Tight layover? United Airlines wants to take the stress out of catching your next flight with AI and maps

• United Airlines is rolling out a small, but key update that might just help you make your connection
• ConnectionSaver will now give you turn-by-turn directions to make your connecting flight at United's hubs
• It will also show relevant information in real-time in the app

Let’s be real, having to catch a connecting flight isn't the easiest, especially if the time between your first flight and the second becomes crazy tight as a result of a delay. It can be a very high-stress moment, but now United Airlines is trying to make it a little less stressful.

We’ve already seen United adopt Live Activities on the iPhone to make it easy to view key information without opening the app, and the airline has mapped many airports for easy navigation, as well as rolled out some surprisingly helpful features.

So now in time for peak summer travel season, United is updating its ConnectionSaver technology for those connecting within one of its hubs – Newark, NJ, Chicago, IL, Denver, CO, Houston, TX, Los Angeles, CA, San Francisco, CA, Washington, DC, or Guam – to the effect that you’ll see flight status in real-time, tips, and a prominent notice if United’s ConnectionSaver is activated.

With this, using AI and United’s teams, they can hold the flight at the gate for a bit longer – and provide you with a countdown clock – without delaying the arrival to help you make the flight.

Even better, though, United will also inform your in-flight crew if that’s the case and also provide turn-by-turn navigation directions. This way, you don’t have to scramble off the aircraft and run out of the gate, not knowing if you need to go left or right. In a shared video previewed by TechRadar, the app will provide turn-by-turn directions and even inform you if you need to take an escalator to a tunnel or hop on a tram to reach the gate.

Speaking to TechRadar, United’s Chief Customer Officer, David Kinzelman, told us that they’ve mapped all their facilities, and “we feel really good about the maps that we have and the times and the distances” to provide accurate real-time navigation.

I’m particularly excited about the real-time navigation paired with ConnectionSaver, as if you're lucky enough to have a stop through a hub with the first flight arriving late, these two features together could help you actually make the connection. That will need to be tested, of course, and you’ll need to be saved with ‘ConnectionSaver’. If the latter doesn’t come through, or if you get to the gate a bit too late, you can rebook via the United Airlines app and access customer service from there as well.

This update is rolling out now, and ConnectionSaver has already been live. If you’re keen to give it a try or at least access the turn-by-turn navigation, be sure to update the United Airlines app on your iPhone or Android device.

And if you’re a fan of the Live Activity on the iPhone, Kinzelman told us that they're exploring integrating this update into that experience and that “we will at some point link the two”.

The other big technology trend for United Airlines thus far in 2025 has been the start of its rollout of Starlink-powered Wi-Fi for gate-to-gate connectivity at no cost for members of its MileagePlus rewards program. It’s already on several United Express regional jets, and the airline says it will be on the entire fleet by the end of the year, with the process of installing it on its larger mainline jets to begin by the end of the year.

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