United Airlines Awards $851,000 In College Scholarships

United Airlines announced that it awarded $851,000 in college scholarships through the United Scholarship Fund to 580 employees and children of employees for the 2012-13 academic year. The United Scholarship Fund remains the only scholarship program in the country funded solely through employee contributions and donations from fundraising. The United Management Association supports the scholarship fund through its fundraising activities.

“Our employees generously donate to this scholarship fund, and our co-workers and their children who benefit from that generosity are so appreciative,” said Donna Towle, United’s vice president of employee relations. “These families tell us what a difference the scholarships make in covering the costs of education. We are so proud of this year’s recipients.”

The 580 scholarship recipients are studying at colleges and universities across the U.S. and the world, with a majority of scholarships being awarded to students attending school in Illinois, Texas, California, Colorado, New Jersey, New York and Ohio, where United hubs are located and where many employees live and work. Scholarship applicants hailed from international locations ranging from Hong Kong to Mexico City and from Guam to India. The students receiving college scholarships have an average GPA of 3.91 and represent a wide-range of majors. Scholarships range from $1,000 to $3,000, and more than half of the scholarships were awarded to repeat recipients.

Since 2002, the United Scholarship Fund has awarded 1,861 scholarships worth more than $6.5 million. The United Scholarship Fund is a private, non-profit corporation dedicated to supporting the educational development of United co-workers and their dependents.

About United

United Airlines and United Express operate an average of 5,574 flights a day to 377 airports on six continents from our hubs in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Guam, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco, Tokyo and Washington, D.C.

In 2011, United carried more traffic than any other airline in the world, and operated more than two million flights carrying 142 million passengers. United is upgrading its cabins with more flat-bed seats in first and business class and more extra-legroom economy-class seating than any other airline in North America. United operates nearly 700 mainline aircraft and has orders for more than 270 new aircraft deliveries through 2022, including 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 25 Airbus A350XWBs, and 100 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft. United was rated the world’s most admired airline on FORTUNE magazine’s 2012 airline-industry list of the World’s Most Admired Companies. Readers of Global Traveler magazine have voted United’s MileagePlus program the best frequent flyer program for eight consecutive years.

United is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 countries via 27 member airlines. More than 85,000 United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around the world. For more information, visit united.com or follow United on Twitter and Facebook. The common stock of United’s parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAL.