United Airlines has long had an award-winning app that helps travelers take better control of the process. Last fall, it got remarkably better for one key demographic: Those who prefer to communicate in Spanish.
United launched a version of its app that is entirely in Spanish — meeting a demand from the fastest-growing community in the state, said Jon Gooda, a vice president with the airline who serves as head of operations at Newark Liberty International Airport.
“It’s something that I’m super proud of,” he said. “Our digital technology team did a great job.”
Gooda said it’s an example of United meeting its customers where they are at.
“It was very significant to me to have the entire app in Spanish,” he said. “We’re a diverse community here, so, shouldn’t we take the time to do the work to make our app accessible to customers of all backgrounds?
“This was probably the No. 1 or No. 2 piece of feedback that I would regularly get from our customers.”
Gooda said the airline has increased its commitment to Latin America with direct flights from Newark, where it has five nonstops to Mexico in the winter (four in the summer), and trips to the Dominican Republic and other destinations.
This is on top of dozens of destinations that can be reached from the airline’s hub in Houston.
Gooda said the aim is to make it easier for Spanish-speaking individuals, whether they are traveling internationally or domestically. The app is doing just that, he said.
“It’s transformed people’s experience with United,” he said. “When something went wrong, people used to have to line up and wait for an agent — and people understandably get very frustrated by that, especially when it’s late at night. Nobody wants to stand in line for hours to get a voucher.
“To give them the ability to get rebooked or get a hotel or meal voucher delivered in the app makes a big difference.”
Gooda said creating the Spanish-language app was the right thing to do.
“We have a very rich and diverse group of customers, including a lot of Spanish speakers,” he said. “To be able to give customers control of their travel and do it in a way that respects their language and their culture is very important.”
Carlos Medina, the CEO of the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey, said the Spanish-language app is appreciated.
“United Airlines has a history of positive outreach and interaction with the Hispanic community,” Medina said. “It’s no surprise, since the previous CEO (Oscar Munoz) was Hispanic, but it’s still good to see.
“And it’s good for business. The GDP of Hispanics in New Jersey alone is over $100 billion annually.”
Gooda said the app has had an additional unintended benefit: Providing faster service to those who prefer a language other than English or Spanish — and those who can’t use the app.
“We have international customers that don’t have the app — maybe their phones don’t work here,” he said. “Those are the folks then we are focusing agents on, right, because they don’t have access to the app.”
