads The Way is a commitment that resonates with our customers as much as our employees.
We’re grateful to those who have already generously supported this work. To join the effort—including by donating miles—please visit donate.mileageplus.com.
Thank you for choosing to fly United and, by doing so, helping us bring Good Leads the Way to life.
Sincerely,
Brett J. Hart
President, United Airlines
