'Round the world with Star Alliance
Celebrating 20 years of Star Alliance connecting the globe
It happened 20 years ago, but David Lipsey remembers it like it was yesterday. August 9, 1997. His wife Dianne's birthday party. He had a surprise for her, one that was sure to make any gift that came before it, or any that would come after it, pale in comparison.
That evening, David led a blindfolded Dianne into the living room of their home in McLean, Virginia, and placed a set of flags attached to a pin into her hand. He helped her spin around a few times for effect, took her gently by the arm and aimed her toward a framed map of the world that had been placed on an easel. Dianne made her way gingerly toward it, the sharp end of the pin feeling around the empty space in front of her, unaware of the wonders that awaited.
Several days prior, David had received a phone call from the senior vice president of marketing at United Airlines with an incredible offer: Two tickets for him and a companion for a round-the-world voyage anywhere that a Star Alliance partner airline flew.
It was the grand prize in a drawing that David had entered as part of the first-ever promotion for the newly established Star Alliance – celebrating its 20th anniversary this year – of which United is a founding member. While he remembered registering his name, in the face of such a reality as winning, he found the news hard to believe.
"At first I was more than a bit skeptical," he recalled, "but after politely hanging up twice and getting two calls back, it finally dawned on me that it actually had happened. It was like being given a magic carpet ride."
Like Charlie Bucket unwrapping the golden ticket, suddenly the Lipseys' wildest dreams were within reach. A poker-faced David managed to keep his excitement a secret until Dianne's birthday, when he sprang it on her in the form of the aforementioned symbolic pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game.
"We decided that we would go nowhere easy," David said. "We each took a piece of paper and wrote down a place we wanted to see. Dianne picked Nepal, and I had always wanted to visit Cambodia. We had close friends living in Egypt, so that was an easy addition. In the end, we built the trip around those three stops."
The two seasoned travelers wanted to use the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect with other cultures on deep level. For the next year, David and Dianne immersed themselves in the art, culture and history of their selected destinations. They studied with the curator of Southeast Asian art at Washington, D.C.'s Sackler Museum in preparation for their Asian stops and located guides, fixers and professional itinerary planners to help them navigate the other out-of-the-way locales where they would soon find themselves.
They also commissioned a series of small, glass globes from artist Josh Simpson, each one inscribed with the words "D and D go around the world, XI/XII 1998," with the plan to leave them in the distant places that called to them, hidden away for future discovery by other seekers.
In November 1998, they departed Washington-Dulles International Airport on a United 747 for the first leg, destined for Cairo, Egypt. Over the next two months, they would go from Cairo (with a side trek into Syria) to Hong Kong to Phuket, Thailand, to Siem Reap, Cambodia, back to Bangkok, Thailand, to Katmandu, Nepal, ending in Auckland, New Zealand, before returning to McLean.
"So – what was the best part?" It's the question David and Dianne have fielded more than any other over the past two decades. David answered me philosophically, reflecting on the virtues of each place and looking at the entire trip as a series of revelations.
He described touring the Egyptian desert with a Bedouin guide, stopping at St. Anthony's, a Coptic monastery, where an English-speaking monk talked with them about the spiritual illumination that travel begets. Similarly, at a Buddhist temple in northern Thailand, a priest took David and Dianne aside and, without knowing who they were or why they were there, spoke of the blessings that accompany wanderlust.
In Nepal, they trekked the Himalayas in search of a place where all roads end. In Hong Kong, they searched out fortune-tellers and traditional healers at a centuries old Chinese healing complex. Finally, David and Dianne spent the last few days of December 1998 at a hillside resort near Auckland. "The last week was a week of recovery and reflection," he said, "and of being in awe of what we had seen and done over the past two months. We landed back in Washington, D.C., on New Year's Eve; what a way to end one year and start a new one."
To this day, David credits United for giving him and Dianne the gift of stories that still draw a crowd at any cocktail party, and he's happy to tip his hat to the airline's employees whenever he gets the chance.
"I never get on airplane without saying thank you to the staff taking care of me. I think this trip helped me understand the complexities of travel, and I never underestimate that."
In the years since their landmark trip, David and Dianne have continued to travel extensively, exceeding 100,000 miles annually and remaining loyal to United and its Star Alliance partners. And the wisdom earned on their around-the-world adventure still guides them.
"That trip was something that you reflect upon for the rest of your life," David said. "It reinforced in me the desire to always keep looking and to try to create an ongoing conversation with the world around me."
Maybe, like David and Dianne, your wandering spirit is in search of something more than the average getaway. If so, Star Alliance offers its "Round the World Fare," with access to 1,300 destinations in 191 countries. Visit the site and begin building your own adventure.
On March 19, 2020, United operated its first flight carrying cargo without passengers on board. While the passenger cabin was empty, its cargo hold was completely full, carrying more than 29,000 pounds of commodities from Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) to Frankfurt Airport (FRA).
A year later, United Cargo has operated more than 11,000 cargo-only flights carrying more than 570 million pounds of freight. To support the COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts, United Cargo has also transported more than 113 million pounds of medical and pharmaceutical products on both cargo-only and passenger flights as well as approximately 10 million COVID-19 vaccines, providing global communities access to the items they have needed most.
"At the beginning of the pandemic, we knew we were uniquely positioned to utilize our widebody aircraft and our network to keep commodities moving, so we quickly mobilized various departments throughout the airline to launch a cargo-only network of flights that would keep commodities moving," said United Cargo President Jan Krems. "Thanks to those efforts, United Cargo has delivered millions of items to countries all around the world. We would not have been successful without the steadfast support of our employees, industry partners and our customers."
Since last March, United Cargo has transported almost 850 million pounds of freight on cargo-only and passenger flights. The airline will continue to monitor market trends adjust its cargo-only flight schedules to help ensure we are meeting our customer's evolving shipping needs.
Whether you haven't flown with us for a while or just need a quick refresher before your spring trip, read this list of tips to know before your flight and arrive at the airport travel-ready:
1. Download the United app for contactless bag check, travel assistance and more
Before your flight, download the United app to view your flight status, check in, sign up for flight notifications, locate departure gates, access our free personal device entertainment when available and more. We've also updated our app with new features that can make your trip a little safer, including contactless bag check.
Don't forget to use Agent on Demand for help with any and all questions you may have before your flight. This new capability is available at all our U.S. hub airports and allows you to use your own mobile device to contact a customer service agent via phone, video or chat to help with day-of-travel questions while you're at the airport. Learn more about Agent on Demand here.
2. Check out the Travel-Ready Center
Our Travel-Ready Center makes it easy to get a personalized overview of everything you need to do in preparation for your flight. Just enter your confirmation number or MileagePlus® number and you'll find detailed information on all the documents, tests and more that you'll need for your trip.
3. Read and sign the Ready-to-Fly checklist
Before completing check-in, all United travelers will need to read our Ready-to-Fly checklist and confirm that they understand and agree to our policies. These include:
Acknowledging that you haven't had any symptoms of COVID-19 in the last 14 days
Agreeing that you will not fly if you have tested positive for COVID-19 within the last 21 days
Confirming that you will follow all policies regarding face masks, social distancing and other health and safety measures we've adopted
4. Arrive early; avoid the stress
Airports can be busy, especially during peak travel periods like spring break season. The TSA advises arriving at the airport two hours before your flight for domestic travel and three hours for international travel in anticipation of long security lines. This can help ease the stress when navigating busy check-in areas, security lines and crowded boarding gates.
5. Get familiar with CleanPlus
United CleanPlus℠ is our commitment to delivering industry-leading cleanliness as we put health and safety at the forefront of your experience. We've teamed up with Clorox to redefine our cleaning and disinfection procedures and Cleveland Clinic to advise us on enhancing our cleaning and disinfection protocols, like:
Disinfecting high-touch areas on board and in the terminal
Using electrostatic spraying, Ultraviolet C lighting wands and more advanced measures to clean aircraft cabins before boarding
Redesigning our mobile app to allow for touchless check-in and contactless payment, along with enhanced travel assistance features
Implementing high-efficiency (HEPA) filters on our aircraft that completely recirculate cabin air every 2-3 minutes and remove 99.97% of airborne particles, including viruses and bacteria
Studies show COVID-19 exposure risk is minimal when air filtration systems and masks are in use, so you can rest assured that the steps we've taken to keep you safe truly make a difference.
6. Wear your mask
Federal law requires all travelers to wear a face mask in the airport, including customer service counters, airport lounges, gates and baggage claim, and on board during their entire flight. Make sure you review the requirements for face masks, including what an acceptable face mask looks like.
7. Get ready for a safer boarding process
To make boarding even safer, we now have travelers board their aircraft from back to front. At the gate, just listen for your row number to be called – we'll ask a few rows at a time to board, starting with the last row of the plane. This helps everyone maintain a safe distance from each other during boarding without slowing things down. As you step onto the plane, flight attendants will hand each passenger a sanitizing towelette, which you can use to wipe down your seat to ensure it's extra clean.
8. Pack smart
Before packing your bags, check to see what exactly you can carry on and what you should plan to check. You can also copy your confirmation number into our Baggage Calculator tool to learn about the bag allowance included with your reservation, as well as the cost of checking any additional bags.
9. Check your flight status, important notices and weather
Check the United app regularly for the latest updates on weather conditions, flight status, gate numbers and seat assignments. You can also visit our Important Notices page to find essential information and updates about travel waivers, international travel, TSA and security, airports and United Club locations.
10. Relax and enjoy your flight
Once you're on board, it's time to sit back and enjoy your flight. Our flight attendants will be happy to help you with anything else you need.
This week, we were honored to become the first U.S. airline to join the UNICEF Humanitarian Airfreight Initiative to combat the COVID-19 pandemic by transporting the vaccine and other critically needed supplies to underserved areas of the globe.
"We are committed to helping the global community in any way we can, and we all must work together to do our part to bring this health and humanitarian crisis to an end," said Director of Cargo Specialty Products Manu Jacobs.
We will leverage our expertise to transport these critical pharmaceutical and healthcare shipments around the world safely, efficiently and expediently. We are proud to partner with the United Nations to support this global effort and provide equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines.
Together, we are facing an unprecedented challenge. United Together, we rise to meet that challenge.
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Calling all AvGeeks and travelers! Take your next video call from a United Polaris® seat, the cockpit or cruising altitude with United-themed backgrounds for use on Zoom and Microsoft Teams.
Newly added to our collection is a background encouraging our employees and customers to vote. Our mission is to connect people and unite the world — and one of the most important ways to do that is to engage in the democratic process. No matter which party you support, we know our democracy will be stronger if you make your voice heard and vote.
So for your next meeting or catch up with friends and family, download the app to either your computer or mobile device to get started.
To use on Zoom:
- Start here by downloading your favorite United image to your computer or mobile device. Just click "download" in the bottom left corner of the image.
- Next go to your Zoom app (you'll need to download the app to access backgrounds) and click on the arrow to the right of your video camera icon in the bottom of the screen.
- From here select, "choose virtual background" to upload your uniquely United photo.
To use on Microsoft Teams:
- Start by downloading your favorite United image to your computer. Just click "download" in the bottom left corner of the image.
- If you're using a PC, copy the image you want to use into this folder:
- C:\[insert your device user name here]\AppData\Microsoft\Teams\Backgrounds\Uploads
- If you're using a Mac copy the images to this folder on your computer:
- /users/<username>/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Teams/Backgrounds/Uploads
- If you're using a PC, copy the image you want to use into this folder:
- Once you start a Teams meeting, click the "…" in the menu bar and select "Show background effects" and your image should be there
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This is why we fly.
20 UCSF Health workers, who voluntarily set aside their own lives to help save lives, are on their way to New York City.
We are humbled by your selfless sacrifice.
Thank you.
#UnitedTogether #UCSFHeroes
In celebration and appreciation of all first responders and essential workers. 👏🏻👏🏼👏🏽👏🏾👏🏿
This is the story of Jason and Shantel. You see, Jason and Shantel love each other very much. They also love traveling and they love the classic Adam Sandler film, The Wedding Singer.
It all began when Jason reached out to United's social media team, hoping for assistance with his upcoming plan to propose. Some phone calls and one borrowed guitar later, the stage was set for Jason. Put all that together, mix in some helpful United employees and, voila, you have a truly memorable marriage proposal. Congratulations to this fun-loving and happy couple, and here's to many more years of making beautiful music together.
A big thank you to Chicago-based flight attendants Donna W., Marie M., Karen J. and Mark K. for making this proposal come to life.
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