Monday, July 8, 2024
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Have you ever faced flight delays despite clear skies at both departure and destination points? United Airlines aims to shed light on these puzzling situations. The airline announced the introduction of weather maps and personalized alerts to keep customers informed about potential delays.
United Airlines, a member of the Star Alliance, is now sending customers links to live local radar maps via text and email during weather-related delays. This new feature enhances their current system, where a dedicated team of customer service agents provides real-time flight updates through text messages, covering everything from delay reasons to boarding announcements and gate changes.
The launch of this service is timely, coinciding with the busy Fourth of July travel period. According to AAA, nearly 71 million people are expected to travel 50 miles or more from home over the holiday weekend. United Airlines alone anticipates carrying over 5 million passengers between June 28th and July 8th.
A specialized customer service team has been established to deliver the most detailed weather updates to passengers. Located alongside the flight operations teams in the network operations center, this team uses generative AI data to track and predict flight conditions. This data is then transformed into personalized messages, giving passengers a comprehensive understanding of any flight changes.
When adverse weather threatens flight schedules, the team sends passengers text messages or emails explaining the situation and providing additional information. These messages include links to local, live radar maps that display weather conditions along the flight path. The goal is not only to inform but also to educate passengers on how weather in one region can impact flights elsewhere. The United Airlines mobile app will also feature these radar maps within the ‘Flight Status’ section, and they will be available in the gate area when weather delays occur.
According to the Federal Aviation Administration, weather is the primary cause of over 75% of flight delays. The National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates aviation incidents, reports that weather contributes to 23% of such incidents.
With these new tools, United Airlines aims to improve transparency and customer satisfaction by keeping passengers better informed about the factors affecting their travel plans.
