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CHICAGO, Aug. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- United Airlines today announced it further strengthened its commitment to sustainability and the environment by joining the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group (SAFUG), an industry working group whose objective is to accelerate the development and commercialization of aviation biofuels.

"We are excited to collaborate with other industry leaders in our shared quest to advance sustainable biofuels," said Jimmy Samartzis, managing director of Global Environmental Affairs and Sustainability for United. "We will all benefit from our collective work to find solutions to make alternative fuel available at commercial scale and secure a sustainable future for aviation."

Collectively, the members of SAFUG represent approximately 32 percent of commercial aviation fuel demand. When joining SAFUG, United Airlines signed a pledge to pursue the advancement of drop-in biofuels that achieve important sustainability criteria, work with leading organizations to achieve biofuel certification standards, and take actions to enable commercial use of aviation biofuels.

United Airlines is a leader in aviation biofuels, operating the first U.S. commercial flight powered by advanced biofuels in November 2011, following historic test and demonstration flights in 2009 and 2010, respectively. The company also signed letters of intent to negotiate the purchase of more than 50 million gallons of sustainable biofuels.

United is committed to the environment through its Eco-Skies program, which is designed to make a positive impact on the environment?in the air, on the ground, at its facilities, with business partners and across communities. Eco-Skies highlights include:

• The airline's investments in modern, fuel-efficient aircraft and equipment have resulted in a 32 percent improvement in fuel efficiency.
• United is further modernizing its fleet with orders for more than 270 new aircraft including 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 100 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft, which will deliver a significant improvement in fuel efficiency.
• More than 300 aircraft in United's mainline operations are equipped with winglets that deliver up to a 5 percent reduction in emissions and noise.
• More than 3,600 ground support equipment vehicles, or approximately 26 percent of our fleet of ground support equipment, are electric or alternatively fueled.
• During the last five years, United recycled more than 20 million pounds of cans, paper and plastic items from waste generated in flight and at its facilities.
• Eco-Teams, comprised of cross-divisional representatives, are at every hub and major maintenance facility.

About UnitedUnited Airlines and United Express operate an average of 5,574 flights a day to 377 airports on six continents from our hubs in Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Guam, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. In 2011, United carried more traffic than any other airline in the world, and operated more than two million flights carrying 142 million passengers. United is upgrading its cabins with more flat-bed seats in first and business class and more extra-legroom economy-class seating than any other airline in North America. United operates nearly 700 mainline aircraft and has orders for more than 270 new aircraft deliveries through 2022, including 50 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, 25 Airbus A350XWBs, and 100 Boeing 737 MAX 9 aircraft. United was rated the world's most admired airline on FORTUNE magazine's 2012 airline-industry list of the World's Most Admired Companies. Readers of Global Traveler magazine have voted United's MileagePlus program the best frequent flyer program for eight consecutive years. United is a founding member of Star Alliance, which provides service to 193 countries via 27 member airlines. More than 85,000 United employees reside in every U.S. state and in countries around the world. For more information, visit united.com or follow United on Twitter and Facebook. The common stock of United's parent, United Continental Holdings, Inc., is traded on the NYSE under the symbol UAL.

SOURCE United Continental Holdings, Inc.