Airline has saved customers more than
$2 billion since eliminating change
fees in 2020 and will debut new series of ads this Sunday
starring Emmy-award winning actor Kyle
Chandler
United becomes first big game advertiser to
create six different commercials written to speak directly to local
football fans
CHICAGO, Feb. 6, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines has saved customers more than
$2 billion since becoming the first
legacy airline to permanently eliminate change fees more than three
years ago, and today released a series of new commercials starring
Emmy-award winning actor Kyle
Chandler that will air this Sunday and promote the benefits
of the policy change. In the ads, Chandler speaks directly to
football fans in five different markets and encourages them to
believe in their team and book a United flight to next year's game
in New Orleans, without worrying
about change fees.
The campaign - "Believing Changes Everything" - is the first
time a big game advertiser has created this many different
commercials that were written specifically for local markets. The
market-specific ads will target Chiefs fans in Kansas City, Browns fans in Cleveland and Texans fans in Houston on broadcast TV and Bears fans in
Chicago and Broncos fans in
Denver on social media. A general
market film will also air on TV in Chicago, Denver, Baltimore, Orlando, Colorado
Springs and Cincinnati.
Each of the local commercials speaks directly to the emotions fans
in these cities may be feeling on Sunday and culminates by
encouraging them to dream big about their team's chances next
season.
"This is about believing. Believing so hard that you book your
flight to next year's big game before the season even starts," says
Chandler. "Because believing that hard can change everything."
More than 10 million United customers have changed their flight
without paying change fees since the airline's policy went into
effect in 2020. Since that time:
- 3.6 million people switched the time of day of their
flight;
- 1.8 million people extended their trip altogether;
- 1.5 million people chose to fly to or from a different
airport;
- 300,000 people changed from a domestic flight to an
international one, or vice-versa;
- And the number of people who changed their flights themselves
in United's industry-leading app has doubled.
"This simple policy change has had a dramatic impact on our
customers and the overall experience of flying United," said
Linda Jojo, United's Chief Customer
Officer. "You can book with confidence knowing that even if your –
or your teams' – plans change, United has your back."
United has a long and storied history with professional football
and currently has relationships with eight teams, some dating back
more than 50 years. United is the official airline for the
San Francisco 49ers and the
official commercial airline of the Kansas City Chiefs and is flying
both teams to and from this weekend's game in Las Vegas. The airline also regularly adds
extra flights to make it easier for fans to watch their favorite
teams play on the road and this year will fly its largest big game
schedule yet with 43 new direct flights, including special flight
number UA 1989 and UA 1587 from Kansas
City and UA 1995 and UA 1845 from San Francisco.
"Everyone tuning into the game isn't feeling the same way, in
fact, the majority of fans are watching someone else's team play.
This presented a unique creative opportunity to make an ad that
speaks directly to the cities and fanbases who are already looking
ahead to next season. By producing market-specific commercials, we
can avoid the sport cliches that are all-too-common this time of
year and demonstrate that United is standing with fans of the local
team who are already excited about next season," said Maggie Schmerin, United's Chief Advertising
Officer.
The "Believing Changes Everything" films were directed by
two-time Oscar winner Chloé Zhao and produced in partnership with
United's creative agency of record, 72andSunny.
Fans who want to preview the spots ahead of Sunday's game can
watch them now on United's YouTube channel.
About United
At United, Good Leads The Way. With U.S. hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los
Angeles, New
York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., United operates the most
comprehensive global route network among North American carriers,
and is now the largest airline in the world as measured by
available seat miles. For more about how to join the United team,
please visit www.united.com/careers and more information about the
company is at www.united.com. United Airlines Holdings, Inc., the
parent company of United Airlines, Inc., is traded on the Nasdaq
under the symbol "UAL".
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/no-fees-to-change-a-flight-united-airlines-inspires-football-fans-to-believe-in-next-season-302054595.html
SOURCE United Airlines