United Airlines Wants Frequent Flyers To Donate Unused Miles To Special Olympics

United Airlines is celebrating National Disabilities Employment Awareness Month by raising air miles for Special Olympics. The miles will be used to help athletes travel to competitions across the world.

The Star Alliance carrier’s Miles on a Mission scheme encourages members to donate unused miles to good causes. Since 2017, United Airlines has contributed more than $8.5 million in cash and miles to support Special Olympics athletes, who last year took part in over 100,000 games, trainings, and competitions.

Photo: United Airlines

The Special Olympics was founded in 1968, and is today the world’s largest sports organization for athletes with intellectual disabilities, with over 5 million participants in 172 countries worldwide. The organization’s CEO, Mary Davis, highlighted the importance of such initiatives, saying,

“All athletes deserve to experience the power and joy that sports can bring. Together with United’s partnership, we’re uniquely able to introduce these experiences to more of our athletes through travel.”

Special Olympics Services Ambassadors

Back in 2019, United Airlines took its support one step further by creating the Special Olympics Service Ambassador (SOSA) program, which sees Special Olympics athletes working in customer-facing roles at the airline. There are currently 18 SOSAs employed at United Airlines’ hubs across the country, including Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Denver International Airport (DEN).

Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying

United Airlines’ Vice President of Global Learning, People and Community Impact, Helon Hammond, expressed their delight at the ongoing partnership and the SOSA program, saying,

“At United, we strive to create an environment where acceptance and appreciation of everyone is the norm. We’re proud to partner with Special Olympics not only to raise miles to support athletes and teams in competition, but through volunteer events and our SOSA program to empower all individuals with intellectual disabilities.”

Focus on accessibility

For the past eight years, United Airlines has been listed as a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion, and scored 100% on for the seventh consecutive year on the Disability Equality Index. Among the other US carriers included on the list are Alaska Airlines and American Airlines, both of which are oneworld alliance members.

Photo: Markus Mainka / Shutterstock

United Airlines has recently further ramped up its focus on accessibility, and earlier this summer, it became the first airline in the US to add Braille to its aircraft interiors, with the entire mainline fleet expected to be brought up to the same standard by the end of 2026. Data from ch-aviation.com shows that the carrier’s total fleet currently consists of 927 aircraft, with a further 749 on order. This figure shot up earlier this week when United Airlines placed a huge order for 50 Boeing 787s and 60 Airbus A321neos.

The airline also recently redesigned its mobile app, with increased color contrast to make it easier to use for people with visual disabilities, and similar features can be found on the carrier’s seatback entertainment screens too. In addition, United Airlines’ website now includes a feature allowing wheelchair users to determine which aircraft can accommodate different sizes of wheelchairs.

What do you think of United Airlines raising air miles in support of the Special Olympics? Share your thoughts by commenting below.

Source: ch-aviation.com