Thursday, the airline unveiled a Boeing 757 that has been painted to commemorate the Oprah Winfrey Show's farewell season.
Some United passengers got a surprise greeting Thursday morning at O'Hare whenOprah welcomed passengers on what would be the inaugural flight of "The Oprah Winfrey Show Farewell Season Plane."
"This is awesome, this is fantastic," said Kim Wolfe, "What a great surprise to show up at the gate and see a welcoming video from Oprah."
"It's exciting," said Melanie Brown. "I had no idea this was going on here today, so it is a bit of a shock."
"We saw all this commotion," said Brenda Moller. "My sister who loves Oprah said she would be at the airport. I didn't put it together until we got to the gate."
One passenger each month onboard the Oprah plane will win one million frequent flyer miles. That's enough miles to travel the globe.
"Imagine the possibilities," Oprah said. "The Farewell Season Plane is flying to cities all over the country, so tell you family and friends to be on the lookout."
Most of the passengers aboard the Los Angeles-bound plane on Thursday were going on business trips.
"This was a real surprise," said Betty Mobley. "We just booked our ticket, and saw the balloons and said, 'What's going on?' It's gonna be fun."
"I don't see her very often, but it's enjoyable when I get convinced to watch it," said Tony Mobley. "I'm just trying to get to L.A."
Aziz Nathani was meeting his wife, who's already in L.A.
"I just texted her and she's like, 'Oh my God I want to be there,' " Nathani sad.
One-hundred and fifty-eight Chicago to L.A. passengers enjoyed the 3 hour, 40 minute flight on board the Oprah farewell flight. And, if the extras weren't enough, it's 94-degrees and sunny in L.A.
"It's fantastic. United is Chicago's hometown airline and Oprah is Chicago's hometown TV show," said co-pilot Rob Cataldo. "It's a great opportunity for us and our customers. It's a win-win for everybody."
United is doing a 1 million frequent flyer mile giveaway online: www.unitedmillionmiles.com.
