United Airlines on AWS
United Airlines is leading modernization in an industry that’s embracing change. The largest airline globally by number of seat miles, its mission is to “Connect People, Uniting the World.” Migrating tens of hundreds of applications to Amazon Web Services (AWS) has helped the business accelerate innovation, even in the midst of challenging market conditions. From supporting its technology team to save $2 billion and boosting developer productivity 40 percent, to using generative artificial intelligence (AI) to streamline passenger record processes and save months of manual effort. With services such as Amazon Bedrock, AWS IoT Core, and Amazon DocumentDB, United Airlines is transforming passenger experiences, increasing efficiency and security, and shaping the intelligent airport of tomorrow.
For United Airlines, innovation is about creating the best passenger experiences. From machine learning and analytics to scalable compute and security capabilities, Amazon Web Services (AWS) Technology has helped United reach great outcomes. Some recent achievements are award-winning apps, reduced emissions, and millions of dollars in savings.
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Generative AI
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Continuous Innovation
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Migration
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Data and Analytics
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Data Protection
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Machine Learning
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Data Solutions
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In the News
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Generative AI
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2024
United Airlines Uses Amazon Bedrock to Innovate 50-Year-Old Technology
How do we build better? This is the question Pam Fimble’s team at United Airlines asks itself now that it has seen modernization in action through the use of generative artificial intelligence (gen AI). Here, the director of IT application development talks about training Amazon Bedrock to translate passenger name records, avoiding months of manual effort and improving services.
AWS re:Invent 2023Intelligent Airport Operations Powered by Generative AI with United
A lot goes on behind the scenes to make airport experiences frictionless, says Rob Bence, Director of Digital Technology. And it’s United Airlines’ goal to deliver the best end-to-end airport journey possible. Using AWS and generative artificial intelligence (gen AI), the airline empowers customers with real-time, personalized day-of-travel information.
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Continuous Innovation
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2023
United Airlines Improves Developer Productivity by 40% with AWS and Harness
With a goal of transforming its operations and customer experiences, United Airlines launched United Next. In addition to growing their fleet, this initiative has elevated the customer's brand experience by moving tens of hundreds of applications to AWS, boosting developer productivity by 40 percent and simplifying compliance processes. Find out how United Airlines worked with AWS Partner Harness to accelerate its innovation journey.
AWS re:Invent 2023How United Airlines Accelerates Innovation with Amazon DocumentDB
Seizing the opportunity to lead airline industry modernization, United Airlines uses Amazon DocumentDB to deliver best-in-class passenger services. Paul McLean, Managing Director of Passenger Service Systems, talks about setting the standard for travel experiences with cloud-powered innovation.
2022United Airlines Builds Intelligent Airport Project on AWS to Increase Operational Efficiency, Reduce Emissions
Jason Birnbaum, Chief Information Officer at United Airlines, takes to the stage at AWS re:Invent 2021 to talk about intelligent airport innovation. Using AWS technology, including AWS IoT Core, the airline is improving operations and customer experiences, driving savings of $120 million to date, and reducing emissions by 7 percent.
We wanted to concentrate more on innovation and moving things to the cloud.”
Ratna Devarapalli
Director of IT and DevOps, United Airlines
AWS re:Invent 2021Keynote with Adam Selipsky
During a crisis, smart enterprises take the opportunity to do everything better. This was United Airlines’ approach during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the company’s strategy of moving to the AWS Cloud put it on the path to modernization. Hear what Chief Customer Officer, Linda Jojo, says about how “inclusion propels innovation,” and why standardizing on AWS was a great decision.
Innovation was significantly accelerated due to our work with AWS.”
Linda Jojo
Executive Vice President of Technology and Chief Digital Officer, United Airlines
2022AWS Industry Innovators: Delivering Seamless, Innovative Customer Experiences
In this webinar, Jason Birnbaum Chief Information Officer at United Airlines, talks about creating a positive mobile experience for customers by facilitating their airport journeys while maintaining a personal touch. Discover how equipping employees with instrumental technology and tools is the key to the organization’s ongoing transformation.
AWS re:Invent 2021Building What’s Next in Air Travel
A challenging and rapidly changing landscape didn’t stop United Airlines setting some ambitious targets for business growth and efficiency. Jason Birnbaum, the company’s Chief Information Officer, talks about using AWS machine learning and analytics to drive cost savings while supporting rising passenger numbers and delivering first-class experiences.
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Migration
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2023
United Airlines Innovates to Meet Customer Needs Using the AWS Migration Acceleration Program
Krishna Srinivasa, Director of Enterprise Architecture, Cloud, and DevOps, and his team at United Airlines have the technical resources and digital knowledge to support business transformation. Find out how the outcome-driven methodology of the AWS Migration Acceleration Program is helping to build new products, manage scalability challenges, and increase agility.
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Data and Analytics
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2023
United Airlines: Modernizing Data & Analytics Platform with AWS
United Airlines worked with AWS Partner Impetus Technologies to build a next-generation data analytics platform on AWS. Director of Data Engineering, Sarang Bapat, explains how he and his team use AWS serverless technologies to deliver resilient, real-time analytics.
2022United Airlines Drives Reliability and Resiliency Using AWS Observability
United Airlines builds on AWS to augment its observability program with predictive analytics, enhanced monitoring, and event correlation that helps the airline drive reliability and prevent incidents for its customers.
AWS re:Invent 2022Leadership Panel Discussion: Monitoring and Observability on AWS
United Airlines builds on AWS to augment its observability program with predictive analytics, enhanced monitoring, and event correlation that helps the airline drive reliability and prevent incidents for its customers.
Industry Innovators 2022Delivering Seamless and Innovative Customer Experiences
Watch Steven M. Elinson, acting director, travel and hospitality at AWS, discuss how to reinvent the guest experience across every touchpoint with Jason Birnbaum, senior vice president of digital technology at United Airlines.
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Data Protection
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2023
United Airlines: How to Use AWS Backup to Protect Data from Ransomware Events
Rammohan Potham, Principal Cloud Architect at United Airlines, is the star of "This Is My Architecture", as he explains how the airline automates protection of 2 petabytes of data across hundreds of applications using AWS.
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Machine Learning
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2021
United Airlines Streamlines the Travel Experience Using AWS-Powered Applications
United Airlines worked with the Amazon Machine Learning Solutions Lab to help it navigate new validation and verification demands during the COVID-19 pandemic. Linda Jojo, Chief Customer Officer, explains how the organization pivoted in the midst of crisis by using the time to innovate and modernize.
AWS enabled us to increase the speed of innovation during a crisis. It helped us variabilize our cost structure and put us on a path to replace aging, legacy platforms.”
Linda Jojo
Executive Vice President of Technology and Chief Customer Officer, United Airlines
2020United Airlines Gamifies Its Loyalty Program on AWS
Praveen Sharma, United Airlines’ Vice President of Digital Products and Data Analytics, talks about personalization as necessity in the airline industry, and how the company uses AWS machine learning across customers’ travel journeys. This is driving more interactive and meaningful experiences while, ultimately, improving business outcomes.
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Data Solutions
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2024
United Airlines: Journey to Cloud Data with Amazon Redshift
United Airlines’ Data Engineering Team is integral to the United Next initiative, which looks to double the fleet size while driving greater efficiency. Managing Director of Data Engeneering, Sanjay Nair, talks about building a modern data warehouse with services such as Amazon Redshift, helping the airline break down vast, disparate silos and making data work at scale.
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In the News
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2023United Airlines Gives Employees the Digital Tools to Make Customers Happy
United Airlines chief information officer Jason Birnbaum explains why the digital world drives great customer experiences, and how equipping staff with analytics capabilities has been critical to the airline’s transformation journey.
2022What’s Next for Aviation and Digital Transformation in 2023
Jason Birnbaum, Chief Information Officer at United Airlines, joins Skift’s Jeremy Kressmann and Massimo Morin, Global Head of Travel at AWS, to discuss how technology is helping the airline industry meet the evolving expectations of customers.
2022Rarefied Air: How United Airlines Is Transforming Data into Insights to Stay Ahead in a Competitive SpaceWired takes an in-depth look at how United Airlines is realizing ambitious operational goals and redefining the customer experience by moving to AWS and modernizing its data strategy.
2023United Airlines Triumphs in the Battle of the Apps 2023
At the World Aviation Festival, the competition to find the airline with the edge in passenger-centric, digital innovation was fierce; ultimately, United Airlines won.
2021AWS Named United Airlines’ Preferred Cloud Provider
United Airlines is advancing innovation supported by AWS solutions by leveraging digital channels to transform the way customers engage with the airline, United is advancing innovation through the support of AWS solutions. See what makes AWS the cloud choice for one of the largest airlines in the world.
2021United Wins ‘People’s Voice’ Webby Award for Best Travel AppUnited Airlines’ travel app is a hit with customers. Find out what industry-leading features helped the company win the coveted Webby Award for Best Travel App.
2019United Introduces the ConnectionsSaver Tool
As many as 150,000 customers make connections on United flights every day. With the introduction of their new ConnectionSaver technology that runs on AWS, along with new, personalized text messages that help you get from arrival to departure gate, they are making the connection experience for customers better than ever.
About United Airlines
Formed by the merger of several airlines nearly a century ago, United Airlines today runs the most comprehensive destination network in the world, and is the largest airline globally by revenue and fleet.
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