United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby on Monday outlined why he thinks a merger between his airline and rival American would benefit travelers, despite American’s refusal to engage in negotiations.

The lawsuits allege that United and Delta long have been aware of consumer complaints posted on social media about the windowless seats yet continued charging extra for window seats without windows.

United said it will begin testing the service early next year and begin offering it on some flights by later in 2025.

Among the most recent issues, a chunk of outer aluminum skin was discovered to have fallen off the belly of a United Boeing 737 after it landed in Oregon. Earlier this month, a United jet suffered an engine fire during takeoff from Houston, and a tire fell off another United jet as it left San Francisco.

CEO Scott Kirby said the airline was already planning an extra day of training for pilots starting in May and changes in training curriculum for newly hired mechanics. In a memo to customers on Monday, Kirby tried to reassure travelers that safety is the airline's top priority.

The unions are calling Tuesday’s protests a national day of action. It is not a strike — federal law makes it difficult for airline unions to conduct legal strikes.

Originally budgeted at $8.5 billion, the expansion is now reaching $12 billion. The most extensive part of the project is the 2.2 million-square-foot O’Hare Global Terminal, replacing what is now Terminal 2.

United said the airline will add a filter to the booking tool on its website to help consumers find flights on which the plane can more easily accommodate their wheelchairs. The cargo doors on some planes are too small to easily get a motorized wheelchair in the belly of the plane.

United said 3,800 of its new jobs this year will be in Chicago, where the company is headquartered and runs a big operation at O’Hare International Airport. 

United Airlines is partnering with Archer Aviation to offer flyers an air taxi service from Vertiport Chicago on the Near West Side to Chicago O’Hare International Airport.

United said Wednesday that it will resume seasonal flights from Newark, New Jersey, to Stockholm, which it dropped in 2019, and launch new summer service from Newark to Malaga, Spain.

United Airlines says its unvaccinated pilots are costing the company millions. Crain’s Chicago Business reporter Stephanie Goldberg has details on that story and more.

United Airlines reported a $473 million profit for the third quarter thanks to more than $1 billion in federal pandemic aid that helped pay airline employees this summer.

United Airlines will require employees in the U.S. to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by late October, perhaps sooner, joining a growing number of big corporations that are responding to a surge in virus cases.

United said Tuesday that it will buy 200 Boeing Max jets and 70 planes from Europe’s Airbus so that it can replace many of its smallest planes and some of its oldest and have room to grow its fleet.

Good news for employees as air travel rebounds. Crain’s Chicago Business editor Ann Dwyer takes us behind the headline of that story and more.