United Continental Holdings, Inc. recently announced that a single loyalty program will be introduced after the merger of the United Airlines and Continental Airlines is formalized in 2012.

The company said that the new loyalty program will be named ‘Mileage Plus’, and will be effective from next year.

The company also said that the single loyalty program is an important milestone, and with the integration of the two airlines the customers will be able to experience a more consistent travel experience.

The United Airlines in a statement said that in the coming months it will be announcing the complete details of the single loyalty program Mileage Plus. The details include lifetime benefits, qualifications and benefits, elite levels, and other program developments due to be effective from 2012.

The Continental Airlines said that its OnePass loyalty program will be coming to end on December 31, 2011. Continental Airline’s OnePass members will be automatically enrolled by the United Airlines in Mileage Plus loyalty program and will be depositing into Mileage Plus award miles equal to their OnePass award miles balance. Besides, Chase OnePass credit cards, including OnePass Plus and Presidential Plus, will as usual avail the privilege of earning miles and other benefits in the Mileage Plus program.

Continental Airlines and United Airlines along with their subsidiaries are currently operating 5,820 flights on an average per day to 373 airports spread over 6 continents from their hubs in Houston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Guam, Cleveland, Washington D.C., New York/Newark Liberty, San Francisco, Houston and Tokyo.