United Airlines is taking a quantum leap in improving passenger accessibly. United Airlines will be the first airline in the United States to add Braille to all aircraft interiors. Already, a dozen aircraft feature Braille markings for seat numbers, individual rows and outside the lavatories. By 2026, United expects all mainline aircraft to be outfitted with Braille. Implementation for United Express regional aircraft have yet to be confirmed.
Improving Accessibility
United is teaming up with the National Federation of the Blind (NFB), American Council for the Blind (ACB) and other advocacy organizations to implement navigational aids for visually impaired passengers. Areas being addressed include raised numbers, letters and directional arrows. Other areas such as the Inflight Entertainment System (IFE) and United App have been optimized with special screen reader technologies like VoiceOver. New United Next fleet upgrades will implement accessible features including closed captioning, text to speech controls and screen magnification. Other airlines are are also prioritizing passenger accessibility improvements. Virgin Atlantic recently partnered with a guide dogs organization offering training for inflight crewmembers assisting visually impaired passengers.