United has become the first airline to support refreshed boarding passes in the latest version of Apple iOS, which includes a Live Activities widget for real-time flight updates built into the boarding pass, which you can share with friends and family.
Apple announced the refreshed boarding pass experience during its WWDC presentation in June, although the features have only now become available as part of the release of iOS 26.
United is one of 10 initial airlines that have committed to making the new boarding pass feature available to passengers. These airlines are Air Canada, American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, Jetstar, Lufthansa, Qantas, Southwest, and Virgin Australia.
It appears, however, that United has beaten its rivals to actually supporting the new features. The highlights include:
- Live Activities with real-time flight updates
- The ability to share a flight’s Live Activities with friends and family
- Airport maps built into the pass
- Quick access to Find My to track and report lost luggage
- Access key services from an airline’s app such as standby lists
It probably shouldn’t come as any surprise that United is the first airline to launch these features, given that the Chicago-based carrier has been investing a lot in its digital customer experience in recent years.
Earlier this year, for example, the airline added a personalized flight connections experience to its app, which displays helpful information like real-time flight updates, a countdown timer, and turn-by-turn directions to the next gate, all in one easy-to-read page.
The app also builds upon United’s industry-leading ‘ConnectionSaver’ tech that holds flights for a few minutes to give customers with a tight connection more time to reach the gate.
ConnectionSaver utilizes AI to work out whether holding a flight will realistically give customers with a tight connection time to make their flight, while also working out how long the flight can be held without delaying the arrival of the plane at its destination.
Launched in 2019, ConnectionSaver has proven to be a huge hit, saving 3.3 million customer connections in the last six years.
Back in 2023, United became the first U.S. airline to make use of Apple’s new ‘Live Activities’ feature on iPhone, displaying relevant live information about their flight right from the lock screen or dynamic island.
Other recent upgrades to the airline’s app, include real-time weather delay maps, as well as personalized updates on why a flight is delayed and what the airline is doing to fix the issue.
