United Airlines recently began rolling out Braille placards for both seat numbers and lavatories on their aircraft, national media outlets began reporting this week. The move is one that BVA Executive Director Donald D. Overton, Jr. believes will make air travel much more comfortable and peaceful for blind and low vision veterans while, at the same time, increasing the efficiency involved in seating passengers and helping them locate the lavatories. 

“Traveling by air is accompanied by occasional frustration and stress to even the most experienced of flyers, but the lack of information and assistance for a person with sight loss can turn into a real ordeal,” said Don. “The Braille numbers and other basic information that can soon be accessed by touch will decrease our dependency on others and allow the flight crew to focus on their major responsibilities to all passengers.”    

United expects the accessibility features to be available across its mainline fleet by late 2026, part of its plan to further overhaul its aircraft to help the carrier be more inclusive and welcoming for all travelers.

United’s Chief Customer Officer Linda Jojo told USA TODAY that the changes are simple for the time being—Braille immediately above the seat and then inside and outside the lavatories.

“We did this from feedback from our own customers, and feedback from third parties we’ve worked with,” she is quoted as saying, adding that United is trying to be deliberate in how it rolls out the new features, which is why the timeline to completion so is so long.

“Every proposed change has to go through FAA approval because it’s an aircraft part,” she continued. “We are going to stick with what we have, see how it works, see what our customers say, see what our employees say, and make sure we get it right before we decide to speed it up or not.” 

For the time being, customers will not know when they book a flight if the aircraft that they’re scheduled to fly on will be equipped with Braille signage. Once United’s fleet reaches a “critical mass” of fitted-out planes, however, the features will be noted on websites and mobile apps.

Jojo also said that the airline will continue to evaluate opportunities to keep customers informed about the accessibility features as they continue to increase, and that the addition of raised lettering for low vision travelers unfamiliar with Braille was another proposal now being considered.