If airlines are to avoid a repeat of recent service issues, they will need a lot more support, according to United CEO Scott Kirby.
“You can’t run an airline like it’s 2019, and the reason is because the system is stressed to the max,” Kirby tells Christine Romans of CNN in an interview this week.
“There are tensions everywhere, whether it’s security, staff or FAA systems. In general, there are tensions in the system, aircraft manufacturers delivering, having enough pilots and all these tensions and tensions mean the system is tighter.”
“And when something happens, the straws are much more likely to break the camel’s back. And you’ve seen it over and over again,” she said. “It just doesn’t take much to break the backbone of the system.”
The challenges facing the industry were underscored again on Wednesday when bad weather forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights, with Southwest Airlines particularly hard hit.
A winter storm hit cities like Chicago, Indianapolis and Cleveland, where Southwest has a strong presence.
Kirby said the only solution is for airlines to operate with more planes and spare personnel than they did before the pandemic.
“We are operating with about 10% more pilots per block hour [de operação] than before the pandemic. You know, we have 25% more spare planes, and we’re really just having more buffer and more resources that give us the ability to protect when something happens,” he said.
This can be more expensive for airlines. But the strong recovery in demand for travel, combined with still scarce seat availability, means fares are higher than they were before the pandemic.
Kirby insisted there are still bargains to be found. “You can still pay less for airfare than Uber to take you to the airport costs.”
But United’s own financial results released last week show that the amount paid by the company’s passengers for every 1.6 km flown increased by 21% in the fourth quarter compared to the same period in 2019, just before the pandemic period.
United and all airlines are striving to increase capacity – and staff.
The company has placed two large orders for the aircraft in the past two years. One – in June 2021 – was the largest in the airline’s history. That order was for 200 Boeing 737 Max jets with 70 Airbus A321neo planes. The other in December was for at least another 100 737 Max jets and 100 787 Dreamliners.
And to remedy its pilot crisis, United became the first US airline to open its own pilot training school, the Aviate Academy.
“It’s a great opportunity to train the next generation,” said Kirby. “There were just big barriers to entry. [Somos] able to give them access even if they don’t have the financial means on their own.”
Seventy percent of Aviate’s first graduating class were women or black.
“Today, at United, 19% of our pilots are women or black. And I think we are the highest of all airlines in the country, ”she highlighted.
Source: CNN Brasil
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