New research shows 73% of Americans say
booking a plane ticket to a new destination brings them
happiness*
On National Plan for Vacation Day, Dr.
Laurie Santos, cognitive scientist
and renowned Ivy League professor,
explains why planning and taking a trip creates lasting brain
health and physical well-being
Current or new United MileagePlus members who
book travel today can earn bonus miles on trips to one of the
airline's unique international destinations
CHICAGO, Jan. 28,
2025 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines is celebrating
National Plan for Vacation Day with a way to remedy the seasonal
blues by teaming up with cognitive scientist Dr. Laurie Santos, host of The Happiness
Lab podcast and Ivy League
professor, to analyze new research that examines the link between
happiness and booking a vacation. According to a new survey* by
United, 70% of Americans say booking a plane ticket for a vacation
brings them happiness and a majority of people say experiences make
them feel happier than material goods.
"Planning a vacation can give you an unexpected happiness bump
because experiences matter for our well-being more than we expect,"
said Dr. Santos. "When you book a vacation, you experience the
reward of anticipating a positive experience. The happiness boost
we get from travel can last long after you book your ticket - from
the moments you happily anticipate your getaway, to taking the fun
trip itself, to the times you recall trip high points with friends
once you get back home."
Customers can receive bonus miles and get their booking boost
today if they book a trip from the U.S. to one of 25 international
destinations where United is the only U.S. airline providing
service. As the world's largest airline, United connects travelers
to more than 360 destinations worldwide.
"Booking Boost" Research
United's survey* shows that 68% of people say January is a month
where they need something to look forward to, while more than half
of Americans report experiencing the winter blues. United's
findings also reveal the power of the positive mood-boost that
occurs when a flight for vacation is booked, showing people are
almost as happy planning their itinerary (73%) and just as happy
sharing memories of the trip with others (83%) as they are
experiencing the trip (82%).
As a mood elevator, travel is surprisingly more effective than
buying material objects. According to research** reviewed by
Dr. Santos, the happiness boost from a travel purchase has been
shown to be over twice as large as the happiness effect from buying
clothing, jewelry or home goods and more than four times as large
as buying electronic goods.
"A vacation gives you a bigger and more lasting happiness bump
because as humans, we are delighted by the novelty of the unknown.
The thrill of a new handbag wears off quickly since you get used to
them through a trick our mind does called 'hedonic adaptation,' but
travel brings new experiences each day that delight and engage us,"
said Dr. Santos. "And then we build on that through social
connections by traveling with other people and talking about our
trip with them later."
United's survey* data also shows that 73% of Americans said they
would feel happier booking a flight to a new destination rather
than a destination they have already been to. With United's
expansive network, including the most international destinations of
all U.S. airlines, travelers can experience a new destination
starting with a mood boost as soon as they book their flight.
United's Network: Unmatched Travel
Destinations
As the world's largest airline, United connects travelers to
more than 360 destinations worldwide, and flies to more
international destinations than any other U.S. carrier. Next
summer, United will offer 800 daily flights to and from 147
international destinations, giving passengers the opportunity to
travel to places they've never been all around the globe.
Last fall, United announced its largest-ever international
expansion and will soon inaugurate flights to eight new and highly
anticipated destinations including, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Nuuk, Greenland; Palermo, Italy; Bilbao,
Spain; Madeira Island and Faro, Portugal and Dakar,
Senegal.*** The new destinations build on United's position
as the largest Transatlantic and Transpacific carrier, with United
now serving more destinations in Africa than any other U.S. airline.
In addition, United recently made its new direct flights
from Tokyo-Narita to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and
Kaohsiung – destinations no other U.S. airline serves – available
for booking, helping to seamlessly connect United's five hub
locations in the continental U.S. and transpacific services to
Tokyo for unlimited adventure.
United MileagePlus: Booking Boost,
Amplified
With so many incredible destinations, United travelers can earn
miles through the airline's award-winning MileagePlus loyalty
program, including through of United's Chase credit cards.
As an extra booking boost on National Plan for Vacation Day,
United is offering bonus miles for trips booked today from the U.S.
to one of 25 international destinations that no other U.S. airline
serves. The offer is available for many of the airline's most
unique and off-the-beaten path destinations like Nuuk, Greenland; Palermo, Italy; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Faro, Portugal and Bilbao,
Spain.*** For example, a MileagePlus member flying round
trip from Newark to Palermo in June could earn 13,000 miles, and
one flying from Chicago to Faro in
June could earn 10,000 miles.**** And, MileagePlus Premier members
can earn even more. A full list of destinations eligible and
terms and conditions for this offer can be found here.
"This research illustrates yet another reason why MileagePlus
has such an engaged and loyal and happy member base – United
connects travelers to unique, memorable experiences that deliver a
proven, positive impact. And when they travel, MileagePlus members
enjoy a booking boost – not only do they get the in-the-moment joy
of their current trip, but they're earning miles to make booking
that next happiness inducing adventure even easier," said
Richard Nunn, CEO of United
MileagePlus.
MileagePlus was recently rated the world's best airline
loyalty program and offers customers benefits including:
- Free to join for all customers
- Miles never expire
- No blackout dates – if there's a seat open you can buy it with
miles or a combination of miles and cash. Plus, it's free to change
your flight on award tickets – and if you cancel your flight, you
can have your award miles put back into your account with no
fee
- Just about anything you can pay for with cash at United, you
can also buy with miles (seats, Wi-Fi, snacks, etc.)
- And United became the first major U.S. airline to
allow members of its loyalty program to pool their miles with
family and friends into a joint account
*Online survey of 1,323 nationally representative Americans
fielded by YouGov on behalf of United Airlines. The survey was
fielded from January 8-9, 2025, and
the margin of error is +/-3%.
**Kumar, A., Killingsworth, M. A., & Gilovich, T. (2020).
Spending on doing promotes more moment-to-moment happiness than
spending on having. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 88,
103971.
***Subject to government approvals.
****Actual amount of miles earned will vary depending on the
ticket fare paid.
About United
At United, Good Leads The Way. With U.S.
hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los
Angeles, New
York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., United operates the most
comprehensive global route network among North American carriers
and is now the largest airline in the world as measured by
available seat miles. For more about how to join the United team,
please visit www.united.com/careers and more information about
the company is at www.united.com. United Airlines Holdings, Inc.,
the parent company of United Airlines, Inc., is traded on the
Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".
About Dr. Laurie
Santos
Dr. Santos is an expert on the science of
happiness. Her college course, Psychology and the Good Life, became
the Ivy League's most popular course in over 300 years, with almost
1 in 4 students enrolled and more than 4 million learners worldwide
taking the course online. A winner of numerous awards both for her
science and teaching, Santos was recently voted as one of Popular
Science Magazine's "Brilliant 10" young minds and named in Time
Magazine as a "Leading Campus Celebrity." Her podcast, The
Happiness Lab, is a top-3 Apple podcast that has attracted 100+
million downloads since its launch.
View original content to download
multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/got-the-january-blues-united-reveals-the-power-of-the-booking-boost-to-lift-your-mood-302361558.html
SOURCE United Airlines
