United Airlines has announced that it will expand the industry’s only Special Olympics Service Ambassador (SOSA) program to its hubs in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Newark. The goal is to welcome 10 more people into the program and reach a total of 28 SOSA employees across all seven of its U.S. hubs, furthering its effort to create employment opportunities for people with physical and intellectual disabilities.
Former San Francisco 49er and all-time receiving touchdowns leader Jerry Rice was on-hand at United’s San Francisco hub to help recruit, undergo a boot camp by some of United’s existing SOSAs and get a firsthand look at their responsibilities.
United’s SOSA program gives Special Olympics athletes the opportunity to earn part-time employment with full employee benefits. United SOSAs welcome customers in the airport lobby and help them find check-in kiosks, bag check locations and security lines. Post-security responsibilities include navigating the terminal and using digital customer service tools.
United first launched the SOSA program in Chicago during National Disability Employment Awareness Month in 2019 and quickly expanded to its hubs in Houston, Denver and Washington DC. Since its inception, the program has given Special Olympics athletes the opportunity to gain firsthand experience working as part-time employees for United Airlines.
United has a longstanding partnership with Special Olympics that includes a range of sponsorship and event activations including plane pull competitions, localized volunteering, support of the Capitol Hill Day in Washington D.C. and the Global Athlete Congress at the Special Olympics World Games.
As sponsors of the 2025 Capitol Hill Day, United supported Special Olympics delegates championing inclusion and critical funding. Special Olympics athletes led more than 330 face-to-face meetings with Members of Congress in both the House and Senate, inviting their elected officials to partner with them to support inclusive education and health initiatives for people with intellectual disabilities. The event convened more than 275 participants from 50 programs across the country.
In 2025, United’s chief operations officer, Toby Enqvist was appointed to the Board of Directors for Special Olympics International. His leadership adds momentum to the airline’s shared commitment to inclusion in the workplace and empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities on a global level.
Accessibility Initiatives at United
United’s implementation of the SOSA program is just one of the many ways the airline has dedicated itself to fostering welcoming and inspiring environments for everyone, both travelers and employees alike. For over eight years, United has been a “Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion” and has worked to improve accessibility through measures including:
- The industry’s first digital sizing tool for wheelchairs and reimbursing the difference in fares if a customer needs to pay more for a flight that can accommodate their wheelchair
- The first U.S. airline to add Braille to aircraft interiors to help millions of travelers with visual disabilities more easily navigate the cabin independently
- Launching a new collaboration last year with the United Spinal Association where the organization will help support and advise the airline in its efforts to improve accessibility throughout the entire travel experience
- The United mobile app makes it easier for people with visual disabilities to use by offering increased color contrast, more space between graphics and an enhanced display and announcement of information to better integrate with the screen reader technologies such as VoiceOver and TalkBack
- United’s in-flight seatback entertainment screens offer a range of accessible features such as closed captioning, text-to-speech controls, magnification, explore-by-touch capabilities, audio-described movies, adjustable and high-contrast text and color correction
- United offers day-of travel support for the visually and hearing impaired with “Agent on Demand” where a customer can use audio, video and chat to get assistance by a United customer service representative
United customers can also support Special Olympics through United’s “Miles on a Mission” program where they can donate miles and become a MileagePlus member for free.
For more information, visit www.united.com/donate.
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