United CEO Shares Reassuring Safety Memo With Customers Following Recent Incidents — Read It Here

18.03.2024 - 21:21 / travelandleisure.com / Scott Kirby / Airlines

United Airlines’ CEO is assuring customers flying with the carrier is safe following a series of mid-air and on-the-ground incidents.

“While they are all unrelated, I want you to know that these incidents have our attention and have sharpened our focus,” United’s CEO Scott Kirby wrote in a memo to customers on Monday, which was shared with Travel + Leisure, adding “Safety is our highest priority and is at the center of everything we do.”

The memo was issued after a series of incidents over the past couple weeks, including an aircraft panel falling off mid-flight, an aircraft losing a wheel during takeoff, and a plane’s engine catching fire, according to CNN. Each of the incidents involved Boeing aircraft. 

Kirby said the airline was “reviewing the details of each case to understand what happened and using those insights to inform our safety training and procedures across all employee groups.”

“You can be confident that every time a United plane pulls away from the gate, everyone on our team is working together to keep you safe on your trip,” Kirby added. “I'm confident that we'll learn the right lessons from these recent incidents and continue to run an operation that puts safety first and makes our employees and customers proud.”

The reassurance also comes as Boeing has been under scrutiny following a mid-air blowout of a plug door panel on an Alaska Airlines 737 MAX 9 flight in January. Following that, both Alaska and United found loose bolts and hardware on their planes and the aircraft was grounded for several weeks. 

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also said it would increase oversight of both Boeing and its suppliers. 

Kirby has previously said United was reconsidering ordering Boeing 737 Max 10 planes in the future, the next and larger iteration of the aircraft.

United’s recent incidents involved Boeing jets of all ages, according to CNN, including one as old as 1998, and is not necessarily related to Boeing’s recent issues.