United Airlines | Winter Holiday Travel Forecast + Festive Facts

Ireland Travel: 

• United’spassenger bookings from Dublin to the U.S. increased by 101% during the winter holiday travel season (December 18 – January 6) compared to last year.
• United increased service between Dublin to Chicago O’Harefrom operating in the summer season only to year-round service.
• United also extended the second frequency of its Dublin to New York/Newark service, now operating through to January 5, 2026.
• For travellersheading abroad over the holiday period from Ireland, the most popular U.S. destinations on United’s network include New York/Newark, Washington D.C. and Chicago  

U.S. Travel Forecast:

• United expects to fly about 3 million people between December 18 to January 6 – the most passengers we’ve ever flown over the winter holiday travel season.
• On average, we expect to fly almost 520,000 passengers and operate around 4,700 flights a day.
• The busiest travel day is expected after Christmas: approximately 560,000 passengers are expected to fly with us on Saturday, Dec. 27.
• For travellers heading abroad over the holiday period – the most popular international destinations include Cancun, London and Frankfurt. 
  • And the most popular New Year’s Eve destinations include Orlando, Las Vegas and Honolulu.
• The upcoming winter holiday travel period follows United’s busiest Thanksgiving holiday season ever, where the airline also posted its highest ever customer satisfaction (NPS) score for the month of November.

Travel Tips and Hacks:

The United app saves travelers up to 30 minutes:

• On-demand customer service help via text, chat or video call.
• Auto rebooking options if travel is disrupted.
• Real-time bag tracking.
• Connections made easy: turn-by-turn directions, estimated walk times, live flight status, notifications when the plane is held for a few extra minutes.

United recently added new features to its award-winning mobile app, including virtual gate, club recommendation tool, an upgraded package-delivery-style bag tracker that shows real-time locations throughout the journey, and more. You can read more about that here.

The best airline for travelling families:

• United’s family seating policy makes travelling with children easier.
• United’s Children’s Travel Kit includes an activity book, puzzle and crayons.
• Starlink Wi-Fi (now available on select regional and mainline flights) makes it easy to stream kids’ favorite shows gate-to-gate.
• Holiday classics like Home Alone, Elf and more – available on United’s seatback screens as well as in the United app.

Festive Fun Facts:

United is kicking off the holiday season with special trips to the North Pole for thousands of children.

• From Dec. 2-19, the airline is teaming up with local organizations to host Fantasy Flights across 12 airports, giving children and their families an unforgettable holiday experience – designed to bring joy, connection and wonder to families who need it most.

Get into the holiday spirit onboard by watching holiday favorites like Love Actually, It’s A Wonderful Life and The Holiday.

• ICYMI: United debuted a mini movie with Hallmark called “Miles Apart” (think rekindled romance, onboard friendships and holiday magic) – catch it on your next flight or watch it here.

A festive twist on an inflight fan favorite – United is serving Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry onboard for a limited time.

• And for travellers 21 years and older, we’re offering our signature Sleigh Bell Spritz (Sprite Winter Spiced Cranberry + Tito’s Vodka, topped with a cranberry garnish) through the holiday period.

Less snow, more sun: Warm weather spots are trending this winter holiday travel season.

For example, United is expecting a 10% increase in travel to Florida compared to last year’s winter holiday travel period.