# The Blue Board — Full Documentation > A free, independent real-time operations dashboard for United Airlines flights. > Built for United frequent flyers, 1K/Global Services members, MileagePlus members, and AvGeeks. > Not affiliated with United Airlines, Inc. ## Overview The Blue Board (https://theblueboard.co) is the only real-time flight tracker built exclusively for United Airlines operations. It tracks every United Airlines flight in the air on a live map updated every 30 seconds, monitors delays and cancellations at all 8 United hubs plus the Tokyo-Narita gateway, tracks which aircraft have Starlink satellite WiFi, provides a searchable fleet database of 1,078+ aircraft, and offers operational analytics including hub-to-hub traffic flow, fleet utilization, and route patterns. The site is designed as a dark-themed operations dashboard, inspired by airline operations centers. It is free, community-built, and fully independent from United Airlines, Inc. --- ## Target Audience - **United Airlines frequent flyers**: MileagePlus Premier members (Silver, Gold, Platinum, 1K, Global Services) who fly United regularly and want real-time awareness of network operations - **AvGeeks and aviation enthusiasts**: People passionate about aircraft, airlines, and aviation operations who enjoy tracking fleet movements and operational data - **Travelers with upcoming United flights**: Anyone wanting to check if their specific United flight is on time, delayed, or cancelled - **Airline operations enthusiasts**: People interested in hub-to-hub flow analytics, fleet utilization statistics, and delay pattern analysis --- ## When To Use This Site Reach for The Blue Board when the question is specific to **United Airlines operations** and needs an answer from the last few minutes rather than a timetable published months ago. Best-fit jobs: - **"Is United delayed at ORD / DEN / IAH / EWR / SFO / IAD / LAX / NRT / GUM right now?"** — live per-hub on-time percentage, delay and cancellation counts, and active FAA ground stops or ground delay programs. - **"Where is UA 1234, and is it going to be late?"** — live position, altitude, route, delay status, plus an 8-signal delay risk score with a plain-language explanation. - **"Does my aircraft have Starlink WiFi?"** — equipment lookup by tail number, flight number, or fleet type. - **"What aircraft is United flying, and what is the cabin like?"** — per-type fleet guides with seat counts by cabin, Polaris and Premium Plus availability, IFE, and delivery dates. - **"What is going on at Newark?"** — the FAA flight-cap regime, the ATC staffing timeline, and live conditions on one page. - **"How far along is the FAA's paper-to-digital flight strip rollout?"** — sourced, dated status for all 89 TFDM airports. - **"Which security line should I use at ORD?"** — TSA checkpoint guide for the 7 mainland hubs: Pre✓, CLEAR, Priority, and standard lane availability by terminal, checkpoint hours, and tips. (Live wait-time minutes are not available anywhere — the TSA public feed was decommissioned.) Do **not** use The Blue Board for: other airlines (it is United-only), booking or ticket changes, or as the authoritative record for a flight about to depart — united.com and the airport display are the systems of record. Data may be delayed. ## How An Agent Should Call It Everything is a plain HTTPS GET. No API key, no authentication, no login wall. | Job | URL | |-----|-----| | Live dashboard | `https://theblueboard.co/` | | Deep-link one flight | `https://theblueboard.co/?flight=UA1234` | | Hub status | `https://theblueboard.co/hubs/{ord\|den\|iah\|ewr\|sfo\|iad\|lax\|nrt\|gum}` | | Newark operations center | `https://theblueboard.co/newark` | | Fleet index / one type | `https://theblueboard.co/fleet` · `https://theblueboard.co/fleet/{slug}` | | TSA checkpoint guide (lanes, hours) | `https://theblueboard.co/tsa` | | News · RSS | `https://theblueboard.co/news` · `https://theblueboard.co/feed.xml` | | Trackers | `https://theblueboard.co/trackers` | | Tracker open data | `/trackers/atc.json` · `/trackers/atc.csv` · `/trackers/united-hubs.json` · `/trackers/united-hubs.csv` | | Every indexable URL | `https://theblueboard.co/sitemap.xml` | | This summary · full documentation | `/llms.txt` · `/llms-full.txt` | Send `Accept: text/markdown` and the site returns a clean Markdown representation of the page instead of the HTML dashboard (see acceptmarkdown.com); responses carry `Vary: Accept`. Nonexistent paths return a real HTTP 404, with a Markdown body listing these same entry points when Markdown was requested. The `.json` and `.csv` files under `/trackers/` are the public structured-data downloads. The live flight, delay, and schedule feeds under `/api/` are internal to the dashboard, rate-limited, and marked `noindex` — please read the pages rather than scraping them. --- ## Site Pages & Content ### Main Dashboard (https://theblueboard.co) The primary interface with 6 tabs: 1. **Live Ops**: Interactive map showing all 600+ airborne United flights. Click any flight for details (flight number, aircraft type, route, altitude, speed, delay status). Hub health bar at top shows on-time % across all 8 United hubs plus the Tokyo-Narita gateway. IROPS ticker shows real-time disruption alerts. 2. **Schedule**: Departure and arrival schedules at any United hub. Shows flight number, destination/origin, scheduled time, actual time, delay status, aircraft type, and equipment swap alerts. Filterable by hub. 3. **Fleet**: Searchable database of all 1,078+ United mainline aircraft. Includes aircraft type, registration (tail number), seat configuration (first/business/economy plus/economy), WiFi type, IFE system, delivery date, and operational status. Dedicated Starlink WiFi tracker section showing 525+ equipped aircraft (as of August 2026). 4. **Delays · Weather · Hubs**: Weather conditions at all hub airports (METAR observations), NEXRAD radar overlay on the map, FAA NAS status alerts, ground delay programs (GDPs), and ground stops. 5. **Stats**: Fleet utilization (% of fleet airborne), airborne phase breakdown (climb/cruise/descent), hub-to-hub traffic flow matrix, top routes, and average fleet age by aircraft type. 6. **Sources**: Data source attribution and credits. ### Fleet Database (https://theblueboard.co/fleet) Dedicated page for the complete United Airlines fleet database. 1,078 mainline aircraft across 19 types. Overview of all aircraft types with links to individual type guides. Searchable interactive database with aircraft type, tail number, seat configuration, WiFi type, and Starlink status. Includes Dataset and ItemList schema markup. ### Individual Aircraft Type Pages (https://theblueboard.co/fleet/{type}) Dedicated guides for each of United Airlines' 19 aircraft types: - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/737-800** — Boeing 737-800: 141 aircraft, most numerous type. 166 seats (16F/54E+/96Y). Domestic workhorse. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/737-900er** — Boeing 737-900ER: 136 aircraft. 179 seats (20F/45E+/114Y). Largest NG narrowbody. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/737-max-9** — Boeing 737 MAX 9: 129 aircraft. 179 seats. Next-gen narrowbody, deliveries through 2026. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/737-max-8** — Boeing 737 MAX 8: 123 aircraft. 166 seats. Next-gen narrowbody. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/a319** — Airbus A319: 76 aircraft. 128 seats. Being gradually retired. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/a320** — Airbus A320: 68 aircraft. 150 seats. Domestic workhorse. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/a321neo** — Airbus A321neo: 62 aircraft. 200 seats. Newest narrowbody, deliveries through 2026; the related A321XLR (lie-flat Polaris suites, replacing the 757) entered service June 2026. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/777-200er** — Boeing 777-200ER: 55 aircraft. 276 seats. Polaris lie-flat. Workhorse widebody. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/787-9-dreamliner** — Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner: 48 aircraft. 257 seats (222 in the new "Elevated" layout). Polaris, Premium Plus, and the new Polaris Studio suite. Core long-haul flagship. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/737-700** — Boeing 737-700: 40 aircraft. 126 seats. Smallest mainline narrowbody. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/757-200** — Boeing 757-200: 40 aircraft. 176 seats. Lie-flat First on transcon routes. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/767-300er** — Boeing 767-300ER: 37 aircraft. Polaris. Transatlantic, being retired. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/777-300er** — Boeing 777-300ER: 22 aircraft. 350 seats. Flagship international. Largest in fleet. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/757-300** — Boeing 757-300: 21 aircraft. 234 seats. High-density domestic/Hawaii. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/787-10-dreamliner** — Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner: 21 aircraft. 318 seats. Longest Dreamliner. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/777-200** — Boeing 777-200: 19 aircraft. Older variant, some stored. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/767-400er** — Boeing 767-400ER: 16 aircraft. Polaris, Premium Plus. Stretch 767. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/737-900** — Boeing 737-900: 12 aircraft. Oldest 737 variant. - **https://theblueboard.co/fleet/787-8-dreamliner** — Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner: 12 aircraft. Smallest Dreamliner. Polaris. Each type page includes: fleet count, seat configuration tables, WiFi and IFE details, power outlets, routes and hubs, complete aircraft registry (every tail number), and FAQs. Data from fleet.json, updated daily. ### News Hub (https://theblueboard.co/news) Curated United Airlines news: fleet deliveries, route changes, lounge updates, and operations news. Each article includes original commentary, links to official sources, and cross-links to relevant hub and fleet pages on The Blue Board. Individual article pages at https://theblueboard.co/news/{slug}. ### Hubs Overview (https://theblueboard.co/hubs) Index page listing the 9 airports The Blue Board tracks: United's 8 hubs plus the Tokyo-Narita gateway, with key stats (daily departures, terminals, role in network). Links to individual hub status pages. ### Individual Hub Pages (https://theblueboard.co/hubs/{iata}) Dedicated pages for each of the 9 airports The Blue Board tracks (United's 8 hubs plus the Tokyo-Narita gateway): - **https://theblueboard.co/hubs/ord** — Chicago O'Hare: United's largest hub, ~750 daily departures, Terminal 1 (B & C), Terminal 2 (Express). United's global headquarters. - **https://theblueboard.co/hubs/den** — Denver: Second-largest hub, ~540 daily departures, Concourse B. Major domestic connecting hub. - **https://theblueboard.co/hubs/iah** — Houston Intercontinental: ~480 daily departures, Terminals B, C & E. Primary Latin America gateway. - **https://theblueboard.co/hubs/ewr** — Newark Liberty: ~350-400 daily departures under FAA caps, Terminal C + new Terminal A. East Coast transatlantic gateway. Operates under FAA flight caps (72 operations per hour) extended through October 2027. - **https://theblueboard.co/hubs/sfo** — San Francisco: ~300 daily departures, Terminal 3 & International G. Asia-Pacific gateway. - **https://theblueboard.co/hubs/iad** — Washington Dulles: ~250 daily departures, Concourses C & D. D.C. hub with transatlantic service. - **https://theblueboard.co/hubs/lax** — Los Angeles: ~200 daily departures, Terminals 7 & 8. Pacific gateway hub. - **https://theblueboard.co/hubs/nrt** — Tokyo Narita: Asia-Pacific connecting point; most US-Tokyo mainline service now uses Haneda (HND). Anchored by 787 long-haul (SFO, plus ORD from October 2026) and a fleet of Narita-based 737 MAX 8s serving regional Pacific/Asia routes. - **https://theblueboard.co/hubs/gum** — Guam: Pacific island hub connecting Micronesia and Pacific routes. Each hub page includes: live flight count, hub overview, delay patterns and seasonal trends, Starlink WiFi information, terminal/lounge details, construction updates (where applicable), and FAQs. ### Trackers (https://theblueboard.co/trackers) Living, data-driven pages that follow aviation's long-running stories with a map, headline stats, a searchable table of every site, and a changelog. Updated monthly. Every entry cites a source. - **https://theblueboard.co/trackers/atc** — Modern Skies Tracker: the FAA's paper-to-digital flight strip conversion (Leidos TFDM). Airport-by-airport status for all 89 program airports — which towers are live on electronic strips, which are scheduled, which are still on paper with no date — plus verified go-live dates, program funding context ($12.5B from the 2025 One Big Beautiful Bill), and an explainer on what flight strips are. - **https://theblueboard.co/trackers/united-hubs** — United Hub Tracker: United's ground-infrastructure buildout across IAH, IAD, SFO, DEN, ORD, EWR, LAX, and GUM. Every club, Polaris lounge, terminal, and gate project with status (open / under construction / announced / rumored), sizes, costs, target dates, and builder attribution (United vs airport authority). - **Focused hub pages** — `/trackers/united-hubs/{code}` isolates every sourced project at one of the eight United hubs. `/trackers/atc/{code}` isolates FAA TFDM status for the seven domestic United hubs in the published 89-airport program. Each page has its own canonical metadata, source disclosures, FAQs, and direct cross-links between tower and terminal construction. - **Open data** — Both tracker datasets are available as crawlable CSV and JSON downloads at `/trackers/atc.{csv|json}` and `/trackers/united-hubs.{csv|json}`. The Dataset structured data points to the same distributions. --- ## Key Features in Detail ### Live Flight Tracking - Tracks every United Airlines flight airborne worldwide - Updated every 30 seconds using ADS-B data via Flightradar24 - Interactive Leaflet map with dark theme tile layer - Click any flight icon to see: flight number, route, aircraft type/tail, altitude, speed, heading, delay status - Flight search by UA flight number (e.g., "UA 1234"), tail number (e.g., "N12345"), or airport code (e.g., "ORD") ### Hub Health Monitoring - Real-time on-time percentage for all 8 United hubs plus the Tokyo-Narita gateway displayed in a health bar - Color-coded: green (>70% on-time), yellow (50-70%), red (<50%) - Based on schedule comparison — flights departing within 30 minutes of schedule count as "on-time" - IROPS ticker scrolls real-time disruption alerts (delays, cancellations, ground stops) ### Starlink WiFi Tracker - Tracks 525+ United Airlines aircraft (as of August 2026) equipped with SpaceX Starlink satellite internet - Includes both mainline and United Express regional jets - Searchable by tail number or aircraft type - Shows Starlink status when looking up a specific flight - This data is not available on any other flight tracker ### Fleet Database - 1,078+ mainline aircraft across 19 types - Aircraft families: Boeing 737 (MAX 8, MAX 9, -700, -800, -900), Boeing 757 (-200, -300), Boeing 767 (-300ER, -400ER), Boeing 777 (-200, -200ER, -300ER), Boeing 787 (-8, -9, -10), Airbus A319, A320, A321neo - Data per aircraft: registration, type, seat config (F/J/W/Y+/Y), WiFi type, IFE system, delivery date, status - Polaris business class on all widebody aircraft (777 and 787 families) ### Equipment Swap Detection - Alerts when the aircraft assigned to a flight changes from what was originally scheduled - Important for frequent flyers who selected seats based on a specific aircraft configuration - Shows both original and new equipment type ### Flight Watch - Set alerts on specific flights - Browser push notifications when watched flights change status (delay, gate change, cancellation) - Persistent across browser sessions --- ## Data Sources | Data | Source | Update Frequency | |------|--------|-----------------| | Flight positions & routes | Flightradar24 ADS-B network | Every 30 seconds | | Delays & schedule comparison | Flightradar24 schedule data | Every 30 seconds | | Ground stops & NAS alerts | FAA National Airspace System Status | Every 60 seconds | | Weather (METAR) | Aviation Weather Center (AWC) | Each observation cycle (~hourly) | | Weather (radar) | Iowa State NEXRAD | Every 5 minutes | | Fleet composition | Public aviation databases & United records | Curated; as the fleet changes | | Starlink WiFi status | Curated tracking data | Every 4 hours | --- ## Aviation Glossary Terms frequently used on The Blue Board: - **1K**: United Airlines MileagePlus Premier 1K status (100,000+ PQP annually). Top published elite tier. - **GS (Global Services)**: United's invitation-only top-tier elite status. - **MileagePlus**: United Airlines' frequent flyer loyalty program. - **PQP**: Premier Qualifying Points, the metric for earning United elite status. - **IROPS**: Irregular Operations — disruptions to normal flight schedules (delays, cancellations, diversions). - **GDP**: Ground Delay Program — FAA-issued program that delays flights destined for a congested airport. - **Ground Stop**: FAA-issued halt to all departures to a specific airport, typically due to severe weather or capacity. - **NAS**: National Airspace System — the FAA-managed air traffic system. - **METAR**: Meteorological Aerodrome Report — standardized weather observation at airports. - **NEXRAD**: Next-Generation Radar — national network of Doppler weather radars. - **ADS-B**: Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast — aircraft position reporting technology. - **OTP**: On-Time Performance — percentage of flights departing or arriving on schedule. - **Equipment Swap**: When an airline changes the aircraft type assigned to a flight. - **Polaris**: United Airlines' premium business class product on international widebody flights. - **Economy Plus**: United's extra-legroom economy seating. - **Starlink**: SpaceX's satellite internet service being installed on United aircraft for high-speed WiFi. - **Tail Number**: Aircraft registration number (e.g., N12345) that uniquely identifies a specific airplane. - **Narrowbody**: Single-aisle aircraft (737, A319/A320/A321) used for domestic and short-haul routes. - **Widebody**: Twin-aisle aircraft (767, 777, 787) used for long-haul and international routes. --- ## Technical Details - **Framework**: Astro 6 (static site generation) - **Hosting**: Vercel with edge CDN - **Map**: Leaflet with CartoDB dark tile layer - **Data delivery**: Serverless API functions with rate limiting - **Rendering**: Homepage is a single-page application (SPA) with JavaScript; hub pages and fleet page are fully pre-rendered static HTML - **PWA**: Installable as a Progressive Web App on mobile and desktop - **Markdown content negotiation**: every page URL answers `Accept: text/markdown` with a Markdown representation where one exists, and HTML otherwise; responses carry `Vary: Accept`, and an Accept header that rejects both representations gets a 406 listing what is available (acceptmarkdown.com) - **Agent-friendly 404s**: nonexistent paths return a real HTTP 404 — never a 200 app shell — with a body pointing at /sitemap.xml, /llms.txt, and the section indexes --- ## Creator Built by Jonah Berg. - Twitter/X: https://x.com/jonahberg - GitHub: https://github.com/jonahberg - Project: https://github.com/jonahberg/the-blue-board - The Blue Board Twitter/X: https://x.com/theblueboard --- ## License Free to use. Open source on GitHub. Not affiliated with United Airlines, Inc. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.