United Airlines expands India relief efforts with online fundraising campaign
United Airlines expands its efforts to support those impacted by the COVID-19 crisis in India with the launch of a new online fundraising campaign. Customers can donate to the airline's relief partners: Airlink, Americares, GlobalGiving Foundation and World Central Kitchen. United is offering up to 5 million bonus miles to encourage MileagePlus® members to support this effort and will match each donation up to a total of $40,000 in cash donations. In addition, United is currently the only U.S. airline serving India, and over the last few days has helped transport more than 300,000 pounds of critical medical supplies to the region.
"Throughout the pandemic, we have been committed to leveraging our resources and relationships to provide support to communities hit hardest by COVID-19," said Luc Bondar, vice president of marketing & loyalty and president of MileagePlus at United. "As India faces this crisis, our generous customers, employees and MileagePlus members have stepped forward to ask how they can support those in need, and we are proud and humbled to facilitate this critical work."
United is working directly with its partner organizations, as well as engaging with community leaders to assist the impacted communities. Focus areas for some of the airline's partners include:
- Airlink: Transportation of medical supplies and PPE
- Americares: Supporting COVID-19 treatment facilities, donating critical medical equipment, PPE and supplies for health workers and educating the community on COVID-19 prevention and vaccination.
- World Central Kitchen: Hot meal distribution to health care workers by partnering with local restaurants
In addition to its fundraising efforts, United will also continue to leverage its cargo operations to transport greatly needed medical equipment to the region. Between April 28 and May 2, United operated 20 flights that transported more than 300,000 pounds of medical supplies to India. This included donations from the U.S. India Chamber of Commerce and the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce in Houston that brought 50 ventilators through the USICOC Foundation to the Indian Red Cross Society. United is continuing to coordinate humanitarian cargo efforts with partner, Airlink, which provides tactical coordination to help break through supply chain barriers to execute rapid response airlifts of humanitarian aid. United has proudly served India since 2005 and employs more than 300 individuals in the country. The online campaign platform is currently scheduled to be available for donations through June 15. United will continue to evaluate how it can provide support to the region.