Airline operating environment has changed ‘profoundly’: Kirby
United Airlines’ CE Scott Kirby.believes the dramatic shift in operating environment for airlines following the Covid-19 pandemic requires new ways of doing business. “Our industry has changed profoundly by the pandemic, and you can’t run your airline like it’s 2019 or you will fail,” Kirby said on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on 18 January. Ongoing staff shortages, technological shortcomings and supply chain constraints are just a few of the numerous issues that have contributed to structural changes in the industry, which, he says, is not going to achieve its 2023 capacity targets. “Pilots are and will remain a significant constraint on capacity,” Kirby says. Since Covid, all airlines will need to staff their operations at higher levels. That means they are hiring more employees, which will inevitably have lower experience levels than previously. In addition, higher sick rates will impact the system more over time. “Covid hit our industry harder than others, and all [airlines] lost experienced employees and did not invest in the future,” Kirby says. “Any airline that tries to run at the same staffing levels pre-pandemic is likely to fail when there are stresses in the system. This is the new reality and the new math for airlines." The cracks show especially when there are additional strains in the system, such as the severe winter storm which paralysed air traffic across the country during last month’s busy end-of-year holiday travel season. While all airlines were affected by the inclement weather, some had more issues than others. Southwest, for example cancelled more than 16,700 flights between 21 December and 31 December as its decades-old software lost track of the locations of flight crews and aircraft. It took days for the airline to reset its network. Government officials blasted Southwest for the snafu, and called for an investigation of the matter. “The weather was what broke the camel’s back for them,” Kirby says. United is currently operating with “five to 10% staffing buffers” as well as 25% more spare aircraft than pre-pandemic, and higher aircraft utilisation, Kirby says. <br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2023-01-19/star/airline-operating-environment-has-changed-2018profoundly2019-kirby
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Airline operating environment has changed ‘profoundly’: Kirby
United Airlines’ CE Scott Kirby.believes the dramatic shift in operating environment for airlines following the Covid-19 pandemic requires new ways of doing business. “Our industry has changed profoundly by the pandemic, and you can’t run your airline like it’s 2019 or you will fail,” Kirby said on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on 18 January. Ongoing staff shortages, technological shortcomings and supply chain constraints are just a few of the numerous issues that have contributed to structural changes in the industry, which, he says, is not going to achieve its 2023 capacity targets. “Pilots are and will remain a significant constraint on capacity,” Kirby says. Since Covid, all airlines will need to staff their operations at higher levels. That means they are hiring more employees, which will inevitably have lower experience levels than previously. In addition, higher sick rates will impact the system more over time. “Covid hit our industry harder than others, and all [airlines] lost experienced employees and did not invest in the future,” Kirby says. “Any airline that tries to run at the same staffing levels pre-pandemic is likely to fail when there are stresses in the system. This is the new reality and the new math for airlines." The cracks show especially when there are additional strains in the system, such as the severe winter storm which paralysed air traffic across the country during last month’s busy end-of-year holiday travel season. While all airlines were affected by the inclement weather, some had more issues than others. Southwest, for example cancelled more than 16,700 flights between 21 December and 31 December as its decades-old software lost track of the locations of flight crews and aircraft. It took days for the airline to reset its network. Government officials blasted Southwest for the snafu, and called for an investigation of the matter. “The weather was what broke the camel’s back for them,” Kirby says. United is currently operating with “five to 10% staffing buffers” as well as 25% more spare aircraft than pre-pandemic, and higher aircraft utilisation, Kirby says. <br/>
