United Airlines has launched United Meetings, an online program that allows event planners to establish fare discounts, manage group travel, and redeem awards. Accessible on the airline's business portal, United Jetstream, the offering streamlines a few aspects of group travel through an online dashboard.
Meeting professionals who use the program receive a discount code for attendee use within one business day of requesting a meeting agreement; an online dashboard to view booked tickets, flown tickets, and the number of tickets needed to reach the next reward level; and rewards already earned based on volume. What's more, planners are able to redeem rewards immediately in the form of travel certificates, United Club memberships and passes, and beverage coupons. "We're listening to our customers and making changes that they ask for," said Jake Cefolia, senior vice president of worldwide sales at United.
United Meetings is available to events that have 10 or more people traveling from two or more originating points, while rewards are accrued once 40 people use the meeting's discount code. Fare discounts are also extended to travel on United's Star Alliance and joint venture partners.
Other major domestic airlines—American, Delta, JetBlue, and Southwest—have programs for registering meetings for fare discounts and ticket-change flexibility, but not an online dashboard for planners to track group-travel details.
