United to pause pilot hiring, citing Boeing's delivery delays
United Airlines will pause pilot hiring this spring because of aircraft deliveries from Boeing, the latest effect of the plane maker’s problems with one of its biggest customers.
United Airlines will pause pilot hiring this spring because of aircraft deliveries from Boeing, the latest effect of the plane maker’s problems with one of its biggest customers.
New hire classes will be paused in May and June and will likely resume in July, Marc Champion, vice president of flight operations, and Kirk Limacher, vice president of flight ops planning and development, told staff Thursday in a memo, which was seen by CNBC.
“We wanted to let you know that United will slow the pace of pilot hires this year due to continued new aircraft certification and manufacturing delays at Boeing,” they wrote.
Boeing didn’t immediately comment.
Boeing has been struggling with a host of production flaws like incorrectly drilled holes on the fuselage and the fallout from a door plug that blew out of a nearly new Boeing Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines on Jan. 5, which prompted a brief grounding of the aircraft type earlier this winter. Bolts appeared to be missing on the plane when it left Boeing’s factory, a preliminary investigation found.
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