New research shows 73% of Americans say booking a plane ticket to a new destination brings them happiness
United Airlines is celebrating National Plan for Vacation Day with a way to remedy the seasonal blues by teaming up with cognitive scientist Dr. Laurie Santos, host of The Happiness Lab podcast and Ivy League professor, to analyse new research that examines the link between happiness and booking a vacation. According to a new survey* by United, 70% of Americans say booking a plane ticket for a vacation brings them happiness and a majority of people say experiences make them feel happier than material goods.
“Planning a vacation can give you an unexpected happiness bump because experiences matter for our well-being more than we expect,” said Dr. Santos. “When you book a vacation, you experience the reward of anticipating a positive experience. The happiness boost we get from travel can last long after you book your ticket – from the moments you happily anticipate your getaway, to taking the fun trip itself, to the times you recall trip high points with friends once you get back home.”
Customers can receive bonus miles and get their booking boost today if they book a trip from the U.S. to one of 25 international destinations where United is the only U.S. airline providing service. As the world’s largest airline, United connects travellers to more than 360 destinations worldwide.
“Booking Boost” Research
United’s survey* shows that 68% of people say January is a month where they need something to look forward to, while more than half of Americans report experiencing the winter blues. United’s findings also reveal the power of the positive mood-boost that occurs when a flight for vacation is booked, showing people are almost as happy planning their itinerary (73%) and just as happy sharing memories of the trip with others (83%) as they are experiencing the trip (82%).
As a mood elevator, travel is surprisingly more effective than buying material objects. According to research** reviewed by Dr. Santos, the happiness boost from a travel purchase has been shown to be over twice as large as the happiness effect from buying clothing, jewelry or home goods and more than four times as large as buying electronic goods.
“A vacation gives you a bigger and more lasting happiness bump because as humans, we are delighted by the novelty of the unknown. The thrill of a new handbag wears off quickly since you get used to them through a trick our mind does called ‘hedonic adaptation,’ but travel brings new experiences each day that delight and engage us,” said Dr. Santos. “And then we build on that through social connections by traveling with other people and talking about our trip with them later.”
United’s survey* data also shows that 73% of Americans said they would feel happier booking a flight to a new destination rather than a destination they have already been to. With United’s expansive network, including the most international destinations of all U.S. airlines, travellers can experience a new destination starting with a mood boost as soon as they book their flight.
United’s Network: Unmatched Travel Destinations
As the world’s largest airline, United connects travellers to more than 360 destinations worldwide, and flies to more international destinations than any other U.S. carrier. Next summer, United will offer 800 daily flights to and from 147 international destinations, giving passengers the opportunity to travel to places they’ve never been all around the globe.
Last fall, United announced its largest-ever international expansion and will soon inaugurate flights to eight new and highly anticipated destinations including, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Nuuk, Greenland; Palermo, Italy; Bilbao, Spain; Madeira Island and Faro, Portugal and Dakar, Senegal. The new destinations build on United’s position as the largest Transatlantic and Transpacific carrier, with United now serving more destinations in Africa than any other U.S. airline.
In addition, United recently made its new direct flights from Tokyo-Narita to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia and Kaohsiung – destinations no other U.S. airline serves – available for booking, helping to seamlessly connect United’s five hub locations in the continental U.S. and transpacific services to Tokyo for unlimited adventure.
*Online survey of 1,323 nationally representative Americans fielded by YouGov on behalf of United Airlines. The survey was fielded from January 8-9, 2025, and the margin of error is +/-3%.
**Kumar, A., Killingsworth, M. A., & Gilovich, T. (2020). Spending on doing promotes more moment-to-moment happiness than spending on having. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 88, 103971.