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United Rolls Out New Bag Drop Shortcut Service [Skip the Line!]

Victoria M. Walker's image
Victoria M. Walker
Victoria M. Walker's image

Victoria M. Walker

Senior Content Contributor

717 Published Articles 1 Edited Article

Countries Visited: 26U.S. States Visited: 27

Victoria holds a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the Howard University School of Communications and is an award-winning journalist, travel reporter, and the founder of the “Carrying On with Victoria...
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Dropping off bags at the airport is about to get easier for travelers when flying United Airlines in select cities.

The Chicago-based airline announced that it’s rolling out a new bag drop system where customers can skip the line and check their bag for their flight in 1 minute or less.

Here’s what you need to know about the new service!

United Begins New Bag Drop Service

According to the airline, travelers can start the process to drop their bags off by using the United mobile app. Travelers will have to check in on the app and select the number of bags for their trip. The app will inform them of the bag drop location.

Once at the airport, travelers can place their bag on the scale and scan their boarding pass at the kiosk.

The airline will check the customer’s ID and apply the bag tag. The airline says this can all be done in the span of 1 minute.

United Baggage Check In
No more standing in lines with United’s new bag drop service. Image Credit: United

United has already rolled out the service at its biggest U.S. hubs, including Chicago, Denver, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Newark, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C, and plans to expand the service to dozens of other airports in 2022.

United initially tested the pilot at its New York-area airports in August of last year. It said the program was able to reduce wait times for all customers, increasing customer satisfaction.

“Our initial customer data proves this free, simple-to-use process saves our customers time and energy as they get ready for their flight,” said Toby Enqvist, United’s chief customer officer said in a news release.

“We’re thrilled to be the first to offer this service to all customers who check-in on our award-winning mobile app,” the statement continued.

Hot Tip: While Premium Plus, business, and first class tickets each come with 2 free bags, United’s baggage allowances and fees can vary for economy tickets (particularly Basic Economy). Before using the new bag drop service, make sure to look at your ticket to see how much your checked bag may cost. 

Final Thoughts

Navigating the airport is already a stressful experience, so United launching this new bag drop service is tremendously positive for the customer experience. It will most likely be a huge relief for already frazzled travelers once the service launches at other airports served by United.

Victoria M. Walker's image

About Victoria M. Walker

Victoria holds a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the Howard University School of Communications and is an award-winning journalist, travel reporter, and the founder of the “Carrying On with Victoria M. Walker” newsletter.

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