United’s app displays a nearby coffee shop at DIA. (screenshot)
The future of travel is here … and it includes faster access to delicious coffee at .
United Airlines today unveiled updates to its mobile app for both and , offering travelers searchable maps to locate nearby restaurants, newsstands, ATM locations and even the nectar of every weary traveler — the almighty caffeine — while flying through any of the airline’s hub airports, including Denver.
“Travelers are accustomed to using maps and navigation apps throughout their daily lives – and that shouldn’t end when they walk into the airport,” United’s vice president of eCommerce and merchandising Scott Wilson said in a statement. “These new features of our app will make travel easier and more personal for our customers.”
Coffee, coffee everywhere at DIA. (screenshot)
United’s Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington hubs are already loaded and ready to use, and the airline plans to soon add others.
Users place a “pin” to mark their current location in the airport, and the app will guide them to wherever they want to go. If a traveler’s boarding pass is already stored in the app, those maps will automatically default to the gate location and include walking times — a helpful addition for those needing a bite to eat inbetween connecting flights.
Users in Newark won’t need to pin their location; that airport is being used as a beta test for an “indoor location” function that uses Bluetooth to pinpoint a user’s location within the airport. (Yes, it’s a little Big Brotherish.)
United has long embraced mobile tech for the traveler: it was first U.S. airline to offer passport scanning via mobile for international flight check-in and it was also first to partner with through their app.
