Contract of Carriage

Transportation of Passengers and Baggage on flights operated by United Airlines, Inc. ("United"), Carriers doing business as United Express, and other carriers operating as United's Codeshare partner (collectively "United Carriers"), are subject to the terms and conditions set forth in United's Contract of Carriage, in addition to any terms and conditions printed on or in any ticket, ticket jacket or eticket receipt. By purchasing a ticket or accepting transportation, the passenger agrees to be bound thereby. Incorporated terms may include, but are not limited to:

  • Limits on liability for delay, damage or loss of baggage, including fragile or perishable goods.
  • Claims restrictions, including time periods within which a passenger must file a claim or bring an action against United.
  • United’s rights to change terms of the Contract of Carriage.
  • Rules on reconfirmation of reservations, check-in times and refusal to carry.
  • United Carriers’ rights and limits on liability for delay or failure to perform service, including schedule changes, substitution of alternate air carrier or aircraft, and rerouting.

Advice to international passengers on limitations of liability

Passengers embarking upon a journey involving an ultimate destination or a stop in a country other than the country of departure are advised that the provisions of an international treaty (the Warsaw Convention, the 1999 Montreal Convention, or other treaty), as well as a carrier's own contract of carriage or tariff provisions, may be applicable to their entire journey, including any portion entirely within the countries of departure and destination. The applicable treaty governs and may limit the liability of carriers to passengers for death or personal injury, destruction or loss of, or damage to, baggage, and for delay of passengers and baggage.

Additional protection can usually be obtained by purchasing insurance from a private company. Such insurance is not affected by any limitation of the carrier's liability under an international treaty. For further information please consult your airline or insurance company representative.

Additional terms

If you have purchased a restricted ticket, depending on the rules applicable to the fare paid, one or more restrictions including, but not limited to one or more of the following, may apply to your travel: (1) the ticket may not be refundable but can be exchanged for a fee for another restricted fare ticket meeting all the rules/restrictions of the original ticket (including the payment of any difference in fares); (2) a fee may apply for changing/canceling reservations; (3) select tickets may not be eligible for refunds or changes even for a fee; (4) select tickets have no residual value and cannot be applied towards the purchase of future travel; or (5) travel may be restricted to specific flights and/or times and minimum and/or maximum stay may be required. Each United Carrier reserves the right to (1) refuse carriage to any person who has acquired a ticket in violation of any United Carriers’ tariffs, rules or regulations, or in violation of any applicable national, federal, state, or local law order, regulation or ordinance, and (2) change or modify any of its conditions of contract with or without notice to ticketed passengers.

Language assistance

In the U.S. and Canada please dial toll free for:

Spanish

1-800-426-5561

Asian

1-800-551-0943 (Cantonese)
1-800-537-3366 (Japanese)

Hearing-impaired

1-800-323-0170

Codeshare services

The rules contained in United's Contract of Carriage with respect to ticketing will apply to United's Codeshare services on flights operated by another carrier. However, each Codeshare partner has terms and conditions with respect to the operation of its own flights and may differ from those set forth in United's Contract of Carriage with respect to flights operated by United. Those terms and conditions, which are found in the partner's contract of carriage for that partner's flights, are incorporated into United's Contract of Carriage by reference and apply to Codeshare services provided by United on a flight operated by that partner, which supersede United's rules that would be otherwise applicable. Terms and conditions that may differ between United and the partner include, but are not limited to:

  • check-in time limits;
  • unaccompanied minors;
  • carriage of animals;
  • refusal to transport;
  • oxygen service;
  • irregular operations;
  • denied boarding compensation;
  • baggage acceptance, allowance and liability;
  • smoking.

If you have additional questions regarding policies on your codeshare flight, please contact United Reservations.

Our goal is to make every flight a safe and pleasant experience for our customers. Therefore, we have provided the full text of our Contract of Carriage, as well as a link to all of our Codeshare partners' contracts of carriage, to allow our customers to understand our obligations and have appropriate expectations. If we have not met any of your expectations, let us know by email.

Contract of Carriage

View our Contract of Carriage

Copies of the Contract of Carriage are also available at any United ticketing facility or may be requested from United Customer Service.