United Airlines is a travel management app for iOS and Android that handles flight bookings, check-in, and loyalty account management.
Product velocity
Active
Daily rank 🇺🇸
#9
▲2Travel · free
Sentiment
4.8
8.9M reviews
Nemesis
Southwest Airlines: Travel App
The App DNA
What makes this app unique?
Travelers use the app to bypass airport counter queues and manage complex international itineraries, removing the cognitive load of manual document tracking during transit.
For Frequent travelers and MileagePlus members seeking to manage bookings, flight status, and loyalty rewards.
What does it look like?
Key features
Automated logic to hold connecting flights for passengers with tight transfer windows.
High-speed internet access free for MileagePlus members.
Mobile-native boarding pass generation and storage.
How much does it cost?
The app functions as a free utility to drive loyalty program engagement and reduce operational overhead at airports.
Velocity
Active developmentUX improvementsopaqueShow more...
United Airlines ships approximately 0.38 releases per week, placing it in the active tier. While the latest version and preceding updates focus on self-service and usability, the release notes are consistently generic, suggesting a reliance on server-side feature flags or internal A/B testing rather than explicit changelog documentation. The development trend is stable, focusing on incremental UX refinements rather than major feature overhauls. The cadence is reliable, with updates occurring roughly every 3 to 4 weeks across both iOS and Android platforms.
Who built it?
United Airlines
6 apps tracked · Travel
CCS+
My Aviate
United Connections 2026
United DTSC
United AirlinesUser Sentiment
What do users think recently?
Review voice lately leans mixed. Users appreciate the streamlined check-in process allows travelers to complete their pre-flight requirements in seconds and mobile booking and flight management tools provide a reliable alternative to using the desktop website, but report international travelers face payment failures when attempting to purchase upgrades or baggage with non-us billing addresses.
How are ratings & reviews evolving?
Weekly average review rating
What users say, by theme
- The streamlined check-in process allows travelers to complete their pre-flight requirements in seconds
- Mobile booking and flight management tools provide a reliable alternative to using the desktop website
- International travelers face payment failures when attempting to purchase upgrades or baggage with non-US billing addresses
120 of 3899 recent reviews analyzed · high confidence · Mixed overall
Read the full review analysisUnlock 2 more frustration themes and 2 user requests, each backed by review evidence.
Access the full report for freeCompetition
Competitive landscape for United Airlines
How's the Travel market?
United Airlines holds the #11 spot in the US Travel & Local category, maintaining a consistent presence despite a 20-rank drop in some international markets. The app's high rating of 4.77 stars across 8.9M ratings indicates strong core utility, though the gap between its free-tier discovery and grossing performance suggests untapped ancillary revenue potential.
Read the market outlookThe rivals identified
By Southwest Airlines Co.
Maintains the highest user engagement volume in the domestic travel niche with a consistent release cadence of 8 updates in the last six months.
- Streamlined booking flow prioritizes speed for frequent flyers over complex multi-leg itinerary management
- Integrated baggage tracking provides real-time status updates directly on the home dashboard
- Simplified fare class structure reduces the cognitive load during the seat selection process
Unlock the head-to-head verdict: where this rival wins, and where it loses.
Access the full report for freeThe Analyst's Read
Key takeaways for United Airlines
Where is it heading?
The travel app market is consolidating around rapid, self-service utility. United Airlines remains advantaged by its global network, but maintenance-mode stability issues leave it exposed to rivals like Southwest Airlines that prioritize UX speed. The PM must prioritize stability to prevent the current mixed sentiment from sliding into a negative trend.
- Persistent check-in crashes in the latest version erode user trust, which compounds the rating drag already visible on Android.
- The latest release added security wait time tracking, signaling active feature investment rather than maintenance-only status.
The SWOT
- Global network integration supports complex international itinerary management
- MileagePlus loyalty program drives high-frequency user retention
- Multi-language interface would unlock international user segments
- Extended flight history view would improve record-keeping utility
Next best moves
Rebuild check-in flow stability because crashes are the #1 frustration theme → reduce churn
+ 1 more prioritized moveThe counter-intuitive read
The app's reliance on mandatory credit card storage…
Read the full takeFeature gaps
Rapid check-in speed (available in Southwest Airlines but missing here) +1
Since the last report: The app's competitive profile has shifted from a focus on technical check-in stability to addressing revenue-blocking international payment failures and user distrust regarding mandatory billing data collection.
Bottom line
United Airlines must stabilize the check-in flow to defend its loyalty-driven moat against faster domestic rivals. Addressing the international payment friction would unlock significant ancillary revenue, turning the app from a simple utility into a high-conversion sales channel.
Unlock 2 critical frictions, 2 market threats, 1 more prioritized move and the analyst’s take.
Access the full report for freeFAQ
Is United Airlines better than Southwest for domestic travel?
Does United Airlines charge for using the app?
Why does the app ask for my credit card during check-in?
What is a good alternative for flight discovery?
Sources
Report last updated