• by Tanya Gazdik , April 6, 2014

United Airlines is sponsoring this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, which will include providing customers with exclusive onboard entertainment options.

The airline will also provide its customer loyalty club members with an opportunity to attend a special private screening on April 24 at the 13th annual Tribeca Film Festival in Lower Manhattan.

As the official airline of the event, United will offer customers special in-flight content curated by Tribeca, including independent feature films, documentaries, shorts and other Tribeca Film Festival-related content. Customers on United aircraft equipped with live television and seatback entertainment may choose from a variety of Tribeca-selected inflight content, which the airline will update regularly.

United also intends to include the Tribeca selections among the library of movies and television programs available as it introduces complimentary personal device entertainment on the carrier's Airbus A320 and A319 aircraft, Boeing 747 aircraft and some Boeing 757 and Boeing 777 aircraft. The service enables customers to access the content in-flight via their WiFi-enabled laptop computers and mobile devices.

In addition, United MileagePlus members may redeem award miles for tickets to attend this year's Tribeca Film Festival, including access to an invitation-only screening, where filmmakers, cast members and festival organizers will introduce the film and interact with attendees in a post-screening Q&A session. MileagePlus members can visit united.com/auctions to secure tickets.

"We are delighted to be the official airline of the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival and to offer United customers unique and compelling entertainment choices as we support aspiring filmmakers," said Tom O'Toole, United's senior vice president of marketing and loyalty and president of MileagePlus, in a release. "We are particularly pleased to offer MileagePlus members – who already enjoy the broadest suite of mileage-redemption choices – the opportunity to attend a premiere screening during one of the industry's most exciting festivals."

MileagePlus offers members ways to earn and redeem award miles, from flights throughout the global network of United and its worldwide partners to hotel and car awards, once-in-a-lifetime experiences and merchandise.