United asks pilots to take unpaid time off, citing Boeing’s delayed aircraft

United
Airlines
is
asking
pilots
to
take
unpaid
time
off
next
month,
citing
late-arriving
aircraft
from


Boeing,
according
to
a
note
sent
to
pilots.

It’s
another
example
of
how
Boeing’s
customers
say
the
manufacturer’s
production
problems
and
safety
crisis
are
impacting
their

growth
plans.
The
offer
comes
after
United
and
other
airlines
in
recent
years
have
clamored
for

more
pilots
when
the
Covid-19
pandemic
travel
slump
ended
and
demand
surged.

“Due
to
recent
changes
to
our
Boeing
deliveries,
the
remaining
2024
forecast
block
hours
for
United
have
been
significantly
reduced,”
the
United
chapter
of
the
Air
Line
Pilots
Association,
the
pilots’
union,
said
in
a
note
to
members
Friday. “While
the
delivery
issues
surround
our
787
and
737
fleets,
the
impact
will
affect
other
fleets
as
well.”

United
confirmed
the
request
for
voluntary,
unpaid
time
off.
The
airline
previously
said
it
would
pause
pilot
hiring
this
spring
because
of
aircraft
arriving
late
from
Boeing,
CNBC

reported
last
month.

The
union
said
it
expects
United
to
offer
more
time
off “for
the
summer
bid
periods
and
potentially
into
the
fall.”

United
was
contracted
to
receive
43
Boeing
737
Max
8
planes
and
34
Max
9
models
this
year,
but
now
expects
to
receive
37
and
19,
respectively,
according
to
a
company
filing
in
February.
It
had
expected
Boeing
would
also
hand
over
80
Max
10s
this
year
and
71
next
year.
That
model
hasn’t
yet
been
certified
by
the
Federal
Aviation
Administration,
and
the
airline
removed
them
from
the
delivery
schedule
because
it
is “unable
to
accurately
forecast
the
expected
delivery
period,”
it
said
in
the
filing.

United
CEO
Scott
Kirby
has
been
among
the
most
vocal
about
the
production
problems
and
delivery
delays
at
Boeing,
including
most
recently
the
crisis
stemming
from
a
door
plug
that
blew
out
of
a
nearly
new
Boeing
737
Max
9
operated
by
an


Alaska
Airlines
flight
that
was
at
about
16,000
feet.

Other
airlines
bosses
have
also

grown
frustrated
with
the
delivery
delays
resulting
from
Boeing’s
manufacturing
issues.

Southwest
Airlines
last
month
said
it
was
reevaluating
its
2024
financial
guidance, citing
fewer
Boeing
deliveries, and
has
paused
pilot
and
flight
attendant
hiring,
while
Alaska
Airlines
said
its
2024
capacity
estimates
are “in
flux
due
to
uncertainty
around
the
timing
of
aircraft
deliveries
as
a
result
of
increased
Federal
Aviation
Administration
and
Department
of
Justice
scrutiny
on
Boeing
and
its
operations.”

Boeing
declined
to
comment.

Boeing

CEO
Dave
Calhoun
last
week
announced
he
would
leave
at
the
end
of
the
year
as
part
of
a
broad
leadership
shake-up,
which
included
the
departures
of
the
board
chairman
and
the
head
of
Boeing’s
commercial
airplanes
unit.