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United Airlines<\/a> asked pilots to take unpaid time off next month due to excess staffing, which the airline said is due to Boeing<\/a> aircraft delays.\u00a0<\/p>\n Delivery delays have reduced the number of flying hours United anticipated for its pilots, pushing the airline to offer unpaid leave, a United spokesperson told Bloomberg<\/a>. The Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), a union that represents United pilots, said United will offer more time off through the summer and potentially into the fall. United reported in a Feb. 29 SEC filing<\/a> that it is contracted to receive 165 Boeing aircrafts in 2024\u2014but it expects to receive only 63 this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u200b\u200b\u201cDue to recent changes to our Boeing deliveries, the remaining 2024 forecast block hours for United have been significantly reduced,\u201d the United chapter of the ALPA wrote in a Friday memo to its members, CNBC reported<\/a>. \u201cWhile the delivery issues surround our 787 and 737 fleets, the impact will affect other fleets as well.\u201d <\/p>\n The ALPA did not respond to Fortune<\/em>\u2019s requests for comment.<\/p>\n Asking pilots to take unpaid time off is one step further than United\u2019s decision in March to slow its hiring of pilots<\/a> and pause new-hire classes through June as a result of Boeing delivery delays. As of March 7, United hired 450 pilots and had plans to hire 800 by the end of April. For context, the airline hired 2,350 pilots in all of 2023.<\/p>\n United\u2019s operating plans were further stymied by the Federal Aviation Administration\u2019s increased scrutiny<\/a> of the airline after a series of 10 safety mishaps over just two weeks in early and mid March. The probe may limit new routes during the busy summer months and has already prevented United from promoting and approving pilots to fly different aircraft models.<\/p>\n United CEO Scott Kirby said the repeated safety incidents were unrelated and welcomed increased FAA attention. He has spoken repeatedly<\/a> about his frustrations with Boeing\u2019s delivery problems, which are set to continue as the 737 Max 10 model is yet to be certified<\/a>. United asked Boeing to instead focus on slightly smaller Max 9 production for the airline.<\/p>\n \u201cBoeing is not going to be able to meet their contractual deliveries on at least many of those airplanes,\u201d Kirby said in a January call with investors<\/a>. \u201cAnd let\u2019s leave it at that.\u201d<\/p>\n Last month, United was closing in on a deal to acquire three dozen Airbus A321neo jets<\/a>. Of the 26 Airbus<\/a> A321neo aircrafts United is contractually obligated to receive in 2024, it expects to receive 25 this year, according to the Feb. 29 SEC filing.<\/p>\n Airbus has kept its promise to deliver its contracted aircrafts, but it has been in spite of continued supply-chain delays that have plagued the entire airplane manufacturing industry.<\/p>\n Engines and other jet components are in tight supply, but delays lasting months or years are the modern norm<\/a> in the industry, Air Lease<\/a> executive chairman Steven Udvar-Hazy said in February.\u00a0<\/p>\n Airline manufacturers across the board are still navigating pandemic-era supply-chain delays<\/a>\u2014sometimes two to five times as long as before 2020 because of prolonged labor shortages and supplier bottlenecks caused by ongoing war in the Ukraine.<\/p>\n Airbus has felt the brunt of these supply-chain issues because of increased demand<\/a> for its jets, but Boeing has had the opposite fate. After a door plug blew off<\/a> a Boeing 737 Max 9 on a January Alaska Airlines flight\u2014along with a series of safety mishaps <\/a>on Boeing planes\u2014the FAA barred the manufacturer from expanding production<\/a> of its 737 Max beyond 38 planes per month. Boeing had said in previous earnings reports that it hoped to produce up to 50 jets of the model monthly by 2025.\u00a0<\/p>\n Boeing CFO Brian West said customers have been supportive of the manufacturer\u2019s increased safety checks following the incidents, though they have exacerbated delivery delays.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are in regular, very transparent communications [with customers] and they know precisely where we stand and the progress that we\u2019re making,\u201d West said at a Bank of America<\/a> conference on March 20. \u201cWe, at the same time, have to understand what their needs are as they think about their flight schedules and their passengers.\u201d<\/p>\n The impact of Boeing\u2019s mishaps and resulting FAA crackdown have reverberated across the industry. Southwest and Alaska Air both said their flying plans may be at risk because of Boeing\u2019s delays. Ryanair CEO Michael O\u2019Leary piled on to Boeing\u2019s misery, telling Reuters<\/a> in February that the discount airline expects to have seven to 10 fewer Boeing plane deliveries by the summer. The delays could force Ryanair to hike ticket fares<\/a> by up to 10%.<\/p>\n \u201cThe [Boeing] management team in Seattle don\u2019t appear to have a grip on the situation at the moment,\u201d O\u2019Leary said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nWhat\u2019s happening to all of United\u2019s pilots?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Years of mounting delays<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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