SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today,
customers traveling on United from San
Francisco International Airport to Hawaii were the first to experience the
airline's COVID-19 pilot testing program, allowing customers who
return a negative result to bypass the state's mandatory quarantine
requirements and enjoy their time on the islands sooner. In
collaboration with San Francisco
International Airport, customers now have the option to take a
same-day, pre-flight rapid test at the airport or a
conveniently-located drive-through test at United's San Francisco
Maintenance Center ahead of their trip. United has been approved by
the Hawaii Department of Health as a trusted testing and travel
partner and was the first U.S. carrier to announce its
plans to make COVID-19 tests available to customers.
"There's no doubt that COVID-19 has changed the travel
experience, and United is committed to innovating to help customers
continue to travel where they want to go in a way that is safe,"
said Toby Enqvist, Chief Customer
Officer at United. "In partnership with the San Francisco Airport,
we look forward to helping re-open the Hawaiian economy, and look
forward to making testing options more broadly available to our
customers so we can continue to connect people and unite the
world."
"Protecting the health and safety of our passengers is
our highest priority, and we are proud to partner with United
Airlines and their health providers to offer onsite rapid and
drive-through testing for United's passengers to Hawaii," said SFO Airport Director
Ivar C. Satero. "This collaboration
of airlines, airports, and health providers truly creates a model
for air travel that gives passengers a new level of confidence. My
thanks go out to the entire team who helped us to take this
important step forward."
Click here for b-roll and still images of
COVID-19 testing at SFO
Preflight testing for customers traveling to
Hawaii
United, working alongside with San
Francisco International Airport, will make two tests
available to customers traveling to Hawaii: a rapid test option taken at the
airport on the day of travel or a drive-through test conducted at
the airport 48-72 hours before departure. Customers who produce a
negative test result through either option will be exempt from
quarantine requirements in Lihue,
Maui and Honolulu. Customers traveling to Kona will be
required to take a second complimentary test when they arrive to
the island to avoid quarantining.
The rapid Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 test – administered by GoHealth
Urgent Care and their partner Dignity Health – is available at
an onsite testing facility located in SFO's international terminal
prior to security. Customers based in San
Francisco can schedule their visits online and will receive
their results in approximately 15 minutes. The onsite testing
facility will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
PT daily and customers are advised to make an appointment at
least three hours before their flight, as no walk-in appointments
will be available.
Customers taking the drive-through test option – administered by
Color – can schedule an appointment in advance online and
should make the appointment for 48-72 hours before their flight
departs. Walk in appointments will not be available. Once a
customer takes the test, they will receive an electronic copy of
their results in 24-48 hours. The testing facility is located at
United's San Francisco Maintenance Center parking lot at 800 S
Airport Blvd – a short drive away from the airport. Customers must
take the test within 72 hours of their flight's departure and will
receive their results electronically.
Halfway to Hawaii
As the state of Hawaii begins
to reopen, United is also resuming its popular Halfway to
Hawaii game. Customers will
calculate the point when their flight is midway to the islands and
those who guess correctly will receive a Hawaiian-themed amenity
kit*. United is bringing the game back today on flights
from Chicago O'Hare to Honolulu
and on flights from San Francisco
to Honolulu, Maui and Kona, and will expand to all other
Hawaii bound flights in the coming
weeks.
United currently offers more flights to Hawaii than any other carrier including daily
service between San Francisco and
Honolulu (HNL), Maui (OGG) and Kona (KOA). Today, the airline
also resumed service to Lihue
(LIH).
United CleanPlusSM
Since the start of the pandemic, United has been a leader among
U.S. airlines in enacting new policies and innovations designed to
keep employees and passengers safer when traveling. It was the
first U.S. airline to mandate masks for flight attendants, quickly
following with all customers and employees. United was also among
the first U.S. carriers to announce it wouldn't permit customers
who refused to comply with the airline's mandatory mask policy to
fly with them while the face mask policy is in place. United was
also the first U.S. airline to roll out touchless check-in for
customers with bags, and the first to require passengers take an
online health assessment before traveling. Recently, the airline
announced it will apply Zoono Microbe Shield, an EPA registered
antimicrobial coating that forms a long-lasting bond with surfaces
and inhibits the growth of microbes, to its entire mainline and
express fleet before the end of the year.
For more details on all the ways United is helping keep
customers safe during their journey, please
visit united.com/cleanplus.
About United
United's shared purpose is "Connecting People. Uniting the
World." For more information, visit united.com, follow @United on
Twitter and Instagram or connect on Facebook. The common stock of
United's parent, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., is traded on the
Nasdaq under the symbol "UAL".
About San
Francisco International Airport
SFO wants you to Travel Well. SFO works with local, state
and federal health officials to protect against COVID-19.
Measures include enhanced cleaning protocols, hundreds of hand
sanitizer stations, physical barriers, face coverings for everyone
and physical distancing. To learn more
visit flysfo.com/travel-well.
SFO offers nonstop service to Asia, South Pacific, Europe, Canada, Mexico and across the United States. For up-to-the-minute
departure and arrival information, airport maps and details on
shopping, dining, cultural exhibitions, ground transportation and
more, visit www.flysfo.com. Follow us
on www.twitter.com/flysfo and www.facebook.com/flysfo.
About GoHealth Urgent Care
GoHealth Urgent Care is one of the country's fastest-growing,
largest and most technology-forward urgent care companies. At
GoHealth Urgent Care, we provide unparalleled experiences that are
effortless, personal and connected through partnerships with
market-leading health systems and our communities as a whole.
GoHealth Urgent Care operates approximately 150 urgent care centers
in the greater New York
metropolitan area, the Portland,
Oregon-Vancouver,
Washington metropolitan area, the San Francisco Bay Area, Hartford and South Eastern Connecticut,
Winston-Salem and Charlotte, North Carolina, St. Louis and Springfield, Missouri, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Northwest Arkansas and Delaware. GoHealth Urgent Care is a TPG Growth
portfolio company, the middle market and growth equity investment
platform of TPG, which has more than $103
billion of assets under management. To learn more, please
visit www.gohealthuc.com.
About Color
Color is a leader in distributed healthcare and clinical
testing. Color makes population-scale healthcare programs
accessible, convenient, and cost-effective for everyone. Color
works with health systems, employers, and national health
initiatives around the world including the million-person All of Us
Research Program by the National Institutes of Health. For more
information about Color and its response to COVID-19, visit
www.color.com.
*Each flight will have up to six winners for the Halfway to
Hawaii contest. Winners will be
determined by order of pressing the call button with the correct
answer. Prizes will carry a value of up to $10.
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SOURCE United Airlines