United Airlines MCP Server for Claude Desktop 12 tools — connect in under 2 minutes
Claude Desktop is Anthropic's native application for interacting with Claude AI models on macOS and Windows. It was the first consumer application to ship with built-in MCP support, making it the reference implementation for the Model Context Protocol standard.
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{
"mcpServers": {
"united-airlines": {
// Your Vinkius token — get it at cloud.vinkius.com
"url": "https://edge.vinkius.com/[YOUR_TOKEN_HERE]/mcp"
}
}
}
* Every MCP server runs on Vinkius-managed infrastructure inside AWS - a purpose-built runtime with per-request V8 isolates, Ed25519 signed audit chains, and sub-40ms cold starts optimized for native MCP execution. See our infrastructure
About United Airlines MCP Server
Connect United Airlines flight data to any AI agent and gain instant visibility into live flight tracking, airport schedules, route networks, delays, and aircraft fleet information through natural conversation.
Claude Desktop is the definitive way to connect United Airlines to your AI workflow. Add the Vinkius Edge URL to your config, restart the app, and Claude immediately exposes all 12 tools in the chat interface — ask a question, Claude calls the right tool, and you see the answer. Zero code, zero context switching.
What you can do
- Live Flight Tracking — Get real-time status for any United Airlines flight by flight number, including gate, terminal, baggage belt, and current operational status (scheduled, active, landed, delayed, cancelled)
- Airport Departures & Arrivals — List all United flights departing from or arriving at any airport worldwide, filterable by date
- Route Network Analysis — Explore United's complete route map, check if United operates between specific airports, and analyze route coverage across their global network
- Historical Flight Data — Analyze past flight performance, check delays and cancellations on specific dates, review on-time patterns
- Future Flight Schedules — View planned United flight schedules for upcoming dates to plan travel or monitor operations
- Flight Status Filtering — Find all delayed, cancelled, or disrupted United flights at any airport to assess operational impacts
- Airport & Airline Details — Retrieve detailed information about airports served by United and carrier metadata
- Aircraft Fleet Info — Access data about aircraft types and fleet composition associated with United Airlines
The United Airlines MCP Server exposes 12 tools through the Vinkius. Connect it to Claude Desktop in under two minutes — no API keys to rotate, no infrastructure to provision, no vendor lock-in. Your configuration, your data, your control.
How to Connect United Airlines to Claude Desktop via MCP
Follow these steps to integrate the United Airlines MCP Server with Claude Desktop.
Open Claude Desktop Settings
Go to Settings → Developer → Edit Config to open claude_desktop_config.json
Add the MCP Server
Paste the configuration above into the mcpServers section
Restart Claude Desktop
Close and reopen Claude Desktop to load the new server
Start using United Airlines
Look for the 🔌 icon in the chat — your 12 tools are now available
Why Use Claude Desktop with the United Airlines MCP Server
Claude Desktop by Anthropic provides unique advantages when paired with United Airlines through the Model Context Protocol.
Claude Desktop is the reference MCP client — it was designed alongside the protocol itself, ensuring the most complete and stable MCP implementation available
Zero-code configuration: add a server URL to a JSON file and Claude instantly discovers and exposes all available tools in the chat interface
Claude's extended thinking capability lets it reason through multi-step tool usage, chaining multiple API calls to answer complex questions
Enterprise-grade security with local config storage — your tokens never leave your machine, and connections go directly to the Vinkius Edge network
United Airlines + Claude Desktop Use Cases
Practical scenarios where Claude Desktop combined with the United Airlines MCP Server delivers measurable value.
Interactive data exploration: ask Claude to query DNS records, look up WHOIS data, and cross-reference results in a single conversation
Ad-hoc security audits: type a domain name and let Claude enumerate subdomains, check DNS history, and flag configuration anomalies — all through natural language
Executive briefings: generate comprehensive domain intelligence reports by asking Claude to compile findings into a formatted summary
Learning and training: new team members can explore API capabilities conversationally without needing to read documentation
United Airlines MCP Tools for Claude Desktop (12)
These 12 tools become available when you connect United Airlines to Claude Desktop via MCP:
get_aircraft_fleet
Returns aircraft types, registration numbers, and other fleet details. Use this when users want to understand the types of aircraft United Airlines operates or find information about specific aircraft in their fleet. This provides static fleet composition data, not real-time aircraft positioning. Get information about United Airlines aircraft fleet
get_airline_info
Use this to get basic information about United Airlines as a carrier. This is primarily useful for verifying airline codes or getting carrier metadata. Get detailed information about United Airlines
get_airline_routes
Returns all origin-destination airport pairs that United serves. Each route includes departure airport IATA code, arrival airport IATA code, and codeshare information if applicable. Use this to understand the full reach of United Airlines network, analyze route coverage, or find if United flies between two cities. This provides static route data, not flight schedules or availability. List all routes operated by United Airlines (origin-destination pairs)
get_airport_info
Returns airport name, city, country, geographic coordinates, timezone, and other relevant details. Use this when users need airport details such as the full name, location, or to verify an airport code. The airport IATA code is required (e.g., "ORD" for Chicago O'Hare, "NRT" for Tokyo Narita). Get detailed information about an airport served by United Airlines
get_arrivals
g., "JFK" for New York JFK, "LAX" for Los Angeles). Optionally filter by date (YYYY-MM-DD format) to see arrivals on a specific day. Returns flight numbers, origin airports, scheduled times, gates, terminals, baggage belts, and current arrival status. Use this when users want to track incoming United flights at a particular airport or check when a flight from a specific origin arrives. List all United Airlines arrivals at a specific airport
get_departures
g., "SFO" for San Francisco, "EWR" for Newark). Optionally filter by date (YYYY-MM-DD format) to see departures on a specific day. Returns flight numbers, destinations, scheduled times, gates, terminals, and current departure status. Use this when users want to see all United flights leaving from a particular airport on a given day. Common United hubs include: EWR (Newark), ORD (Chicago), IAH (Houston), DEN (Denver), SFO (San Francisco), LAX (Los Angeles), IAD (Washington Dulles), LHR (London Heathrow). List all United Airlines departures from a specific airport
get_flight_by_number
This is useful for finding the regular schedule and route of a flight number (e.g., which airports UA1 serves). Returns flight schedule information including departure/arrival airports and times. Use this to understand the typical route and schedule of a specific United flight number. Search for United Airlines flights by flight number across all dates and routes
get_flight_history
Returns actual departure/arrival times, delays, cancellations, and flight outcomes. Use this to analyze past flight performance, check if a flight was delayed or cancelled on a specific date, or review on-time performance. The date must be in YYYY-MM-DD format and should be a past date. Specify "departure" or "arrival" for the type parameter. Get historical United Airlines flight data for a past date
get_flight_status
g., "123" for UA123). Returns departure/arrival airports, scheduled/estimated times, gate, terminal, baggage belt, and current flight status (scheduled, active, landed, cancelled, etc). Use this tool when a user asks about the current status of a specific United flight. The flight number should be just the digits, without the "UA" prefix. Get real-time status of a specific United Airlines flight by flight number (e.g., UA123)
get_flights_by_status
Status values include: "scheduled", "active", "landed", "cancelled", "delayed", "diverted", etc. Use this when users want to see all delayed flights, cancelled flights, or flights in a particular state at an airport. Specify the airport IATA code, the status filter, and whether to check departures or arrivals. This is particularly useful for finding disrupted flights or checking operational impacts at an airport. Find United Airlines flights at an airport with a specific status (delayed, cancelled, active, etc)
get_future_flights
Returns planned departure or arrival information including flight numbers, times, gates, and aircraft types. Use this to check upcoming flight schedules, plan travel, or see which United flights will operate on a future date. The date must be in YYYY-MM-DD format and should be a future date. Specify "departure" or "arrival" for the type parameter. Get scheduled United Airlines flights at an airport for a future date
get_route
Returns route details including whether it is a direct route, codeshare arrangements, and flight frequency if available. Use this when users ask "Does United fly from X to Y?" or want to verify route availability between two airports. Both airport IATA codes are required (e.g., fromIata="SFO", toIata="LHR" for San Francisco to London Heathrow). Check if United Airlines operates a route between two specific airports
Example Prompts for United Airlines in Claude Desktop
Ready-to-use prompts you can give your Claude Desktop agent to start working with United Airlines immediately.
"What's the current status of United flight UA234?"
"Show me all United Airlines departures from San Francisco (SFO) today."
"Are there any delayed United arrivals at Chicago O'Hare (ORD) right now?"
Troubleshooting United Airlines MCP Server with Claude Desktop
Common issues when connecting United Airlines to Claude Desktop through the Vinkius, and how to resolve them.
Server not appearing after restart
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\\Claude\\ (Windows).Authentication error
Tools not showing in chat
United Airlines + Claude Desktop FAQ
Common questions about integrating United Airlines MCP Server with Claude Desktop.
How does Claude Desktop discover MCP tools?
claude_desktop_config.json file and connects to each configured MCP server. It calls the tools/list endpoint to fetch the schema for every available tool, then surfaces them as clickable options in the chat interface via the 🔌 icon.What happens if the MCP server is temporarily unavailable?
Can I connect multiple MCP servers simultaneously?
mcpServers section of the config file. Each server appears as a separate tool provider, and Claude can use tools from multiple servers in a single conversation turn.Is there a limit on the number of tools per server?
Does Claude Desktop support Streamable HTTP transport?
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Connect United Airlines to Claude Desktop
Get your token, paste the configuration, and start using 12 tools in under 2 minutes. No API key management needed.