United bosses warn airlines ‘have outgrown their tech infrastructure’

United Airlines boss Scott Kirby has slammed the industry’s “capacity ambition” for 2023, saying it cannot be achieved.

On the airline’s full-year 2022 earnings call, Kirby said pilot shortages and other staffing issues, as well as delays in aircraft and parts deliveries, were holding back the airline’s growth.

He added that the FAA and most airlines “have outgrown their technological infrastructure and simply cannot operate reliably in this more challenging environment.”

Kirby said United decided to fly fewer flights in 2022 so it could invest in technology and infrastructure and hire more employees.

“Our industry has been profoundly changed by the pandemic, you can’t run your airline like you did in 2019 or you’ll fail, but don’t take my word for it, pay attention to the data,” he said.

The aviation industry has suffered considerable setbacks in recent weeks, including the FAA grounding all U.S. flights for several hours due to a technical issue earlier this month.

In late December, Southwest Airlines canceled thousands of flights with an estimated financial impact of between $725 million and $825 million.

The carrier has since announced in a letter from its CEO, Bob Jordan, that it has hired a consultant to assess the incident and said it plans to upgrade its crew recovery system and strengthen its crew engagement system.

Jordan also said Southwest “has budgeted more than $1 billion in annual operating plans to invest in, upgrade and maintain our IT systems.”

Meanwhile, United believes its technology and infrastructure improvements put it “one step ahead” in 2023.

The airline posted a fourth-quarter 2022 profit of $843 million on $12.4 billion in revenue.

Source link