United Airlines has introduced a new mobile app feature that gives passengers more flexibility when their travel plans are disrupted. Travelers who are rebooked onto a later flight can now join the standby list for up to three earlier departures directly through the United app.
Instead of repeatedly checking for open seats, United will automatically monitor all three selected flights. When a seat becomes available, passengers will receive a text notification and can decide whether to switch to the earlier flight. Their original later-flight reservation remains confirmed until they choose to change it.
Previously, passengers could only join the standby list for one earlier flight and had to monitor availability themselves. The new feature is being introduced ahead of the busy Labor Day travel period.
United expects more than 3.4 million customers to travel between September 3 and 8, around 300,000 more than the same period last year. More than 85% of United customers use the airline’s app on their travel day, making the new digital feature especially useful during disruptions.
