United Airlines is asking its pilots to take voluntary unpaid leave next month because of delays in Boeing deliveries, according to a memo sent to pilots.
Because of an anticipated shortage of airplanes, “our forecasted block hours for 2024 have been reduced and we are offering our pilots voluntary programs for the month of May to reduce excess staffing,” United said in a statement to The Post.
Block hours — the key industry measure for aircraft use — include the time from the moment the aircraft door closes at departure to the moment the plane’s door opens again at arrival on a given flight.
The voluntary pilot leave programs could possibly extend into summer and fall. It wasn’t immediately clear what incentives, if any, United was giving pilots to take a month-long leave from work.
“We don’t have any further specifics to share at this time,” a United spokesperson said.
This overstaffing issue is just the latest sign of how the fuselage blowout that occurred on an Alaska Airlines-operated Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet at 16,000 feet earlier this year is affecting United’s growth plans.
The incident has since become a full-blown safety and reputational crisis for Boeing, prompting probes from the Federal Aviation Administration and National Transportation Safety Board, as well as a criminal investigation from the FBI.
The FAA — after observing mechanics at Boeing 737 MAX manufacturer Spirit AeroSytems using Dawn liquid dish soap and hotel key cards to test planes’ door seals — has given Boeing until May 28 to develop a “comprehensive action plan to address its systemic quality-control issues.”
The federal agency has also already delayed certification of Boeing’s MAX 10 models — the largest in its family of 737 MAX aircraft — and barred the plane maker from expanding production of its best-selling 737 MAX narrowbody jets in the wake of the Jan. 5 door blowout.
After news of the delays in February, United’s chief financial officer Mike Leskinen said the carrier was “deeply disappointed” with Boeing over delays in the delivery of its new MAX 10 aircraft specifically as it threw a wrench into the Chicago-based airline’s growth projections.
The CFO added that the delays have raised questions about the carrier’s ability to expand its domestic capacity by almost 30% by 2026 under its “United Next” plan.
United was counting on an upgraded fleet that would include 277 MAX 10 jets.
As the airline awaits those aircraft, it has also slashed its 2024 forecast for MAX 8 delivery from Boeing from 43 to 37, and said it expects to receive 15 fewer MAX 9s this year.
The company has also paused pilot hiring in May and June until aircraft deliveries from Boeing resume, though that timeline remains unclear.
Representatives from Boeing declined The Post’s request for comment.
United isn’t the only airline to suffer from Boeing’s delivery delays: Southwest Airlines, which exclusively flies Boeing 737 planes, will also hire 50% fewer pilots and 60% fewer flights attendants than it originally planned to in 2024, according to CNN.
The drastic reduction is a response to Boeing’s plans to cut deliveries to Southwest by roughly 40% and trim capacity from earlier plans, offering about 1 percentage point fewer seats than it had planned, CNN reported.
