Plenty for African carriers to learn from United Airlines’ new Mobile App upgrade

June 25, 2025 in Business, Companies, Travel & Tourism by Editor

Michael Wakabi

As peak travel season takes off across continents, United Airlines has launched a suite of smart, personalized mobile app features designed to reduce stress and increase connection success for passengers, a playbook that African carriers should be watching closely.

Announced on June 25, the upgraded United app now offers travellers connecting through U.S. hubs real-time gate-to-gate navigation, walk-time estimates, layover tips, and even a heads-up if their next flight is being held for them. The update is a customer-facing extension of United’s back-end ConnectionSaver technology — a data-driven system that has quietly saved more than 3.3 million missed connections since 2019 by making safe, calculated decisions to delay outgoing flights when inbound connecting passengers are about to arrive.

During a beta test of the new mobile tools this spring, over 350,000 passengers used the features, with 98pc successfully making their connections. These results aren’t just a triumph of good app design; they show what happens when operational data, customer behaviour, and intuitive technology intersect.

The implications for Africa’s growing airline industry are clear. One of the biggest pain points for passengers is uncertainty during connections — particularly when flights are delayed. By proactively providing personalized updates, countdowns, and walking directions to connecting gates, United reduces stress and empowers passengers. African airlines — many of which operate through sprawling but often under-signposted hubs like Addis Ababa, Nairobi, and Johannesburg — could integrate similar app features to demystify the connection experience.

United’s ConnectionSaver doesn’t just notify travellers; it makes operational decisions, like safely holding flights when delays are minor and connections are feasible. While some African carriers may lack the scale or resources for advanced AI, regional partnerships or shared innovation platforms could help implement more dynamic decision-making around schedules.

Missed a flight? United’s app offers automatic rebooking, standby options, and compensation eligibility — all without standing in line. Contrast this with the long queues often seen at African airports during schedule disruptions. Airlines such as Uganda Airlines, Ethiopian, or Kenya Airways Airlines could dramatically improve their brand perception by offering even basic mobile tools for rebooking and rerouting.

United’s broader digital arsenal now includes baggage tracking using Apple AirTags, weather-based delay updates powered by generative AI, and onboard Starlink Wi-Fi. While not all African carriers can roll out these features tomorrow, the key takeaway is the strategic prioritisation of tech to solve common problems. African airlines can start small — with WhatsApp-based notifications, smarter check-in workflows, and local language support — and build from there.

Airlines today compete on more than price or punctuality. They’re judged on how they manage the in-between: transfers, disruptions, downtime. By redefining the layover as a customer experience opportunity — not just a logistical headache — United is framing its app as a travel companion. For African carriers vying to build transcontinental and intercontinental connectivity, how passengers experience their hubs will increasingly define their competitiveness.

With record growth expected across African aviation in the next two decades, the stakes couldn’t be higher. African airlines are investing in fleets and infrastructure — but to truly compete, they must also invest in predictive, passenger-first tech. United’s latest app update shows what’s possible when airlines stop simply managing delays — and start managing expectations.