Aviation Industry Updates: Feb 13, 2024

United Airlines Has Hired Over 6,000 Pilots In Three Years

KEY POINTS:

• United Airlines has hired over 6,300 pilots since April 2021 and currently has a pilot group of 17,000 on the seniority list, making the pilot shortage a nonissue for the airline.
• The airline has experienced a strong pipeline of pilot applicants, with 77% of the pilots hired in 2023 exceeding minimum flight hour requirements by at least 1,000 hours.
• United Airlines has implemented various programs and pathways, such as the United Military Pilot Program and the United Aviate Academy, to attract and train pilots for the airline. They plan to hire over 10,000 pilots in the next decade.

Why Is American Airlines' Margin Lagging Behind Delta & United Despite Strong Financial Performance?

KEY POINTS:

• American lags behind Delta and United in terms of financial performance, with a 5.1% operating margin in Q4 of 2023.
• Structural issues, such as debt from the 2013 merger with US Airways, and an obsession with the sun-belt region, contribute to American's financial struggles.
• Strategic decisions, such as failing to compete effectively in the Northeast and a lack of premium products on domestic routes, have also impacted American's performance.

Simple Flying

FedEx Fleet Restructure Poses Threat To Freighter Operators

KEY POINTS:

• FedEx has portrayed its new air network redesign in terms of streamlining the high-cost overnight parcel operation, but internal communications show the express delivery giant also sees an opportunity to aggressively go after heavyweight cargo booked by logistic providers to offset slower growth in the main express product and declining postal business.
• FedEx Express historically has concentrated on moving small parcels by air. It gives general cargo — dry goods, hardware, textiles and other everyday items — low priority. Freight forwarders are careful about tendering shipments to the airline because third-party shipments can be left behind when a plane is full of shipments from FedEx customers.
• Dedicating fixed space to third-party freight would be a big change and a potential threat to other cargo airlines, experts say.
• “If they change strategy and decide that [hypothetically] one third of every FedEx plane, or a group of planes, is now reserved for general heavy cargo and will not be subjected to any offload that would have a huge impact,” said a senior executive at a global freight broker who asked not to be named because of company rules against speaking with the media. “Freight carriers like Cargolux, Qatar Airways, Lufthansa and Emirates, they would not like to see that at all because if you fly freighters you need every single kilo. You don’t have, like FedEx or UPS, another moneymaker, which are the packages.”
• In the fall of 2022, FedEx launched an initiative to take out $4 billion in structural costs by fiscal year 2025 and redesign the entire parcel distribution network to create greater efficiency. The air and international unit flew fewer hours in 2023, deactivated aircraft until demand returns, accelerated the retirement of older planes and flew more direct routes.

Freight Waves

Scammers Pose As Airlines On Social Media To Trick Fliers After Delays

KEY POINTS:

• Given the increase in issues vexing travelers, it’s common to see frustrated fliers air their complaints on social media while tagging the offending airline in their posts.
• Maybe they’re miffed at a flight disruption or lost baggage. They’re likely hoping that a public shaming will spur the airline into fixing their problem. While airlines are active on social media and typically engage with aggrieved travelers in their direct messages, these types of posts are also prompting scam artists to swoop in and “help.”
• In late January, after a second trip back from the runway to the gate to address a “paperwork” issue, I posted to X (formerly Twitter) about the flight delays. That generated the following reply from “Patrick, JetBlue Manager.”
• “We apologize for the situation and inconvenience caused. In order for us to be able to check about the situation, we kindly request that you please send us your reachable phone number so agent, JP Can assist.”
• Patrick was here to save me from a day of interminable, teeth-grinding delays … or was he?
  Shortly after Patrick’s reply came another notification that my previous post was liked and retweeted by an account bearing the name Thomas Clark JetBlue Supervisor. Thomas wrote: “Hi apologies for the inconvenience caused, kindly follow back and share a reachable number via DM for assistance please. Thank you.”
• In addition to the odd social media interactions, there were reasons to be suspicious. Neither of the accounts had any kind of verification mark, and the account handle for “Patrick” had misspelled the word “manager” as “@PManeger1.” Additionally, “Patrick” seemed to be pretty new to the job, starting the account in January of 2024 and had since acquired zero followers.
• A cursory Google search revealed the offer of help was, indeed, too good to be true. The overhaul of X’s account verification system from legacy badges to a pay-for-play model has contributed to the problem.

Washington Post

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