Case Study: United Airlines achieves faster, AI-ready API governance with Kong

United Airlines accelerates development 15% and handles 1.4B daily API transactions with Kong

United Airlines, the world's largest airline, faced the challenge of modernizing its vast and complex technology ecosystem. With over 2,200 applications and 1.4 billion daily API transactions, its decentralized approach led to fragmented standards, making it difficult to govern, secure, and scale its innovations, especially with the expansion of AI. The airline partnered with Kong to implement its enterprise-wide API and AI platform to unify governance and enable responsible scaling.

By implementing Kong's platform, United created a centralized system that standardized API policies for security, observability, and performance. This provided developers with reusable templates and self-service tools, baking compliance and resiliency into their engineering DNA. The solution delivered significant results, including a 10-15% efficiency gain in development cycles, millisecond-level performance improvements, and a secure foundation for scaling its AI-first initiatives responsibly.

United Airlines