Planes are seen on the runway as people wait to reschedule inside Newark International Airport on June 27, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey.
Kena Betancur | Getty Images News | beautiful pictures
unified airline‘ Chief Executive Scott Kirby said without more gates the airline would have to reduce or change schedules to handle frequent congestion in Newark, New Jersey, its huba message comes later mass flight delay marted july Fourth of July holiday travel weekend. The airline has donated 30,000 frequent flyer miles to customers most affected by the chaos.
“This has been one of the most challenging active weeks I’ve experienced in my entire career,” Kirby said in a note to employees on Saturday.
He said the airline needs more gates at Newark Liberty International Airport because there are often spare planes there. “We will have to shift/reduce our schedule further to give ourselves more ports and backup buffers — especially during hurricane season,” he added. United did not provide further details on the schedule cuts.
A day earlier, Kirby apologized for taking a private jet out of New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport while thousands of passengers were stranded, CNBC first report Friday.
The problems started with a series of thunderstorms in some of the country’s busiest airspace along the East Coast last weekend, cutting off routes for planes. While most airlines recovered, United’s problems continued into the week, angering both customers and crew. Unified and Blue Airways Jets Executives said air traffic control issues exacerbated the disruption.
Kirby brings up the week-long troubles and says lasting changes are needed. He said the excessively delayed departures, piling up at its hub in Newark since last weekend, had affected its operations. Takeoffs are delayed by up to 75% for more than 8 hours in some cases from Sunday to Tuesday.
“Airlines, including United, are simply not designed to have their largest hubs severely limited in capacity for four consecutive days and still operate successfully,” he wrote.
The plane and crew were then removed from their positions, which is often the case in inclement weather and can cause a range of disruptions for customers.
Unions complain about crew members having to wait hours for their assignments and hotels, forcing them to stay at the airport longer.
Kirby said the airline had to improve the platform so crews could get assignments and accommodations more easily on their app, and said what happened over the past week was unacceptable.
Kirby called for more investment in the FAA and air traffic control to avoid delays and staffing shortages, some of which occurred after hiring and training halted early in the pandemic.
A spokesman said United sent 30,000 miles to customers who were delayed overnight or didn’t reach their locations at all. She declined to say how many customers received the email.
More than 42,000 US flights arrived late last Saturday through Friday, and more than 7,900 flights were canceled – or more than 5% of airline schedules – a rate more than three times the average so far this year, according to FlightAware, the flight tracking tool. FlightAware data shows that United underperforms competitors with about half of its main schedule arriving late and nearly one-fifth canceled during that period.
United’s operations improved on Saturday but disruptions continued. About a third of its main schedule, or nearly 864 flights were delayed and 60 flights, or 2% cancelled, down from 1,327 delays and 252 cancellations on Friday.
