Women & Whisky: An exclusive tasting with MileagePlus
On March 26, a select group of female United MileagePlus® program members and our corporate travelers used their miles to attend a MileagePlus Exclusives whisky tasting event in Chicago. This event offered customers a chance to learn more about whisky, specifically, The Last Drop Distillers (TLD), network with like-minded women and break the stereotype that whisky is a "boys club" spirit.
The night began with a cocktail hour where customers enjoyed a specially crafted Old Fashioned cocktail using TLD's not-for-sale 18 year old Blended Scotch Whisky. Rebecca Jago, Managing Director of The Last Drop, led the tasting with three of their exquisite reserves. As Rebecca guided the women through the flavors they were experiencing, she stood next to a "perfect-pour" decanter, Phoebe, "Our wonderful pouring decanter was originally developed for our 10th anniversary in 2018. She [Penelope] got her name when we joked that my mother had not poured my father a glass of whisky in 66 years of marriage, so we had to invent a machine to do it for him," shares Rebecca. "The latest, refined version is smaller, and therefore named after my daughter, Phoebe." The tasting weaved through stories of her childhood growing up with the inventor of Bailey's Irish Cream as a father, her travels searching for the perfect batch of Scotch, and the history behind each of TLD current releases that customers got to taste.
Rebecca paired each release with a canapé to complement the whiskies' complex notes, "These aren't spirits you drink every day. But you should certain drink them with pleasure and enthusiasm – cheers!" The first whisky, a 1971 Blended Scotch Whisky has spent over 45 years maturing in different woods and was paired with a Hamachi crudo, plum, umeboshi and scallion skewer to bring out the notes of stone fruits from the sherry and toasty vanilla notes from the time spent in bourbon barrels. Customers were fortunate enough to taste a very old single malt from the renowned Glenrothes distillery, a TLD Glenrothes 1968 Single Malt Scotch Whisky, a tribute to a perfect marriage of spirit and wood, matured for nearly half a century. Customers ended the tasting with a TLD Tawny Port from 1870.
United Vice President of Community Affairs, Sharon Grant, closed the event by commenting on the easiness of the night's conversation, noting how welcoming of an environment Rebecca created through her presentation of the whiskies. "I'll leave you with this," Sharon said, "As they say, a fine whisky, like a beautiful woman, demands appreciation." The group applauded, exchanged business cards and said their goodbyes—it was clear that everyone left the experience reenergized to head into the next day with the support of 30 new women.
MileagePlus Exclusives
A different way to use your miles
United MileagePlus program offers many other ways for members to use their miles that go beyond air awards. One of these options is through MileagePlus Exclusives where members can access VIP experiences across travel, food and wine, arts and entertainment and sports, including access to Uniquely United opportunities such as experiencing our flight simulators, touring airport maintenance bases and being part of historic inaugural flights.
For more MileagePlus Exclusives experiences visit here.
When and where possible, we are working to repatriate travelers who are stranded abroad in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. Our teams are working closely with government officials here in the U.S. as well as in other countries where flying has been restricted to gain the necessary approvals to operate service. In regions where government actions have barred international flying, we have coordinated with the the U.S. State Department and local government officials to re-instate some flights. Additionally, we have been operating several extra flights to countries in Central America and South America as we continue to play a role in connecting people and uniting the world.
We have operated more than 68 repatriation flights from Panama City, Guatemala City, Quito, Lima, San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa and Roatan, bringing nearly 9,200 people home. We will continue working with government officials to operate extra flights to Houston from Quito, San Pedro Sula, Tegucigalpa and from Lima to Washington Dulles and beginning April 5, we will begin operating multiple charter flights between Delhi and San Francisco. We continue to review more opportunities for flights between the United States and other countries to bring citizens home.
Video provided by the U.S. Embassy Ecuador of Americans returning home on United.
Additionally, our Customer Solutions and Recovery team is working with customers in the following markets to rebook them on flights back to the United States as capacity allows, either on our aircraft or on one of our airline partners' planes:
- Quito, Ecuador
- Managua, Nicaragua
- Roatan, Honduras
- San Pedro Sula, Honduras
- Amsterdam
- Brussels
- Munich
- Singapore
- Tokyo-Haneda
- Seoul, South Korea
- Melbourne, Australia
We also recently reinstated several international flights back into our schedule to support customers and essential businesses which depend on these routes. As a result, we will be the only airline to offer service between Newark/New York and London, San Francisco and Sydney, as well as Houston and São Paulo, Brazil.
Calling all AvGeeks and travelers! Here's a fun way to take your next video call….from a United Polaris® seat, the cockpit or cruising altitude. We're introducing United-themed backgrounds for use on Zoom, a video conferencing tool that many people are using to stay connected.
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. If you've already downloaded Zoom you can skip ahead to updating your background image (see instructions below).
- 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.
While travel demand and government restrictions continue to impact our schedule, we know some people around the globe are displaced and still need to get home. While our international schedule will be reduced by about 90% in April, we will continue flying six daily operations to and from the following destinations — covering Asia, Australia, Latin America, the Middle East and Europe — in an effort to get customers where they need to be. This remains a fluid situation, but United continues to play a role in connecting people and uniting the world, especially in these challenging times. Learn more about what we're doing to keep customers and employees safe.
Flights continuing from now through May schedule:
- New York/Newark – Frankfurt (Flights 960/961)
- New York/Newark – London (Flights 16/17)
- New York/Newark – Tel Aviv (Flights 90/91)
- Houston – Sao Paulo (Flights 62/63)
- San Francisco – Tokyo-Narita (Flights 837/838)
- San Francisco – Sydney (Flights 863/870)
In addition to the above, we will continue to operate the following flights to help displaced customers who still need to get home. In destinations where government actions have barred us from flying, we are actively looking for ways to bring customers who have been impacted by travel restrictions back to the United States. This includes working with the U.S. State Department and the local governments to gain permission to operate service.
Atlantic
The following flights will continue through March 28 westbound:
- New York/Newark – Amsterdam (Flights 70/71)
- New York/Newark – Munich (Flights 30/31)
- New York/Newark – Brussels (Flights 999/998)
- New York/Newark – Cape Town (Flights 1122/1123)
- Washington-Dulles – London (Flights 918/919)
- San Francisco – Frankfurt (Flights 58/59)
The final westbound departures on all other Atlantic routes will take place on March 25.
Pacific
- We will continue to fly San Francisco-Seoul (Flights 893/892) through March 29 and San Francisco-Tahiti (Flights 115/114) through March 28.
- Our final eastbound departures on all other Pacific routes will take place on March 25.
- We will maintain some Guam flights as well as a portion of our Island Hopper service.
- Hawaii's governor issued a mandatory 14-day self-quarantine order for all travelers arriving or returning to Hawaii. Travelers must complete a Hawaii Department of Agriculture form that will be distributed on board their flight which will also include the requirements for the 14-day quarantine, as well as the penalties. You must show a government issued ID upon arrival along with your form. You can find more information on the governor's website.
Latin America/South America
- We will continue to fly Newark/New York – Sao Paulo (Flights 149/148) through March 27 outbound.
- The last southbound departures on most other routes will take place March 24.
Mexico
- We will reduce our Mexico operation over the next five days. After March 24, we will maintain a small number of daytime flights to certain destinations in Mexico — more to come in the next few days.
Canada
- We will suspend all flying to Canada effective April 1.
In destinations where government actions have barred us from flying, we are actively looking for ways to bring customers who have been impacted by travel restrictions back to the United States. This includes working with the U.S. State Department and the local governments to gain permission to operate service.
The revised international schedule will be viewable on united.com on Sunday, March 22. We will continue to update our customers with information as it's available.
If you're scheduled to travel through May 31, 2020, and would like to change your plans, there is no fee to do so, regardless of when you purchased your ticket or where you're traveling. Please visit united.com for more information, or reference our step-by-step guide on how to change your flight, cancel and rebook later.
Domestic schedule
Effective April 8, we are further reducing our domestic service between some of our airport hub locations and 31 airports across the United States. We will continue offering service to all of these airports through other United hubs. Additionally, effective April 8, we will suspend service between the mainland and Hilo, Maui, Kona and Lihue - and we will maintain our daily service between our San Francisco hub and Honolulu, which has been reduced to one flight daily. We will continue to operate daily service between Honolulu and Guam.
We are closely monitoring demand as well as changes in state and local curfews and government restrictions across the U.S. and will adjust our schedule accordingly throughout the month.
These the changes result in a 67% overall domestic reduction from a previous 52%, and our overall capacity will now be down 78% overall.
| Hub city | Route suspensions | Remaining service |
|---|---|---|
| Denver | Arcata/Eureka, CA Appleton, WI Hartford, CT Charleston, SC Grand Rapids, MI Honolulu, HI Hobbs, NM Jacksonville, FL Kona, HI Lihue, HI Kahului, HI Shreveport, LA Santa Rosa, CA Syracuse, NY |
SFO ORD IAD, ORD EWR, IAD, IAH, ORD ORD SFO IAH EWR, IAD, IAH, ORD Market Suspension Market Suspension Market Suspension IAH SFO IAD, ORD |
| New York/Newark | Austin, TX Burlington, VT Buffalo, NY Akron/Canton, OH Grand Rapids, MI Hilton Head, SC Honolulu, HI Las Vegas, NV Kansas City, MO Milwaukee, WI Madison, WI Minneapolis, MN New Orleans, LA Omaha, NE Norfolk, VA Portland, OR Phoenix, AZ Providence, RI San Diego, CA San Antonio, TX Seattle, WA Salt Lake City, UT Sacramento, CA Orange County, CA Syracuse, NY Knoxville, TN Fayetteville, AR |
DEN, IAH, ORD, SFO IAD, ORD IAD, ORD ORD ORD IAD SFO DEN, IAD, IAH, LAX, ORD, SFO DEN, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, IAH, ORD DEN, ORD DEN, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, IAH, ORD DEN, IAD, ORD DEN, IAH, ORD, SFO DEN, IAD, IAH, LAX, ORD, SFO IAD, ORD DEN, IAD, IAH, LAX, ORD, SFO DEN, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, IAD, IAH, ORD, SFO DEN, IAH, LAX, ORD, SFO DEN, IAH, LAX, ORD, SFO DEN, IAH, ORD, SFO IAD, ORD DEN, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, IAH, ORD |
| Washington-Dulles | Austin, TX Grand Rapids, MI Honolulu, HI Portland, OR Sacramento, CA |
DEN, IAH, ORD, SFO ORD SFO DEN, IAH, ORD, SFO DEN, IAH, LAX, ORD, SFO |
| Houston | Hartford, CT Boise, ID Akron/Canton, OH Grand Rapids, MI Honolulu, HI Lexington, KY Ontario, CA Norfolk, VA Palm Springs, CA Richmond, VA Reno, NV San Jose, CA |
IAD, ORD DEN, LAX, ORD, SFO ORD ORD SFO IAD, ORD DEN, SFO DEN, IAD, ORD DEN, SFO DEN, EWR, IAD, ORD DEN, SFO DEN |
| Los Angeles | Arcata/Eureka, CA Austin, TX Boston, MA Baltimore, DC Bozeman, MT Cleveland, OH Eugene, OR Honolulu, HI Hilo, HI Kona, HI Lihue, HI Orlando, FL Mammoth Lakes, CA Madison, WI Kahului, HI Palm Springs, CA Redding, CA Bend/Redmond, CA Reno, NV San Antonio, TX Stockton, CA Seattle, WA St George, UT |
SFO DEN, IAH, ORD, SFO DEN, EWR, IAD, IAH, ORD, SFO DEN, IAH, ORD DEN DEN, EWR, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, SFO SFO Market Suspension Market Suspension Market Suspension DEN, EWR, IAD, IAH, ORD, SFO Market Suspension DEN, ORD Market Suspension DEN, SFO SFO DEN, SFO DEN, SFO DEN, IAD, IAH, ORD Market Suspension DEN, IAD, IAH, ORD, SFO DEN |
| Chicago | Albuquerque, NM Asheville, NC Bismarck/Mandan, ND Bozeman, MT Kearney, NE Panama City, FL Eugene, OR Fresno, CA Spokane, WA Hilton Head, SC Honolulu, HI Wilmington, NC Jackson, MS Kahului, HI Palm Springs, CA Reno, NV San Jose, CA Valparaiso, FL |
DEN, IAH IAD DEN DEN DEN IAH DEN, SFO DEN, LAX, SFO DEN IAD SFO IAD IAH Market Suspension DEN, SFO DEN, SFO DEN IAH |
| San Francisco | Albuquerque, NM Atlanta, GA Nashville, TN Baltimore, DC Bozeman, MT Cleveland, OH Columbus, OH Dallas/Fort Worth, TX Detroit, MI Fort Lauderdale, FL Spokane, WA Indianapolis, IN Kona, HI Lihue, HI Kansas City, MO Mammoth Lakes, CA Madison, WI Minneapolis, MN New Orleans, LA Kahului, HI Oklahoma City, OK Omaha, NE Philadelphia, PA Pittsburgh, PA Raleigh/Durham, NC San Antonio, TX St Louis, MO Tampa, FL Fayetteville, AR |
DEN, IAH DEN, EWR, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, EWR, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, IAH, ORD DEN DEN, EWR, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, EWR, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, EWR, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, EWR, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, EWR, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN DEN, EWR, IAD, IAH, ORD Market Suspension Market Suspension DEN, IAD, IAH, ORD Market Suspension DEN, ORD DEN, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, IAD, IAH, ORD Market Suspension DEN, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, IAH, ORD DEN, IAH, ORD DEN, EWR, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, EWR, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, EWR, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, EWR, IAD, IAH, ORD DEN, IAH, ORD |
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