Document and Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016	Oct. 11, 2016
Document Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Trading Symbol	UAL
Entity Registrant Name	United Continental Holdings, Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0000100517
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		317,285,583
United Airlines, Inc.
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	United Airlines, Inc.
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