Make-A-Wish Teen Flies To Europe Via Bonus Miles

Newark, NJ - If you fly United Airlines, your extra MileagePlus points may have turned a Make-A-Wish teen’s dream into a reality.

Chidinma – a 14-year-old suffering from a life-threatening medical condition - has longed to tour Europe's most famous cities for as long as she can remember, United Airlines representatives said.

On Tuesday at Newark International Airport, amidst the cheers and applause of a crowd of airline employees and customers, Chidinma boarded a United flight bound for Rome with her family.

Since 1986, United and Make-A-Wish have teamed up to promote a program that allows passengers to donate their MileagePlus bonuses to in-need children.

Over the past three decades, United Airlines MileagePlus members have made more than 98,000 individual donations, and the company and its customers have donated more than a total of 550 million miles, the airline reported.

"It’s an honor and a privilege to work with United," said David Williams, president and chief executive officer for Make-A-Wish America. "With nearly 75 percent of the wishes granted each year requiring travel, travel costs are our largest expense.”

"We are proud of our longstanding partnership with Make-A-Wish, and grateful to our customers who have generously donated their miles to help make children's wishes come true,” said Brett Hart, executive vice president and general counsel at United.

On Tuesday, United also kicked off a drive to raise additional miles for Make-A-Wish. The airline is inviting customers to visit www.wish.org/united10K to donate miles to Make-A-Wish, and United will match donations up to a total of four million miles through July 31.

For more information on United's Charity Miles program, click here.

Sign up for Patch NJ email newsletters here.

Send local news tips, photos and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com

Photo courtesy of United Airlines