United today announced that it is the first U.S. airline to introduce an interactive map feature powered by Google Flight Search Enterprise Technology. Customers can access Map Search on United.com to easily compare and shop for flights, based on departure city, budget and location type, including popular national park, skiing and cultural destinations. This new digital tool displays fares in a map view, allowing customers to simultaneously compare travel to a variety of destinations in a single search.
“We’ve reinvented the way people search for flights and introduced something new for our customers that is simpler, provides better results and is easy to use,” said Linda Jojo, Executive Vice President for Technology and Chief Digital Officer. “Leveraging the power of Google’s Flight Search technology, we are able to provide an all-in-one solution that streamlines the search process and allows our customers to more easily find the flights that work best for them.”
Customers can apply over a dozen filters to their map search, including viewing non-stop only flights, specific or flexible dates, and one-way or round-trip options. Additionally, customers can set their preferred departure city and maximum price preference, and filter options based on the type of destination they’re looking to visit. The feature currently offers filters to view destinations that are popular for the following offerings:
- National Parks
- Beaches
- Beer & Breweries
- Culture
- Food & Drink
- Hiking
- Outdoors
- Romantic
- Skiing & Snowboarding
- Snorkeling and Scuba
The ‘national park’ filter was a more recent addition to United’s map search feature given the increased interest we’ve received from customers over the past few months for flights to destinations where they can more easily recreate responsibly. These Map Search filters were designed to highlight the destination types that are most popular with today’s traveler, including the top national park destinations served by United. The airline operates more flights to more national park destinations than any other U.S. carrier.
In addition to the filter options available on Map Search, MileagePlus members can also use the tool to view all of their past travels with United. With the “Where I’ve Been” feature, the map will highlight all the destinations a customer has traveled to with United.
This tool was developed in direct response to customer feedback and United and Google are continuing to collaborate on enhancing this innovative map search capability. Map Search follows a number of recent innovations introduced by United to streamline the travel process. Earlier this month, United debuted its Destination Travel Guide, which allows customers to filter and view destinations’ COVID-19 related travel restrictions. Additionally, as part of its United CleanPlusSM program, the airline recently introduced touchless check-in, text alerts for passengers on standby and upgrade lists to reduce person-to-person interaction, and a new chat function to give customers a contactless option to receive immediate access to information about cleaning and safety procedures.
Since the start of the pandemic, United has been a leader among U.S. airlines in enacting new policies and innovations designed to keep employees and passengers safer when traveling. It was the first U.S. airline to mandate masks for flight attendants, quickly following with all customers and employees. United was also among the first U.S. carriers to announce it wouldn’t permit customers who refused to comply with the airline’s mandatory mask policy to fly with them while the face mask policy is in place. United was also the first U.S. airline to roll out touchless check-in for customers with bags, and the first to require passengers take an online health assessment before traveling. And last week, the airline announced it will apply Zoono Microbe Shield, an EPA registered antimicrobial coating that forms a long-lasting bond with surfaces and inhibits the growth of microbes, to its entire mainline and express fleet before the end of the year.
