The offer, which follows a similar pledge by Delta Air Lines last summer, marks a push to move beyond airfare discounts and available flights as the main reasons corporate travelers choose an airline. A key difference is that Delta’s credits can be used to pay fares, while United’s will only be good toward seat upgrades and other ancillary costs.
United’s guarantee will cover domestic, international and regional flights next year, while Delta’s program includes only its domestic mainline operation. Also, United will use an on-time measurement that’s slightly different from its rival’s. United will measure flights that arrive before or right at the scheduled arrival time, where Delta uses a broader measurement of flights arriving within 15 minutes of their scheduled time.
Both carriers’ guarantees have terms that make an actual payout seem unlikely. United pledges to beat the on-time rate and completion rate of either American or Delta, without pledging to top both. For Delta to pay up, it would have to trail both of its rivals by both measurements, according to that carrier’s terms.
Compensation would include upgrades to Economy Plus seating, waivers of change fees and waivers on charges for name changes, which enable a company to transfer a ticket to a different person. The program will generally be available to United’s bigger corporate customers and is tied to how much business they give the airline.
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