Summary
- United Airlines pauses pilot recruitment as a result of ongoing Boeing delivery delays.
- Fleet adjustments have been made by United Airlines because the carrier is ready to receive fewer MAX planes than planned.
- Despite the recruitment slowdown, the airline has just announced a series of latest international routes.
United Airlines has revealed that it’s temporarily suspending pilot recruitment, citing manufacturing delays at Boeing as certainly one of the explanations. The airline will pause latest hire pilot recruitment for May and June, with the method provisionally restarting in July.
Slowing the pace of pilot recruitment
United Airlines’ Vice President of Flight Operations, Marc Champion, and Vice President of Flight Operations Planning and Development, Kirk Limacher, issued a joint memo to colleagues this week to advise them of the carrier’s recruitment plans. As reported by CNBC News, the memo went on to say,
“We desired to let you already know that United will slow the pace of pilot hires this yr as a result of continued latest aircraft certification and manufacturing delays at Boeing.”
Following the pandemic, which saw large numbers of pilots take early retirement or redundancy, airlines across the US ramped up their recruitment drives to satisfy the sudden surge in demand for air travel. Nevertheless, as demand now stabilizes, many are having to review their recruitment plans.
Photo: The Global Guy | Shutterstock
The temporary grounding of the 737 MAX 9 earlier this yr following the Alaska Airlines incident, coupled with ongoing delivery delays from the US manufacturer, has only exacerbated the issue – airlines understandably don’t need to recruit and train pilots just for them to then haven’t any aircraft to fly.
Boeing And Alaska Airlines Hit With $1 Billion Lawsuit By 3 Passengers After 737 MAX 9 Door Blowout
The litigation is centered around “systemic problems” on the US-based planemaker.
United Airlines’ narrowbody fleet
This yr, United Airlines had planned to take delivery of 43 Boeing 737 MAX 8s, 34 737 MAX 9s, and 80 737 MAX 10s. Nevertheless, as a result of ongoing delivery delays, the carrier will now receive no 737 MAX 10s, and just 37 7373 MAX 8s and 19 737 MAX 9s in 2024, which in total is 101 aircraft lower than what was originally planned for. Because of this, the Star Alliance member has been forced to regulate its plans, and even plan for a fleet without the Boeing 737 MAX 10 entirely.
Photo: MKPhoto12 | Shutterstock
In line with data from ch-aviation, United Airlines currently operates 85 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and 79 737 MAX 9s. That is along with the next aircraft, which also make up the carrier’s narrowbody fleet:
- Boeing 737-700 x 40
- Boeing 737-800 x 141
- Boeing 737-900 x 12
- Boeing 737-900ER x 136
- Airbus A319 x 81
- Airbus A320 x 91
- Airbus A321neo x 6
Despite the upcoming slowdown in pilot recruitment, United Airlines has been busy expanding its international route network, including latest routes to Marrakesh (RAK), Cebu (CEB), and Medellín (MDE), in addition to strengthening existing services to the likes of Porto (OPO), Hong Kong (HKG), and Seoul (ICN).
Network Expansion: United Airlines Adds Flights To Marrakesh, Cebu, & Medellin
This may mark Marrakesh’s first-ever direct connection to the US.
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