United Airlines is offering its passengers the chance to win free seats on new routes that it airline plans to introduce in 2022. The hard part is, entrants have to watch a video posted on Twitter and look for the cryptic clues.United did the same thing last September, and there were 30 route clues hidden in the video. Having watched this video a few times, several things stand out while others might throw you off. The two most significant clues are the crossword puzzle and the wheel with letters and numbers. In the video, you will also see references for the following United States airports:
- Dulles International Airport (IAD)
- Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
- O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
A backpack and a crossword puzzle
As you can see in the video, a couple of people get their luggage mixed up. As the camera pans in, the combination on the lock shows the numbers 102 and 324. Looking at the guesses being submitted, many people are going for Curacao as it was spelled out in the crossword. Others think it could be a new London service, as 'Arsenal', a London football team, was an answer on the crossword.
On the backpack is a button with a Swedish flag, and in the crossword, Fernando was spelled out. It may be a reference to ABBA, the Swedish pop sensation? Lasanga was also written in the crossword leading to many people guessing that it could be a city in Italy. Lasagne originated in Naples, a destination previously served by United.
Other backpack pins were for Porto in Portugal, Prague in the Czech Republic, and NCE, the airport code for Nice Côte d'Azur Airport in the South of France. Also on the back of the woman's cell phone is a flag of Bavaria, which could mean that United will be flying to Munich.
A red herring could be the close-up of the employee ID badge with a date on it and the fact he revs the trolley twice. Then there is a shot of a man raising four fingers. It is all very complicated yet at the same time addictive trying to come up with the destinations. What would have been helpful was if United told you how many destinations you had to discover to help narrow it down.
The intel needs to be deciphered using the code wheel
The big thing that the United Airlines employee who is monitoring the Twitter feed keeps pointing out is that there are red herrings everywhere and that the intel is coded. That leads us to believe the answers lie in a combination of letters and numbers. The decipher for the hidden codes are on the wheel the woman is holding at gate 84.
United has already announced three routes for 2022
If you can see clues in the video for these routes, write them down as we have heard they are coming back for 2022:
- Newark (EWR) to Dubrovnik (DBV) in Croatia
- Washington/Dulles (IAD) to Athens (ATH) in Greece
- Chicago (ORD) to Reykjavik (KEF) in Iceland
The chances are these will not be there as United has already announced them.
Good luck if you decide to enter the contest, and remember that to win, you have to include the correct destinations and must include the hashtag #UnitedSweepstakes.
Please tell us what you think about United Airlines' new routes sweepstakes in the comments.