AIRLINES → RANK #26

United Airlines

GLOBAL WORKHORSE

One of the largest global networks in aviation with a strong modern safety record.

SOURCE: AVIATION SAFETY NETWORK (COMPILED) · AVIATION SAFETY NETWORK (opens in a new window) · checked 2026-07-09
Years without fatal accident
35 and counting
Last fatal accident
1991
Founded
1926
Fleet size
~1000
Home country
United States
IATA / ICAO
UA / UAL
WHY THIS IS REASSURING

At this level of safety, the gap between major airlines is statistically negligible. Flying United Airlines — or any major scheduled carrier — you would need to fly every day for over 25,000 years to statistically expect a fatal accident.

SOURCE: MIT / ARNOLD BARNETT · METHODOLOGY →
WHAT THIS NUMBER DOESN'T TELL YOU

This figure counts years since a fatal accident, not flights — United Airlines has no sourced per-airline flight total, so it can't say how many trips sit behind the record. One airline's own history, however long or short, is a far smaller sample than the worldwide figure this site already publishes: 99.999993% of boardings end safely — 1 death per 13,700,000 boardings, worldwide, 2018–2022 (MIT / ARNOLD BARNETT, 2024).

That's the whole record, checked 2026-07-09. Reading it again tonight won't change what's in it.

EXAMPLE UNITED AIRLINES FLIGHTS ON THIS SITE

UA 92 EWR → LIS · 767-300
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