Monday, April 1, 2024
United Airlines urges pilots for unpaid leave due to Boeing’s delayed aircraft deliveries, impacting expansion plans amid post-pandemic travel surge.
United Airlines is reaching out to its pilots, requesting them to voluntarily take leave without pay in the upcoming month due to delays in aircraft deliveries from Boeing. This situation highlights the ongoing issues Boeing is facing with production setbacks and safety concerns, affecting its clients’ expansion strategies. This development is a continuation of the heightened demand for pilots that United and other carriers experienced as travel rebounded post the Covid-19 pandemic downturn.
In light of adjustments to our Boeing aircraft delivery timeline, our projected block hours for the remainder of 2024 have seen a considerable decrease. While these delivery delays primarily involve our 787 and 737 fleets, they are expected to have repercussions on our other aircraft as well.
United has acknowledged this plea for pilots to opt for unpaid leave. The airline had previously indicated a temporary halt in pilot recruitment this spring due to the late arrival of Boeing aircraft, as reported by CNBC last month.
The pilots’ union anticipates that United will propose additional unpaid leave opportunities during the summer scheduling period and possibly extending into autumn.
United had plans to add 43 Boeing 737 Max 8 and 34 Max 9 airplanes to its fleet this year, but revised expectations suggest it will only acquire 37 of the Max 8s and 19 of the Max 9s, as revealed in a February corporate report. Although 80 Max 10s were supposed to be delivered this year and another 71 the following year, their delivery has been postponed indefinitely due to pending certification by the Federal Aviation Administration, leading to their removal from United’s immediate delivery schedule.
United’s CEO, Scott Kirby, has openly criticized Boeing for these production and delivery setbacks, notably referencing a recent incident where a door seal malfunctioned on a relatively new Boeing 737 Max 9 during a flight operated by Alaska Airlines at approximately 16,000 feet.
Boeing’s CEO, Dave Calhoun, recently announced his upcoming departure at the end of the year, marking a significant leadership overhaul that also sees the exit of the board chairman and the head of Boeing’s commercial airplanes division.
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
Wednesday, May 1, 2024
