Short answer
United Airlines Holdings had approximately 117,900 employees on September 30, 2026, according to its Form 10-Q filed October 21, 2026, up 6,000 (5.4%) from 111,900 a year earlier. 83% are represented by US labor unions. Its 10-K reported about 113,200 employees at December 31, 2025. Flight attendants are the largest group, at 28,220, followed by pilots (17,126) and fleet service (16,789).
- Latest figure: about 117,900 employees on September 30, 2026, from the Q3 2026 10-Q, up 5.4% on a year earlier.
- Headcount has grown every year since the 2020 low of 74,400, by about 43,500 people (our arithmetic).
- About 83% of employees are union-represented; flight attendants ratified a five-year contract in May 2026.
- Salaries and related costs rose 8.3% in the first nine months of 2026, which United attributes partly to the 5.4% increase in headcount.
- Revenue per employee was about $521,800 in 2025 (our calculation).
On this page
This page is for sellers sizing United as an account, job seekers, analysts and anyone who needs a United Airlines headcount they can cite. Every figure comes from United Airlines Holdings, Inc.'s filings with the SEC: the annual report on Form 10-K and the quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, which give "Employee headcount" at each quarter end. The fiscal year is the calendar year.
United Airlines employees by quarter (latest)
| As of | Employees | A year earlier | Change (as reported) | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 30, 2026 | 117,900 | 111,900 | +6,000 (+5.4%) | 10-Q filed October 21, 2026 |
| June 30, 2026 | 117,500 | 111,300 | +6,200 (+5.6%) | 10-Q filed July 16, 2026 |
| March 31, 2026 | 115,600 | 109,200 | +6,400 (+5.9%) | 10-Q filed April 22, 2026 |
| December 31, 2025 | 113,200 | 107,300 | +5,900 (+5.5%) | 10-K filed February 12, 2026 |
The 10-Q also says that at September 30, 2026, "83% were represented by various U.S. labor organizations." Year-over-year growth has eased from 5.9% in March to 5.4% in September.
United Airlines employees by year
| Year | As of | Employees | Union-represented | Change on prior year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | December 31, 2025 | 113,200 | 83% | +5,900 (+5.5%) | 10-K filed February 12, 2026 |
| 2024 | December 31, 2024 | 107,300 | 82% | +4,000 (+3.9%) | 10-K filed February 27, 2025 |
| 2023 | December 31, 2023 | 103,300 | 83% | +10,505 (+11.3%) | 10-K filed February 29, 2024 |
| 2022 | December 31, 2022 | 92,795 | 84% | +8,695 (+10.3%) | 10-K filed February 16, 2023 |
| 2021 | December 31, 2021 | 84,100 | 85% | +9,700 (+13.0%) | 10-K filed February 18, 2022 |
| 2020 | December 31, 2020 | 74,400 | 84% | -21,600 (-22.5%) | 10-K filed March 1, 2021 |
| 2019 | December 31, 2019 | 96,000 | 84% | +4,000 (+4.3%) | 10-K filed February 25, 2020 |
| 2018 | December 31, 2018 | 92,000 | 83% | 10-K filed February 28, 2019 |
The filings give the figures as "approximately", except the 2022 total of 92,795; the changes are our arithmetic. The 2020 figure excludes furloughed employees who were recalled under the Payroll Support Program extension passed that December, so the true pandemic dip was shallower than the table suggests.
United employees by work group
The 2025 10-K lists every union-represented group with its headcount at December 31, 2025.
| Work group | Employees | Union |
|---|---|---|
| Flight attendants | 28,220 | Association of Flight Attendants |
| Pilots | 17,126 | Air Line Pilots Association |
| Fleet service | 16,789 | International Association of Machinists (IAM) |
| Passenger service | 11,493 | IAM |
| Technicians | 10,599 | International Brotherhood of Teamsters |
| United Ground Express passenger service | 6,727 | IAM |
| Storekeepers | 1,448 | IAM |
| Dispatchers | 554 | Professional Airline Flight Control Association |
| Other represented groups (instructors, planners, controllers, security) | 597 | IAM and Teamsters |
Those groups add up to 93,553 people, or 83% of 113,200 (our arithmetic), which matches the filed share. The remaining 19,600 or so are management and other non-represented staff. United Ground Express, Inc. is listed in the 10-K alongside United Airlines, Inc. as one of the companies in the group.
What the number includes
- All of United Airlines Holdings. The 10-K counts "UAL, including its subsidiaries," so United Ground Express staff are in.
- Not the United Express carriers. Regional flights branded United Express are flown by CommuteAir, GoJet, Mesa, Republic and SkyWest under capacity purchase agreements. Their pilots and flight attendants work for those carriers and aren't in United's count.
- Leave included. The 2021 10-K noted that its count included employees on voluntary leave programs; later filings don't say either way.
- Mostly in the US. Every represented group is covered by a US labor organization. The 10-K doesn't give a count outside the US.
What changed and why
- 2020: furloughs. In July 2020 United issued Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act notices to about 36,000 employees. It then cut the planned furloughs to about 13,000, with about 9,000 employees choosing voluntary options. The year-end count fell to 74,400.
- 2021 to 2023: rehiring and growth. Headcount rose by about 29,000 in three years as flying recovered, to 103,300.
- 2024 and 2025: United Next. The 10-K ties hiring to "our ambitious growth agenda under our United Next plan." Headcount grew by 4,000 and then 5,900.
- 2026: still growing, and paying more. In May 2026 flight attendants ratified a five-year agreement effective May 31, 2026, with pay rate increases. Salaries and related costs for the first nine months of 2026 were $14,209 million, up 8.3%, "primarily due to increased pay as a result of the increase in flying activity, a 5.4% increase in headcount and pay rate increases."
Revenue per employee
United's 2025 total operating revenue was $59,070 million. Divided by year-end headcount, that's $59,070 million ÷ 113,200 = about $521,800 per employee (our calculation).
| Period | Total operating revenue | Employees at period end | Revenue per employee (our calculation) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 months to September 30, 2026 | $65.6 billion | 117,900 | about $556,000 |
| 2025 | $59.1 billion | 113,200 | about $521,800 |
| 2024 | $57.1 billion | 107,300 | about $531,800 |
| 2023 | $53.7 billion | 103,300 | about $520,000 |
| 2022 | $45.0 billion | 92,795 | about $484,500 |
The trailing figure adds $50,156 million for the first nine months of 2026 to $15,397 million for the fourth quarter of 2025 (full-year $59,070 million less $43,673 million for the first nine months). Airline revenue per employee moves with fares and fuel surcharges as much as with productivity, so compare it only with other network carriers, such as Delta and American.
Selling to an airline of United's size
General guidance on how a 118,000-person airline buys, not a description of United's internal processes.
- Map the work group. Pilots, flight attendants, technicians and airport staff have different leaders, training needs and tools, and changes to how they work often run through their union contracts.
- Sell to the growth. A company adding 6,000 people a year needs recruiting, onboarding, training, scheduling and crew tools that scale. That's a different conversation from one about cutting cost.
- Respect the operation. Safety, the FAA and on-time performance come first. Anything that touches aircraft or the operation goes through safety and regulatory review.
- Know the hubs. Operations, maintenance and airport teams are organized around hub airports, so a regional approach can reach the right local leader.
For a research routine, see enterprise account research, and to reach budget owners, how to find decision makers.
Next step: compare United's workforce with its closest rival on our Delta employee count page.
Sources
- United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 21 October 2026
- United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2026, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 16 July 2026
- United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2026, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 22 April 2026
- United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 12 February 2026
- United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 27 February 2025
- United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 29 February 2024
- United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 16 February 2023
- United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 18 February 2022
- United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 1 March 2021
- United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 25 February 2020
- United Airlines Holdings, Inc. Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, United Airlines Holdings, Inc., via SEC EDGAR, 28 February 2019
Written by the Bebop team at Blackpearl Group. Published .
Questions people ask
How many employees does United Airlines have in 2026?
About 117,900 on September 30, 2026, according to United's 10-Q for the third quarter, filed October 21, 2026. That's up from 111,900 a year earlier and 113,200 at the end of 2025. United reports headcount every quarter in its 10-Q, so the figure is rarely more than three months old.
How many pilots does United Airlines have?
17,126 at December 31, 2025, according to the table of union-represented employee groups in United's 2025 10-K. They're represented by the Air Line Pilots Association under an agreement that becomes open for amendment in October 2027. Three years earlier, at December 31, 2022, United had about 13,831 pilots, so the group has grown by about 3,300.
How many flight attendants does United have?
28,220 at December 31, 2025, United's largest work group, according to its 2025 10-K. They're represented by the Association of Flight Attendants, and in May 2026 they ratified a five-year agreement, effective May 31, 2026, with pay rate increases and scheduling changes. At the end of 2022 United had about 23,065 flight attendants.
Did United Airlines lay off employees?
In 2020. United sent WARN Act notices to about 36,000 employees in July 2020, then reduced involuntary furloughs to about 13,000 after about 9,000 employees took voluntary options. Federal payroll support let it recall furloughed staff. Since then headcount has grown every year, to about 117,900 by September 2026, and the filings describe no layoffs.
How many United Airlines employees are in a union?
About 83% at September 30, 2026, according to United's 10-Q. The represented groups listed in the 2025 10-K add up to 93,553 people (our sum), covered by the Association of Flight Attendants, the Air Line Pilots Association, the Machinists, the Teamsters and the Professional Airline Flight Control Association. Management and other non-represented staff make up the rest.