Late for Your Connection? United’s App Will Now Hold the Plane—and Your Hand

As airports fill and travelers flood the skies this summer, United is unveiling a suite of new mobile app features designed to solve one of the most frustrating moments in air travel: catching a tight connection.

Now live across the airline’s five hub airports—Newark, Chicago O’Hare, Washington Dulles, Houston Intercontinental, and San Francisco—these app upgrades aim to provide travelers with complete visibility and control over their journey, especially during the crucial window between flights.

United Airlines lounge at Newark International Airport / Photo: Courtesy of United Airlines

The new digital tools offer everything from real-time gate-to-gate walking directions and estimated walk times to a live countdown to boarding and even alerts when United’s ConnectionSaver technology has kicked in to hold a departing flight.

“We know that giving people more information, in a transparent and easy-to-understand way, can help de-stress the connecting flight experience,” said David Kinzelman, United’s Chief Customer Officer. “With these new features, our customers will have even more real-time details about their flight and, as a result, have an even better experience flying United.”

It’s a clear continuation of United’s tech-forward strategy—delivering not just convenience, but also reassurance—precisely when travelers need it most.

Smarter Tools for Connections

At the heart of these improvements is the expansion of United’s ConnectionSaver, a proprietary AI-powered tool introduced in 2019.

Already responsible for saving more than 3.3 million connections without causing delays to on-time passengers, the airline claims that its ConnectionSaver quietly recalibrates departure times when it determines that a few extra minutes can help late-arriving travelers make their flight.

United Airlines App / Photo: Courtesy of United Airlines

What’s different now is visibility. Previously, ConnectionSaver worked behind the scenes. Today, travelers can see it in action—and that clarity matters.

Depending on the nature of the connection, the app experience adapts to three distinct scenarios.

For travelers with comfortable layovers, the app provides a countdown to boarding, turn-by-turn directions, and curated suggestions for navigating the airport—such as United Club lounge locations and dining options.

For those racing the clock, the app displays walking time between gates, live boarding status, and alerts if the next flight is being held through ConnectionSaver.

Photo: Courtesy of United Airlines

And if the connection is missed, United’s app now provides instant recovery options. Travelers receive real-time rebooking offers for the next confirmed flight or standby availability, so they can get back on their way without queuing at the service desk.

United trialed the upgrades in a live beta test this spring. Over 350,000 customers used the new app features, with a 98 percent success rate in making their connection. Encouraged by those results, United deployed the tools in time for the busiest travel period of the year.

More than 20 million United customers are expected to fly on itineraries with connections this summer. For many, those layovers will now come with personalized guidance, delivered straight to their phones.

What’s Next?

According to United, plans to continue enhancing the app’s capabilities are underway.

Multilingual support will expand beyond English and Spanish. Travelers will also be able to enable location services, providing a live map of their position in the airport and step-by-step walking instructions to their gate.

Photo: United Airlines. Courtesy of Jason Leung / Unsplash

And soon, personalized text messages will notify connecting travelers about flight status updates, delays, and helpful layover tips—whether their connection is smooth, tight, or missed.

United’s Tech Strategy

The mobile app enhancements are part of United’s broader commitment to digital innovation. The airline is on its way to roll out free Starlink Wi-Fi for MileagePlus members, with regional jets being outfitted this year and mainline aircraft to follow.

United now sends radar-based weather alerts to help travelers understand how conditions in one region can impact flights in another. And in a first among U.S. airlines, it supports Apple’s AirTag “Share Location” feature, allowing customer service agents to help track down mishandled baggage more efficiently.

Photo: Courtesy of United Airlines

Travelers experiencing delays or cancellations can also access personalized self-service tools for rebooking, tracking checked bags, and—when eligible—receiving meal or hotel vouchers, without ever needing to speak to an agent.

Also, the airline continues to enhance its passenger experience package by introducing Spotify into its in-flight entertainment mix. This collaboration will provide over 450 hours of curated content, including playlists, video podcasts, and audiobooks, at no additional cost on United’s in-flight entertainment systems across more than 680 aircraft.

Improving the Connection Experience

With these updates, paired with the introduction of the airline’s all-new Polaris Studio cabins and reimagined premium experience, United is trying to humanize and improve the journey for every passenger, with every feature designed around one principle: clarity.

Photo: Polaris Lounge, San Francisco. Courtesy of United Airlines

As the airline’s CEO, Scott Kirby, told Business Traveler in May, his goal is to have every passenger get candid information whenever a delay takes place. “I want them to get the same information I would get if I were onboard,” he said.

So, for United passengers this summer, the most important travel companion may not be a seatmate or a suitcase—it’s their smartphone.