United Airlines asks pilots to take unpaid leave, citing Boeing delays | Wilnesh News

United Airlines Pilots asked to take unpaid leave next month, citing flight delays boeing companyaccording to instructions sent to pilots.

It’s another example of Boeing customers saying the manufacturer’s production problems and safety crisis are affecting their growth plans. United’s proposal follows calls from United and other airlines in recent years to add pilots as the travel downturn caused by the Covid-19 pandemic ends and demand surges.

“United’s remaining 2024 projected flying hours have been significantly reduced due to recent adjustments to our Boeing deliveries,” the United chapter of the pilots’ union, the Air Line Pilots Association, said in a note to members on Friday. “While the delivery issues surround our 787 and 737 fleets, the impact will also be felt across the rest of the fleet.”

United confirms request for voluntary unpaid leave. The airline had previously said it would suspend pilot hiring this spring due to late arrivals of Boeing planes, CNBC reported last month.

The union said it expected United to offer more holiday time “during the summer bidding period and possibly even into the autumn”.

United was contracted to take delivery of 43 Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft and 34 Max 9 aircraft this year, but now expects to take delivery of 37 and 19 respectively, according to a company document filed in February. Boeing was previously expected to deliver 80 Max 10s this year and 71 next year. The model has not yet been certified by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and the airline is removing it from its delivery schedule because it “cannot accurately predict estimated delivery times,” the company said in the filing.

United CEO Scott Kirby has been one of the most outspoken about Boeing’s production problems and delivery delays, including most recently a nearly new Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by the airline. A crisis caused by a burst door jam. Alaska Airlines Flight altitude is approximately 16,000 feet.

Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun announced last week that he would leave the company at the end of the year as part of a broad leadership shake-up that includes the departures of chairman of the board and head of Boeing’s commercial airplanes unit.