Originally Posted by gnaget
I am familiar with non-rev travel on SAS. I am curious about this "buddy pass". Does this mean that a UA employee can hand them out to friends who travel unaccompanied? On SAS the employee has to accompany the friend. Only family members or domestic partners can fly independently.
UA's policy appears to be very generous.
That is correct. UA employees are allotted companion passes that are good for a maximum of 24 flight segments each year. Companion passes may be given to anyone and the recipient is allowed to travel unaccompanied. When travel is unaccompanied, slightly different rules apply (for example, an unaccompanied companion is not allowed to sit in United First on a three-cabin aircraft. They are only allowed to sit in United Business or United Economy. On two-cabin aircraft, there are no restrictions). Unaccompanied companions also board at a lower boarding priority (BP-8C) which comes after employees travelling at BP-8A, companions travelling with employees (travelling also at BP-8A), and parents of employees travelling unaccompanied (BP-8B), to name a few.