United Airlines is delaying its annual investor day, which was scheduled to take place on May 1, in the wake of a series of embarrassing mishaps that have raised questions over safety standards at the Chicago-based carrier.
Chief executive Scott Kirby was expected to boast about United’s “unique competitive advantage” during the shareholder meeting, but in a leaked email, the airline admitted that the vibes just weren’t right at the moment to be discussing United’s “bright future”.
The event could be pushed back all the way to the fall as United focuses on addressing serious safety concerns after a slew of accidents that has had the carrier in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
The situation has become so serious that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has told the carrier that it would expect increased regulatory oversight while safety and maintenance procedures are scrutinized.
“Right now, our entire team is focused on cooperating with the FAA to review our safety protocols, and it would simply send the wrong message to our team to have an exciting investor day focused primarily on financial results,” the airline told investors in the leaked update.
Kirby recently addressed safety worries head-on in an email to United’s frequent flyers, telling the airline’s most loyal customers that a number of changes were already in the pipeline and that more might be coming in the weeks and months ahead.
Despite the reassurances, every mishap involving a United plane, no matter how small or commonplace, is attracting global attention.
Once United has addressed and recovered from its recent safety concerns, the carrier has a lot to look forward to, with the carrier making a concerted move upmarket through its ‘United Next’ strategy that was first unveiled in 2022.
The strategy includes a massive fleet renewal program, with hundreds of new aircraft joining the airline in the coming years, cabin refurbishments of existing planes, and better-leveraging technology to improve the customer experience and operational performance.
