Document and Entity Information	6 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2011	Jul. 15, 2011
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Jun. 30, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q2
Entity Registrant Name	United Continental Holdings, Inc.
Trading Symbol	ual
Entity Central Index Key	0000100517
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
United Continental Holdings Inc [Member]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		330,773,503
United Airlines Inc [Member]
Entity Registrant Name	United Air Lines Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0000101001
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		205
Continental Airlines Inc [Member]
Entity Registrant Name	Continental Airlines Inc./ DE/
Entity Central Index Key	0000319687
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		1,000