Executives at United Airlines are publicly expressing frustration with the Boeing 737 MAX, to the point where they are reconsidering how it fits into their future growth.
The latest issue with the Boeing 737 MAX is making United Airlines reconsider certain aspects of future growth.
During their 2023 year-end financial call, airline chief executive Scott Kirby and other leaders expressed their concerns about the 737 MAX-10 and how it could affect their future and the passenger experience.
United Not Cancelling MAX-10 Orders, but Still Re-Evaluating with Boeing
During the question-and-answer portion of the call, Kirby was asked to clarify his stance on the MAX-10 in consideration of the latest issue with the troubled airframe family. While the carrier won’t cancel orders yet, they are re-evaluating their next steps.
“We are not canceling the order. We are taking it out of our internal plans,” Kirby said, as quoted by a Seeking Alpha transcript. “And so we’re taking out of our internal plans and we’ll be working on what that means exactly with Boeing. But Boeing is not going to be able to meet their contractual deliveries on at least many of those airplanes. And I’ll just leave it at that.”
United chief financial officer Mike Leskinen told investors and reporters the airline currently has 277 MAX 10s on order, with options for 200 more. With the MAX-9 grounded and Boeing scrambling to find a repair to prevent another door plug blowout, United’s leadership now believes they won’t receive them on schedule.
“Look, the reality is that with the MAX grounding, this is the kind of straw that broke the camels back with believing that the MAX 10 will deliver on the schedule we had hoped for,” Leskinen said, according to the transcript. “And so we’re working through an alternate plan.”
Although it isn’t clear how it will affect the United Next plan today, the carrier is hopeful they will have more insight by their scheduled investor day on May 1, 2024.
When it comes to the United MileagePlus loyalty program, airline leaders say they are making “significant process” in monetizing the program. Leskinen is also hopeful for more details to come out in May.
“We have significant projects underway around data and how we can create a better customer experience and monetize that data, simultaneous,” Leskinen said, according to the transcript. “And we have several options, and we’ll share more when we’re ready to share more.”
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