United's New In-Flight Gift-Giving Service
In recent months, United has been coming up with different ways of improving its customer service and in-flight experience reputation. Last year, the carrier announced that it was bringing back complimentary snacks to economy passengers, the ability for airport agents to compensate unhappy passengers with goodwill certificates of up to $125 and equipping customer service reps with the iPhone 6 Plus. And now, United is offering passengers a service that it says is the first of its kind for a US-based carrier — a gift-giving program.
The new program, called Celebrate, allows you to pre-order a gift that can then be presented to a passenger on an international United flight that's departing from a US gateway. You can choose what you want to be delivered to the passenger by visiting this site and selecting any of the items with a small airplane in the top left corner. The gift you choose will then be wrapped and delivered to the passenger by a flight attendant after takeoff. There's also the option for a personalized gift card.
The Celebrate program is now available for you to order and gift to someone on board an international flight. Note that there is a $5 gift-wrapping surcharge, and orders must be placed at least 72 hours before the scheduled departure. With United's CEO Oscar Munoz back following his medical leave, the carrier is continuing its effort to improve customer service, and Celebrate is one of the first programs introduced since his return.
