Summary
- FAA denies United Airlines expansion approval despite earlier claims by the carrier to its employees.
- FAA mandates its personnel be present during United’s aircraft inspections.
- United faces increased scrutiny and ongoing review by FAA following safety incidents.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has denied it has given approval for United Airlines to expand its network and fleet again, despite the airline apparently claiming it was free to do so earlier this week. Additionally, the FAA will mandate that its personnel are present when United carries out inspections of newly delivered aircraft.
FAA denies United certification approval
On Thursday, Simple Flying reported on United Airlines claiming that it was cleared by the FAA to launch new routes and certify aircraft, which the carrier revealed in a memo to employees. In the memo, the airline shared the “good news” that the FAA Certificate Management Office had allowed it to “begin the process of restarting our certification activities,” which includes new routes and aircraft. However, it seems the salient word here is “begin” as the FAA has now come out and said it has not approved any route or fleet expansion.
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An FAA spokesperson told Simple Flying,
“The FAA has not approved any expansion of United Airlines’ routes or fleets. The Certificate Holder Evaluation Program that the FAA is conducting for United is ongoing and safety will determine the timeline for completing it.”
Following a series of safety incidents in recent months – including 16 incidents in March alone – the FAA suspended some of United’s certification activities and subjected the carrier to increased scrutiny. The carrier will hope to see some of its privileges restored soon with a record-breaking summer for the aviation industry looming – in an earnings call last month, United’s Chief Commercial Officer Andrew Nocella said the airline expects to carry record numbers of passengers this summer.
Aircraft inspection oversight
The FAA spokesperson added that FAA personnel must be present whenever United conducts final inspections of new aircraft replacing older models. As a result of the ongoing review, United has deferred “a small number” of Boeing 737 MAX 9 deliveries, which will also impact its growth plans for this year.
Related
United Airlines To Face Increased Scrutiny From The FAA After Recent Events
After several incidents, US regulators are looking closely.
The MAX 9 was the aircraft type involved in the Alaska Airlines plug door blowout, with subsequent fleet inspections revealing faults with planes at United and other airlines too. Due to the MAX 9 groundings and deferred deliveries, United estimated that it lost around $200 million in profits in Q1 2024, leaving it with a quarterly loss of $124 million.
Audit continues
In its memo to employees, United clearly states that its work with the FAA continues, saying that “we will continue to see an FAA presence in our operation as they review our work processes, manuals and facilities.” The carrier added that it remains open to the agency’s input to enhance its safety levels and that “there is more work to do.”
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