Before aviation became routine, flight was an experiment shaped by risk and uncertainty. Early aircraft operated at the limits of what was possible, with pilots flying without reliable instruments or navigation, testing whether the sky itself could be trusted. That trust was established not by passengers, but by mail. Beginning in 1918, government-run airmail routes proved that aircraft could reliably connect distant regions and support essential commerce. As routes expanded and demand increased, it became clear that airmail required broader participation.
The 1925 Kelly Act enabled private operators to assume airmail routes, marking a pivotal moment in the development of commercial aviation. One of these early operators was Varney Air Service, a modest airmail carrier focused on reliability and timeliness—an operation that would later form the foundation of United Airlines.
“One of United’s earliest flights carried U.S. mail,” said Stephanie Giraldi, Senior Manager of Postal Network Optimization & Performance at United Cargo. “That partnership with the Postal Service isn’t just part of our history. It’s the foundation of it.”
A hundred years later, mail is still moving beneath United’s passenger cabins, quietly and consistently, across a global network early airmail pilots could never have imagined.
Today, United Cargo supports domestic, international, and regional postal operations through long-standing contracts with the USPS and partnerships with more than 20 international postal authorities. What began as mailbags strapped into open cockpits has evolved into a highly coordinated operation operating at massive scale. From 2020 through mid-2025 alone, United Cargo carried more than 340 million kilograms of mail, generating over $970 million in postal revenue.
“People think of United as a passenger airline,” said Kelly Feeney, Manager of Domestic and AMOT Postal Sales and Operations. “But there’s a whole world moving underneath those flights that most people never see.”
Today, that world is defined by precision. Every piece of mail is scanned, tracked, and handed off with care. Domestic routes connect cities overnight. International exchanges cross oceans. Military shipments reach service members stationed thousands of miles from home. Final-mile partnerships complete journeys that may span continents.
“The technology would absolutely amaze those early pilots,” Giraldi said. “But the responsibility would feel familiar. You’re still being trusted with something that matters.”
As United enters its second century, the story of mail reminds us why aviation exists in the first place. What began as mail, became a century of connection, still moving every day beneath the wings.
