United became the first U.S. airline to add Braille markers to aircraft interiors, helping millions of travelers with visual disabilities more easily navigate the cabin independently, with plans its outfit its entire mainline fleet by 2026.
The announcement was made Thursday by United officials, who said about a dozen planes so far have been equipped with Braille markings for individual rows and seat numbers, as well as inside and outside the lavatories.
Braille markings will be added to retrofitted aircraft that are being reconfigured as part of the larger United Next program, as well as put on new Airbuses that are on order, said Mark Muren, United’s Identity, Product and Loyalty managing director, in an interview. The airline is looking beyond this roll out for ways to increase accessibility, including adding features to its mobile app to help people navigate airports.
“Finding your seat on a plane or getting to the restroom is something most of us take for granted, but for millions of our customers, it can be a challenge to do independently,” said Linda Jojo, Executive Vice President, Chief Customer Officer for United. “By adding more tactile signage throughout our interiors, we’re making the flying experience more inclusive and accessible, and that’s good for everyone.”
The idea came from the company’s Bridge, Business Resource Group — which is made up of people with various accessibility issues —which advocated for the markings, Muren said. The airline also worked with national groups for the visually impaired, he said.
“It’s the right thing to do,” he said. “These will touch every United Airlines plane.”
While the end of 2026 is the target date for completion, “we’ll be looking to do things faster,” Muren said. Adding Braille markers to existing aircraft isn’t a time consuming process, he said.
United has plans to add Braille placards to all the aircraft going through its reconfiguration, and the 70 Airbus A321neo aircraft, announced at Newark airport on June 29, 2021 as part of the United Next initiative, will come with them, he said. Untied is also working with Boeing to see if the manufacturer can offer Braille placards on new aircraft, he said.
In December 2022, United announced a massive order of widebody jets including 100 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and exercised options to purchase 44 more Boeing 737 MAX aircraft for delivery between 2024 and 2026. The company also ordered 56 more 737-MAX aircraft for delivery between 2027 and 2028.
United is looking at other features to help visually impaired travelers, including adding audio and other functions to the United mobile app to help guide customers through airports, Muren said.
“We really believe that our United app is (the) most powerful tool for helping people with impairment navigate that airport experience better,” he said. “We can adapt it in real time, we can get feedback from people right away.”
The app would be a resource people can carry with them rather than walking through the airport trying to find flight info displays or other assistance, he said. Those are ideas that had “gotten a lot of support back from the people we’ve talked to about that,” Muren said.
United is also working with National Federation of the Blind, the American Council of the Blind and other disability advocacy groups to explore the use of other tactile navigational aids throughout the cabin such as raised letters, numbers and arrows, officials said.
“We applaud United for taking an important step toward making its aircraft more accessible to blind passengers,” said Mark Riccobono, National Federation of the Blind president. “The flight experience is often frustrating for a number of reasons, one of which is the amount of information that is available exclusively through printed signs and other visual indicators.”
Other advocates praised the airline for increasing accessibility and encouraged other airlines to do the same.
“United is taking additional steps to create an accessible airline passenger experience through Braille signage,” said Dan Spoone, American Council of the Blind interim executive director.
“We appreciate the airline’s continued exploration of additional in-flight navigational aids like large print and tactile indicators, and we encourage all airlines to follow United’s lead in making air travel more inclusive for the blind and low vision community.”
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