--- title: "United Begging Pilots to Take Unpaid Time Off Amid Boeing Disaster" description: "United Airlines is now asking its pilots to take unpaid time off in May as things keep going wrong at Boeing." date: "2024-04-02" modified: "2024-04-02" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/united-pilot-request-boeing" categories: - "Boeing" - "Future Society" - "Space" tags: - "boeing" - "planes" - "the digest" - "united airlines" --- # United Begging Pilots to Take Unpaid Time Off Amid Boeing Disaster ![United Airlines is now asking its pilots to take unpaid time off in May as things keep going wrong at Boeing.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## No PTO United Airlines is now asking its pilots to take unpaid time off as [things keep going wrong at Boeing](), from massive production problems to that small matter of [all those planes breaking](). As [*CNBC* reports](), the late delivery of new Boeing planes, including those in its 737 and 787 fleet, is the primary driver behind the voluntary time-off ask — but there's plenty of reason to believe that [headline-grabbing safety issues ]()with its existing planes are slowing things down, too. In a memo to members viewed by *CNBC*, the United chapter of the pilots' union, the Air Line Pilots Association, requested that pilots take leave without pay in May and potentially through the summer. The appeal comes not only after reports of [major production delays]() at Boeing, but also the spate of news stories in 2024 about the [company's planes malfunctioning]() or otherwise [breaking apart]() [during flights](). ## Low Supply Just a few weeks after a piece of plane door [blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9]() during an Alaska Airlines flight to Portland, Oregon in January, [United CEO Scott Kirby]() expressed frustration with the aerospace manufacturer and said the airline was considering an alternative supplier. "I think the Max 9 grounding is probably the straw that broke the camel’s back for us," [Kirby told *CNBC*'s Squawk Box](), referencing the Federal Aviation Administration's decision to [ground the entire Max 9 fleet]() over the fuselage incident. "We’re going to at least build a plan that doesn’t have the Max 10 in it." As the [*Associated Press* reports]() on the airline's reduced staffing request, Boeing was supposed to deliver 191 planes to United this year and 127 next year, but the airline now expects to only get 88 for 2024 and 64 for 2025. Most of those shortcomings involve 737s and are likely related to the forthcoming [Max 10 remaining uncertified]() by the FAA — a delay that's now become so severe that United straight up told Boeing to stop building them. "We’ve asked Boeing to stop building Max 10s, which they’ve done, for us, and start building Max 9s," Kirby said during a JPMorgan investor conference last month, [per *Bloomberg*](). "It’s impossible to say when the Max 10 is going to get certified." With Boeing's CEO ultimately [resigning over ongoing safety concerns]() with its planes and the company being [under intense scrutiny]() following the [alleged suicide]() of one of its whistleblowers, pausing those builds might have been a good move — and the relationship between the airline and its primary plane manufacturer may grow even tenser if and when these problems [affect the summer travel season](). **More on Boeing's woes:** [*Commander of First Boeing Astronaut Launch Issues Warning*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()