Summary
- United Airlines teams up with Chicago Bears to support Special Olympics Ambassadors at O’Hare Airport.
- SOSA program employs Special Olympics athletes to assist travelers at various United hubs.
- United shows commitment to accessibility, with measures like wheelchair digital sizing tool and Braille on planes.
On Wednesday, United Airlines teamed up with the Chicago Bears football team to support the Special Olympics Ambassadors at O’Hare International Airport. Chicago Bears player Cole Kmet spent the day working alongside Special Olympics Service Ambassadors to help drive awareness of the organization’s travel needs.
A noble cause
In 2019, United launched the Special Olympics Service Ambassador (SOSA) program, which invites Special Olympics athletes to work in airports as part-time employees. Their role includes welcoming United customers, helping them locate check-in kiosks and bag drops and how to find TSA PreCheck lines while also assisting customers with wayfinding, gate recovery and Agent on Demand.
Photo: Lukas Wunderlich | Shutterstock
There are currently 18 SOSA workers at United hubs in Chicago, Houston, Denver and Washington, DC, and the program is expanding this year to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Special Olympics, founded in 1968, is a global movement to end discrimination against people with intellectual disabilities through the power of sport and programming in education, health and leadership.
![United Club Custom Thumbnail](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/artboard-2-getin.jpg)
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In 2023, 4,000 Special Olympics athletes, coaches, Unified partners, and staff from North America traveled across the country and worldwide for sport and educational development, athletic competitions and leadership events. United supports that by providing travel and encouraging its loyalty program members to donate their unused miles through the airline’s Miles on a Mission program.
Photo: Ryan Fletcher | Shutterstock
The Chicago Bears are proud supporters of Special Olympics of Illinois, and yesterday’s joint effort was just the latest example of the Bears and United working together to support the movement. It seems that being an Ambassador can be just as tough as playing football as Chicago Bears player Cole Kmet said he had a hard time keeping up with United SOSA Daniel Smrokowski, adding:
“Daniel’s energy was tremendous. He was moving around all day, smiling and greeting each passerby that he interacted with. It was hard trying to keep up with him! Daniel is an inspiration, I’m proud and honored to have spent the day with my new friend.”
Photo: United Airlines
United has impressive credentials
Smrokowski has been a United Service Ambassador since the position was created, and he was equally excited with the support from the Chicago Bears and Kmet and to see United expand the Service Ambassador team across hubs. Speaking about the shared approach, he said:
“As athletes who are on teams, both ourselves as Special Olympics athletes and the Chicago Bears know the importance of collaboration and communication. We use those skills in the airport to help travelers.”
![United 757](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/united-757.jpeg)
Related
United Airlines Introduces Wheelchair Digital Sizing Tool To Better Assist Passengers
The carrier took an important step towards improving accessibility.
United has impressive credentials in this area. For eight consecutive years, the airline has been a Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion and has consistently earned a top score on the Disability Equality Index. United said the SOSA program helps create an inclusive and dynamic workplace environment, and employing SOSAs is a gift to both the United team and its airport customers. United is employing a variety of measures to improve accessibility, including:
- A new digital filter on United.com that helps determine which aircraft can accommodate different sized wheelchairs.
- Last summer, United became the first US airline to add Braille to aircraft interiors, and it expects to outfit its entire mainline fleet by the end of 2026.
- The United mobile app was redesigned to make it easier to use for people with visual disabilities.
- United’s inflight seatback entertainment screens have a wide range of accessible features, including closed captioning, text-to-speech, magnification, explore-by-touch and audio-described movies.
Have you been assisted by a United Special Olympics Service Ambassador? Let us know in the comments.